Book Review: 77 Shadow Street by Dean Koontz

The Pendleton stands on the summit of Shadow Hill, a palace built in the 19th Century as a tycoon's dream home. But its grandeur has been scarred by episodes of madness, suicide and mass murder. Since being converted into luxury apartments in the 70's, however,  the Pendleton has been at peace. For its fortunate residents- among them ex-marine Bailey Hawk, songwriter Twyler Trahern and her young son Winny- the Pendleton is a sanctuary, its dark past all but forgotten.
But now inexplicable shadows caper across walls, security cameras relay impossible images, phantom voices mutter in strange tongues, not-quite-human figures lurk in the basement, elevators plunge into unknown depths. It seems that whatever drove past occupants to their unspeakable fates is at work again. As nightmare visions become real, a group of extraordinary individuals hold the key to humanity's destiny.
Welcome to 77 Shadow Street.

This is the first book by Dean Koontz that I have read. I used to love reading horror as a teenager  but it is the first time for a long time that I have dipped into this genre.
77 Shadow Street revolves around The Pendleton, it was a palace built in the 19th Century which has now been converted into luxury apartments with a wide mix of tenants. The Pendleton almost becomes a character within the book, all of the action takes place in the one building and I could vividly picture what it would look like.
Dean Koontz builds tension from the very beginning, there are many instances of characters being observed without their knowledge which makes for very creepy reading. I would imagine that Dean Koontz is a master of this genre and just when I thought I had worked it all out, he would throw in another surprise and I would have to think it all through again.
The only problem that I had with this book was keeping up with all of the characters. For me, there were just too many, I felt that I had to really think back and remember which details went with which character. Having said that, my favourite character was Winny, using a child is a really clever device as it really highlighted the malevolent force at work in the building by pitting it against such an innocent and helpless character.
77 Shadow Street was a pretty gripping read and I think it will lead me to trying more horror books in the future. It's a twist on the classic haunted house tale and Dean Koontz keeps his readers guessing to the very end.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 3.5/5

Many thanks to Josephina at The Big Shot for sending me a copy of the book to review. 77 Shadow Street has a brilliant interactive website where you can explore The Pendleton and find out more about the book and the characters, to have a look just click here.