Darkhouse by Karina Halle

Darkhouse by Karina Halle

First in the Experimental Terror series

4.5 stars

Perry Palomino is your typical 22-year-old, as typical as a girl like Perry can get. Perry has always been the chunkier girl, suffered with drug abuse, and is working an incredibly boring job. She feels empty like she’s destined for greatness but doesn’t know what. Her family goes to visit her uncles and cousins at their house on the coast of Oregon. Perry has always been fascinated with the lighthouse that’s on her uncle’s property, but never explored it until now. The lighthouse brings a slew of nightmares, scary things that could be there but are not likely, attention, and Dex Foray, a director and devilishly handsome older guy. Let me just start by saying this if you have a Kindle or e-reader get this book now! It’s free on Amazon and I’m sure other places so get a move on because it’s worth it. Not everyone will love this, but I did. I wasn’t really expecting anything when I went into this book. I was blown away though. This book is creepy. Not scary, but creepy. I like creepy things a lot. One of my favorite shows is Ghost Adventures and I love the tone of that show and this book is like GAC come to life. I love it! I don’t read or come across a lot of novels that are more ghost, entity, or demon (in ghost form) books. This completely caught me off guard and I’m glad I decided to check out Halle’s works. I had seen her around on Goodreads and was curious about her work. She’s definitely an author to check out.


The main female character is Perry. Perry is totally kickass. I love her. She’s funny, sarcastic, smart, and witty. She’s also incredibly real. There’s something about Perry Palomino that’s easy for me to connect to. She’s the kind of heroine I like to read about. She isn’t incredibly kickass, but she’s real. She’s human. At least I think she is...


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 10

The main male character is Dex. Dex… I honestly don’t know what to say about him. He’s mysterious and everything he does infuriates, makes me smile or laugh, blush, or confuse me. This guy is a complete mystery. We know a little about him, but not a lot. I like that aspect in Darkhouse. Some writers can’t pull off the whole mysterious guy in books, but Halle does it well. She makes me want to read more and find out who Dex is and where his relationship with Perry is going.

Swoon Worthy Scale: 9

The Villain- Here’s a little quote to make you curious or to just creep you out.
“Well, that officially was the story. But it didn't explain why the partially burned body of an ethnic woman was found tied to the lighthouse keeper's bed with strands of kelp.”- Uncle Al page 179
Not a scary villain, but the creepy element makes it weird and highly scary.


Villain Scale: 9

Uncle Al, Ada, Matt, Tony, and Perry’s parents are characters that play a role in the novel. Uncle Al is probably my favorite out of all the side characters and I enjoyed the talks he had with Perry. Ada reminds me of myself and little sister which is a very weird combination. I really like Ada and I want to see more of her. Matt and Tony are Perry’s twin cousins and they are definitely intriguing boys. Perry’s parents are both distinct and prove to be a new bump for Perry by the end of the novel. I didn’t really like Perry’s mom, but she grows on you and we didn’t see all that much of Perry’s dad.

Character Scale: 9

There was a creepy lighthouse, ghosts, a weird lady, and a bathroom scene that was actually one of my worst nightmares. I have a fear of being killed in a public restroom and I hate going in them. It creeped me out and had my insides all twisted. I hope their aren't any elevator scenes in the next books. *shivers* This isn’t the most amazing novel out there, but it’s definitely worth a shot. I liked the writing, characters, plot, mystery, and creepiness to the novel. I look forward to Red Fox and the rest of the Experimental Terror books.
P.S. The little warning at the ending of the synopsis makes me giggle because I didn’t find the language that bad, but I’ve learned that apparently people from Louisiana are just used to cursing and aren’t phased by it. So there is a lot of cursing so be forewarned.


Cover Thoughts: I like the cover. It’s simple and it fits the story. Not very many covers do that. I like the tone and creepy feeling you get when you look at it.