The Good House

Written by Tananarive Due

Narrated by Robin Miles

Tananarive Due, author of The Living Blood (F0061) won the American Book Award and is praised as Stephen King's equal by Publishers Weekly. In The Good House, Due sets a story of ancient powers and modern retribution in a small Pacific Northwest town. When a young woman returns to her grandmother's empty mansion, she is pitted against demonic forces that have poisoned her family for generations.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 9, 2004
• ISBN: 9781440782350

Tananarive Due

Tananarive Due is an American Book Award and NAACP Image Award­–winning author, who was an executive producer on Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror for Shudder and teaches Afrofuturism and Black Horror at UCLA. She and her husband, science fiction author Steven Barnes, cowrote the graphic novel The Keeper and an episode for Season 2 of The Twilight Zone for Paramount Plus and Monkeypaw Productions. Due is the author of several novels and two short story collections, Ghost Summer: Stories and The Wishing Pool and Other Stories. She is also coauthor of a civil rights memoir, Freedom in the Family: A Mother-Daughter Memoir of the Fight for Civil Rights (with her late mother, Patricia Stephens Due). Learn more at TananariveDue.com. 

Reviews for The Good House

[Nina Quartuccio · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was so well written and read, I Ioved it every minute of it. The characters were believed and their dialogs as well. I was absorbed in the complex story line and never took notice to the length of this story. Although, it is not a blood and guts horror story, I didn't notice it nor felt it was missing. The narrator gave you an excellent feel to this story and maybe I should go so far as to say she enhanced it from beginning to end.

[Jane Sutton · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really enjoyed the book. The plot and story were excellent. I wish there had been more character development but still a great read. The narrator was 5 stars!

[Sharon Traylor · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book. Bravo bravo. Great read y’all pick this one up

[Jason Doerr · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow!! This was a great, great read. Highly recommended! :-)

[imperfectcj · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

There was a lot I liked about this book. There were the eerie scenes, some of which reminded me of the feeling I got while reading The Shining years ago, and the element of traditions and power being passed down through families, which I enjoy. Like Neil Gaiman, Due sets her scary tale within the framework of mythology, which I really appreciate, but Due doesn't take it quite as far as Gaiman does. The African-based religion in The Good House is more literal and less metaphorical than I find Gaiman's use of mythology, which I think takes away some of the deeper meaning I find in my favorite horror stories. Admittedly, though, the deeper meaning might be there but my lack of fluency in the religious traditions of Africa and the Caribbean might be keeping me from seeing it.One thing that really, really didn't do it for me was the ending. Often I dislike an ending and don't know for sure what it is I dislike or how I would change it to improve it. This one, though, I can think of several directions the story could have taken that would have been more satisfying than the way it ended, which I felt was something of a cop-out that highlighted some of the less believable aspects present in the rest of the story. I don't necessarily have a problem with stories that defy the laws of physics, but it has to make sense within a larger framework or the things that happen just seem like coincidences inserted into the plot for the convenience of the author, and the impact falls flat.Overall, I enjoyed reading this novel, much as I enjoy reading Stephen King from time to time, I just feel like Due stopped writing before the novel was done. I don't mean that it needs more words or pages but that there's some editing and reworking that would have taken this compelling idea and tightened it into something spectacular. I picked this one up as part of my quest to find some really great, literary horror novels---Shirley Jackson and Neil Gaiman can't be the only writers of this kind of horror, can they?---but after several novels that don't quite do it for me, I'm starting to worry that I'm asking too much of the genre.

[Kerrie Greene · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Incredibly disappointing ending. Spoiler free review.
I found this book to be quite different than I expected. It starts fully based in reality and tragedy. The elements of horror are exceedingly minimal - though it gradually becomes of a book of voodoo and magic mixed with family and martial strife and anger. The narration with a broad cast of characters was very well done, though with the length it would have benefited from having at least 2 narrators to offset the m/f roles and allow for more (realistic vs trope) range amongst them.
Unfortunately the last few chapters do NOT fit with the book at all. The last 25min did not fit in at all with the story that had unwound for over 21hrs prior. To say the reader comes away cheated is an understatement of epic proportions; on an average novel I’d be annoyed, but on one of this length?!? I truly wish I’d never read the book.

