The Vines

by Christopher Rice

Spring House, New Orleans: a plantation manor of money and influence. But something sinister lurks beneath the glamour of the old estate, awoken by blood and looking for revenge . . .

After Caitlin Chaisson tries to take her own life in her mansion's cherished gazebo, it becomes apparent that Spring House's malevolent history won't stay hidden for long. By morning her husband has vanished without a trace and his mistress has gone mad.

Nova, daughter to the groundskeeper, is determined to get to the bottom of the horrors. But she soon realises that the vengeance enacted by this sinister and otherworldly force comes at a terrible price. Some secrets are better left sleeping soundly . . .

The Vines is a creepy, addictive, supernatural read for fans of Stephen King, Anne Rice and Peter Straub

Praise for Christopher Rice:

'Christopher Rice never disappoints with his vivid people and places and masterful prose.' Patricia Cornwell

'Christopher Rice is casting his own shadows now, setting new standards for other authors. [He] has added a new wing to the Rice literary legacy' Huffington Post

'You'll think you know your destination . . . but you'll be wrong' Charlaine Harris

• ISBN10: 0349402868
• ISBN13: 9780349402864
• Publish Date: 21 October 2014
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
• Imprint: Piatkus Books
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 224
• Language: English

Reviews

[littleread1]

The thing I loved most about THE VINES is the fact that while creepy as all get out, there isn't a clear cut right & wrong/us vs. them vibe. Of course bad things do happen, but at the same time ... you understand them. Maybe even empathize with them a little? At one point while reading I turned to my husband and said "Go vines go! Kill the people!" I am pretty sure he just rolled his eyes at me and went on doing whatever he was doing at the time. But that was a fun and unexpected turn of events in a story that reminded me of a lot of the classic horror stories I have read.

The story opens on a southern plantation - creepy by reputation alone - where we witness a woman being wronged emotionally. From there we follow her through an emotional spiral that leads to a desperate act - which leads to her vengeance. I won't really talk about the story much past that, I really don't like to ruin things for you! I will say that at first I didn't like the expanding cast of characters ... until suddenly I did. Not sure why that changed; maybe because I got a wider view of the world, but I never felt like I was missing out when I was with one person - I knew all the gaps would be filled.

The end crept up on me, I was too involved in the story to notice the percent read getting higher and high until BAM - the book was over. While there was certainly some closure, I am not sure if I was mentally ready for the story to be over.

If you like ambiguous entities, bad people, good people, and killer plant life, then by all means pick this story up!