The Birthing House
When Conrad Harrison impulse-buys a big old house in Wisconsin, his wife Jo doesn't share his enthusiasm, reluctant at the idea of leaving their LA life - so Conrad is left to set up their new home as she ties up loose ends at work. But Conrad's new purchase is not all that it seems. Soon Conrad is hearing the ghostly wailing of a baby in the night, seeing blood on the floor and being haunted by a woman who looks exactly like Jo. With his wife away, Conrad becomes obsessed by the pregnant girl next door, Nadia, who claims to be a victim of the evil in the house. The crying leads him to a bricked-up body, and the mystery of the Birthing House unravels, pulling in Jo, Nadia and leading Conrad to a nightmarish conclusion...

I bought this book on the strength of its cover.

It purports to be a 'horror/ghost' story, but its major failing in my opinion, is that it is not at all scary - in fact the first half of the book is more about some sort of mid-life crisis revolving around the central character - Conrad.

I though the ending was terrible - really rushed and badly executed.

The idea behind the book is sound but just wasted in poor execution. The initial characterisation is OK - but Conrad's & Jo's descent into 'madness' is too abrupt and not at all convincing. Take The Shining as a benchmark and this falls far short.

All in all, not a book I enjoyed, but will keep it for a week if anyone would like to borrow it.