The Toll House

Single mother Kelda and her son Dylan are looking for a fresh start when moving into the old toll house on a quiet road out of town. It's not much but all Kelda could afford; it's gets them out of her mother's house and moved them closer to friend Nick, and into a new job. Dylan has to start at a new school and make new friends, though he doesn't get along with his new teacher Mr Yeo. Stresses of the move and the clean slate boil over and during an argument, Dylan throws a saucepan at the wall in the kitchen, cracking the plasterboard and revealing a creepy death mask sealed inside.

The novel also swaps between present day and the 1860's following the former toll collector who lived in the house and whose wife passed away there. The death mask is linked back to this time period and after it is revealed in the present day, Kelda and Dylan begin to experience disturbances. Dylan sees a woman in his room, there's a pervasive feeling of sorrow, and being watched for Kelda. As thing escalate Kelda tries to protect her son as best she can while being unsure of her own mind.

There are a lot of relationship interactions within The Toll House, which adds an extra layer of intrigue to the story. The paranormal aspects are creeping and sinister as we learn more about Kelda, Dylan and the former residents of the house. Little twists along the way keep you guessing as to who is causing the disruption in the toll house and why. Exploring themes of child loss, death, love and obsession, The Toll House offers readers an alternative to the vast gothic mansion horror with the cosy/claustrophobic setting.

This ghost story is...okay. There's quite a bit of atmosphere, and I felt a sense of the house as a real location, to the point where I could draw you a floorplan of the layout. But the story is solidly middle of the road. There's no real original ideas, and the pair of revelations at the end feel unearned and unnecessary - in fact they're a little frustrating as if the author had leaned into them earlier the book it might have felt a little fresher. Some of the secondary characters just fizzle out, and there's one plot contrivance that made me winch a bit. That said, there's nothing really wrong with the book, and I enjoyed the couple of hours I spent with it, but ultimately it's a competent entry in the genre and that's all.