Book Review 2018-1- Jonathan Aycliffe's Naomi's Room

The first book that I read in 2018 is Jonathan Aycliffe's Naomi's Room. I bought this book in Broadway Book sale in Goa during my vacation. I had never heard about the author before, so I trusted my gut instincts and also the fact that book was being sold as cheap a rate as 50 bucks. What attracted me to the book was the blurb which talked about a couple, Charles and Laura whose daughter Naomi, disappears on Christmas Eve and the horrors that follow after.

That’s why I love these quaint, old, second hand book stores, because sometimes if you are lucky enough you come across real gems (that’s how I came across this wonderful book The Witch Doll), books that no online stores sell.

Naomi’s Room is a psychological horror fiction that starts off on a brilliant note. Charles and Laura are the perfect couple, and with their small daughter Naomi they form the perfect family, until tragedy strikes on Christmas Eve. Charles and Naomi go for a shopping trip to London and Naomi is lost in a large toy shop.

The next day her body is found mutilated in a small alley. While the couple try to cope with their loss, the weird and frightening occurrences in their house, scare them and give them hope too. Hope to see their daughter and talk to her again. Meanwhile a freelance photographer called Lewis, helps Charles to understand more about the paranormal activities in his house.

The problem is in the last 75 pages of the books, everything goes a little haywire and cliche. The explanation to the haunting and the detailed flashback into the past becomes tedious to read. The climax is a little gory and becomes too eww, but that’s OK, it’s expected from a horror fiction. The ending seemed a little hurried, like too many things happening at once. Overall the book definitely gives you the creeps, especially the Victorian Gothic settings and the narration of the haunting. A good horror read from an author other than Stephen King.

So I’m happy that I got to enjoy my first read in 2018. I’d rate the book a 3.5 on a scale of 5.