[danielle.desrochers · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

New favorite horror!I loved the exploration of grief and the seriously spooky environment in this one.

[sturlington_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I had been wanting to read this for years, as I had heard so much about how scary it was, and I was happy to find a copy of it in my local bookstore. My feelings after finishing were decidedly mixed, though.First, this is not a book so much about a haunted house--although the house does play a prominent role--as it is more about demon possession. It is possession filtered through the lens of vodou (voodoo), which I found different and interesting. I used to be fascinated by vodou, and it was good to read a horror book where the author had obviously done her research. However, many elements of the plot confused me, even for a book that was so long and had so much back story. How was the demon (baka) tied to the land, and how did Marie become cursed in the first place? Despite that, I did mostly enjoy the story, and there were many evocative scenes, particularly the ones that took place in the house. Second, the book is very long (almost 500 pages with very small font) and takes about 150 pages to really get going. It reminded me of 1980s horror, with its small-town setting, lots of crazy things happening, switching between multiple points of view. I used to love those kinds of books, but I felt there was a lot of repetition here, and some scenes could have been cut or whittled down, in my opinion.And there is a lot going on here--maybe too much. I read a lot of horror, but with (triggers galore) suicide, gruesome child murder, animal abuse, and lots of graphic sex, including sexual assault, it feels like piling on. The sex scenes especially would throw me out of the story. I hate to say it, but I think Due could have won a Bad Sex in Fiction Award with this one.I probably would have been fine with all this. Once things got rolling, the book was suspenseful and hard to put down. And then I got to the end. I saw that several other reviewers noted their disappointment with the ending. For me, the ending was completely unbelievable. It simply broke the rules of the world Due had created and felt like a cop-out. There were other endings I would have accepted, and I would have been happy if the book had simply closed on her walking away from the dance with her ancestors, but this... It felt like Due chickened out on everything she had done in the previous 480 pages. I probably would have given this 4 stars if she had just stopped writing 20 pages sooner.

[mutantpudding · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This isn't a bad book but I'm going with 2 stars because I just did not vibe with it. It was too long for me, too many sex scenes, too much dog related anxiety. Just not for me and ended up being one of those books I kept reading just because I had already read enough of it that I was determined to finish it.

Massive trigger warnings for suicide, physical and sexual violence, and racism (as in the characters dealing with it, the book isn't racist)

[thereserose5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Reading this book was like unraveling of family secrets while feeling slightly worried about what's lurking around the corner.

[carol420 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I found it to be a really good, creepy story that could have done without so much explanation…but overall I have to say that I really enjoyed the book…and I loved the house. The story has a family tragedy…a culture that may be reflected as different to some readers… relationships, both good and bad…a missing dog…an old flame…voodoo… and last but not least, a great supernatural element. There’s a lot thrown into the mix with a lot to take in. With almost 500 pages the story becomes a bit of a drag and a little difficult to keep everything straight. As I said before it would have benefited the entire story and plot line if it could have been a little shorter.

[liscarey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The first thing you need to know is that I don't read horror. I don't read anything really dark. I just don't.

Except sometimes I do. Usually because someone said, oh, this is good, and I didn't ask enough questions. A bunch of people said this was good.

They were right.

It's very, very good.

It's also every bit as dark as you'd expect from something entitled The Good House, and maybe a bit darker than that. Lots of really bad stuff happens. And I kept listening to the audiobook, all the way to the end, because it was worth it.

Angela Toussaint Hill has returned, with her son Corey, to the Good House, the house she inherited from her grandmother, Marie Toussaint, for their annual summer visit, in the Pacific Northwest town of Sacajawea. Her ex-husband, Corey's father, shows up unexpectedly, but things are going better than she expected, as they head into the Fourth of July and the party Angie is throwing.

The party starts well. It doesn't end well.

Marie Toussaint was a vodou priestess, and in the 1920s, she saved a girl from demonic possession and, in the process, angered the powers. Her family is cursed, and with Marie gone, her family is unprotected--unless Angie can figure out how to fix things.

Angie isn't even aware of the problem.

