Imagine a landscape where time, memory, even identity shift and snap back. Add a touch of Lovecraftian influence and set it in 1970s England, and you have Solace House, a fever dream of a literary horror novel. Broke university student Alex jumps at the chance for steady housing and employment for the summer, joining a team charged with emptying out the massive mansion Solace House for school use. As they clear the neglected garden and grounds, the estate seems like a lost Eden in the summer heat – but one that can quickly morph into a horrorscape. Alex has a mysterious past, as do others in the cleaning crew. But their secrets are as nothing compared to those of Solace House, “…An insane project seen to its conclusion, a deranged endeavor made real.” Its late reclusive owner, Edwin Flayne, was seemingly a hoarder extraordinaire, and filled its many halls with detritus. But is there hidden meaning in the apparent madness of what he left behind? When Alex and fellow student Ella discover Flayne’s journals and coded writings, they enter Flayne’s attempts to reach a parallel realm. Beware any journal that begins with “Humans are but HAUNTED MEAT” – but then, humans are also curious creatures. Author Will Maclean endows each of the student team with a unique personality, and we come to understand them, like some, be irritated by others, and mostly fear for them. Wherever you think Solace House is going, it’s not. The final twists of this layered puzzle of a novel will stay with you.
Solace House by Will Maclean, (List Price: $28, Grove Press, 9780802168689, October 2026)
Reviewed by Rosemary, Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in Asheville, North Carolina