C. Dennis Moore

2.5* rounded up to 3.

I read this novel with my Shelfari horror group. We were disappointed.

It's pretty obvious this is a haunted house story. As such, it could be hard to impress my group because we are all seasoned horror fans and have lots of experience with haunted house books. This book just did not measure up.

A couple moves into a new home. A haunting ensues. Apparitions of young children, both a boy and a girl appear. There are feelings of being touched. There are screams and laughter heard. There are knockings and bangings heard. So far, so good-right? No. I've left out the things that seemed to have NO bearing on the story whatsoever, and there were quite a few of those. For instance-there is a naked old lady in a nearby house that makes a couple of appearances, why?
We are told all kinds of things about Jack's job and how one of his buyers always calls at the last minute. Why? Who cares? It had nothing to do with the haunting at all.

The husband, Jack, hears some stories about the house and the town where it's located, Angel Hill. Even though he insists it's all hooey, he goes out and buys a book about the town and its hauntings. He promptly hides it under the mattress where his hysterical wife won't find it and start freaking out. Why? Then he doesn't even read it!

I guess you can tell by this point that I wasn't impressed by this book. I will say that I enjoyed what the haunting actually turned out to be. I thought that part showed the author had a good idea...but I think he needs to learn how to trim out the extraneous stuff and hone in on the story.

I would have loved to learn more about the town of Angel Hill and why bad things kept happening there. I would have loved if Jack had opened that book and learned more about Angel Hill's history. That would have interested me much more than the details about Jack's job.

All in all, this was just barely an OK story. I can't really recommend it.
… (plus d'informations)

(This review can be found on my blog The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl).


The feels with this book! This book scared me, and I loved it! It was the blurb that made me want to read this book. Even reading the blurb now sends chills down my neck. This is the kind of horror I wish more authors would write.

The title is perfect for the book. Most of the ghostly goings on happen on the third floor. While it's not an overly creepy title, it still works.

I don't really like the cover. Yes, it is the house the story is about, but it doesn't give off any spooky vibes. I, personally, would've liked to see some creepy stuff on the cover like ghosts, but to each their own I guess.

The world building was eerie and perfect for a horror novel. I got chills so many times while reading this book. Moore did an excellent job as portraying just how scary Angel Hill is as well as the spooky house the Kitches live in. (Oh, and if you're a fan of Silent Hill, I just want to say that Angel Hill reminded me a bit of Silent Hill). I read this book at night, so every noise and shadow scared me thanks to this book. (I did like being scared though).

The pacing was fantastic!! I was hooked from the first page. In fact, I was actually hooked from the first sentence. I love the way the story unfolded and flowed easily from one paragraph to the next.

The story line was great! While the whole plot of a house being haunted isn't new at all, Moore did a fantastic job of making it feel like it was a whole new concept. There was a skeptic and a believer in the same household, and while it was frustrating that Jack didn't believe Liz, I was interested in finding out what it'd take to make Jack believe. There was a minor plot twist that I wouldn't have predicted either. For those of you who don't like cliff hanger endings, then this a book for you. No cliff hanger endings are found in The Third Floor.

I thought all the characters, even minor ones, were very well written. I sympathized with Liz because she had to experience all the ghostly activity first hand. I felt scared for her, and I was also worried that something bad would happen to her in that house. I found myself wanting to protect Liz. I didn't really like Jack to much, not because he was a poorly written character which he's quite the opposite. I just didn't like how he, to me, tried to make Liz feel like she was crazy. He'd get angry with her about things that she didn't do. It was like he didn't trust her at all. I understand that he's a big time skeptic, but I thought, maybe, he could've been a little bit nicer to her and more willing to listen. I loved little Joey. He came across as such a sweet child. He was also experiencing supernatural events firsthand and even more so than Liz. I just wanted to go over to that house, get Joey, and never bring him back until Jack realized what was going on.

The dialogue in this book was never awkward or disjointed. The character interactions felt realistic and never forced. There were a few grammar mistakes that I came across in the book, but nothing major that would take away from how fantastic the book is. There is violence and swearing in the book as well as a few sexual references (though not many).

Overall, The Third Floor is an incredibly spooky read which I think most horror fans will love. It has a fantastic plot, great world building, and likable characters. This is a story that you may want to leave the lights on when you read it though.

I'd recommend this book to those aged 17 who are into spooky ghost stories and those who like being scared.

I'd give The Third Floor by C. Dennis Moore a 4.75 out of 5.


(I borrowed this book for free from the Amazon's Kindle Owners' Lending Library. I was not required to write a review).… (plus d'informations)