The House on Druid Lake

The House on Druid Lake (2021) Isabelle Adler

Oliver has taken a job in Baltimore to make a new start, and perhaps a little bit of escaping his abusive ex. He believes he’s lucked out in finding a relatively inexpensive apartment to rent, in what looks to be an historical building, but things are not what they seem.

What did I like about this story?

The paranormal elements for one, and the way Oliver reacted to them. It’s always difficult when reading a story with paranormal elements, because you know it’s a story, so it’s hard not to be annoyed at a main character for not picking up on the fact that Things Are Not As They Seem.

What bothered me was twofold.

First, I absolutely could not mentally place this story in Baltimore.

Second, Oliver’s boss was so much of a nightmare he felt a parody of a bad boss: He continually calls Oliver Daniel (those names aren’t even close?). But mostly, he’s a complete jerk.

Eliminating that one window across all the buildings would save tens of thousands of dollars in building costs, and the residents would never know the difference. After all, they won’t be living there for comfort and luxury, will they?

Here’s the thing that bugged me.

(H)e had a good reason to be wary of entitled men who couldn’t take no for an answer and considered the slightest rebuke as a wound to their ego.

Oliver is thinking about his ex here, but it’s actually a perfect description of his boss.

Yes, he’s made a huge move across the country and has no support system, but… the boss seems to be made entirely of red flags, and Oliver just lets it go.

Ugh.

Characters: Oliver Foster, Nym Brown, Aurora, Sky, Serena, Raphael, Kimona, Amy, Horace Livingstone, Despina Shaw, Courtney, Ela Blum, Richard Cox, Colin Thompson

Cover art by Jaycee DeLorenzo

Publisher: NineStar Press

Rating: 7/10

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