The story alternates between the summer 2001 events surrounding the Fourth of July party, Corey's unguided curiosity, and the uncertain relationship between Angela and her ex, Tariq, and culminating in tragedy, and the events of 2003, when Angie returns to Sacajawea, hoping to make some decisions about the house, and deal with her grief.

The characters are absolutely compelling. The story is twisty, dark, and creepy, and Angie has a lot of issues to work through, not just the vodou curse on her family that has cost her everything important in her life. Due builds her story, the family, and the town with detail and atmosphere, and simply made it impossible for me to stop reading.

Important note for some readers (including me): The dog does not die. For some of us, this really is a critical point.

Highly recommended.

I bought this audiobook.

[portm-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Review for the audiobook edition, read by Robin Miles. This book was a bit of a slow starter for me, as I had some difficulty connecting with the main character. But I'm glad I stuck with it, because once the supernatural elements started appearing, it took off with a bang. The story of the confused and angry teenaged son who realizes his mistakes too late caught my sympathy and interest. The author does a fine job of bringing the characters' feelings and surroundings to life. I was glued to my ipod during the "reclaimation" scene in the house. I liked the way the book ends on a note of hope, but without wrapping up all the storylines in a trite happily-ever-after package. The narrator, Robin Miles, is fantastic. She has a warm, rich voice that is a pleasure to listen to, her pacing is perfect, and every character has a distinct voice. I will look for books read by her in future.

[coloradogirl14 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a book I probably wouldn't have picked up on my own, had it not been included in Novelist's "Haunted House" book list. Thankfully, I decided to give it a try, because this is one of the best horror novels I've read in a long time. (In fact, this review is being written after my second reading - it was so good, I had to experience it again!)

The main story follows Angela Toussaint, who is trying to cope with the suicide of her teenage son, Corey, two years previously. His death occurred in Angela's grandmother's old house (The Good House), a house that the townspeople claim is protected by voodoo magic. Now, The Good House is being sold, and Angela makes a special trip out to the house to make sure that she truly wants to sell it.

But her arrival sets some peculiar and disturbing events into motion. She discovers that several townspeople have committed murder and/or suicide over the last couple years, and the longer she stays at the house, the more she realizes that the supernatural presence in the house - as well as her son's death - is tied to her grandmother's voodoo legacy and an exorcism performed decades ago.

The tired haunted house concept is given new life with this focus on African magic and family heritage. Not only are we introduced to a new and frightening demonic presence (an African baka, as opposed to a Christian demon), but the cultural and familial context makes the story rich and meaningful. As Angela struggles with the supernatural, she is also struggling to come to terms with the shattered remnants of her family. Her relationships with the other characters in the story are complex and are as equally important as the supernatural presence in the story.

With that being said, however, this story delivers some unexpected and seriously creepy moments. Towards the end of the book, when Angela returns to the Good House to confront the evil residing there, she finds that the inside of her house is covered in dead leaves. These leaves become a manifestation of the evil lurking on the property. It sounds bizarre at first, but when a pile of leaves starts slithering and hissing towards Angela, I guarantee you'll notice chills up and down your spine.

Another interesting dimension to this story is the alternation between the present day and the events leading up to Corey's death two years ago, as he happens upon his grandmother's magical artifacts and book of spells. Not only do we begin to understand the moments leading up to Corey's death, which we first read about in the first chapter, but we also better understand the events surrounding Angela. These chapters are fascinating, and some of my favorite moments in the book.

This book was my first realization that my favorite horror novels are the ones that offer something other than scares and gore. This is a horror novel with substance, and while it doesn't read as quickly as something by, say, Bentley Little or Richard Laymon, the story is much richer and much more meaningful than anything else I've ever read.

Recommended for: people interested in haunted house stories, African magic/voodoo, more complex horror novels, or literary novels, provided they don't mind the horror elements.

Readalikes: My Soul to Keep by Tananarive Due. While the story doesn't have the same haunted house elements as The Good House, it still incorporates African heritage and culture into a story about family and immortality.

The White Devil by Justin Evans. Andrew is a seventeen-year-old American transfer student at a British boarding school, where he discovers that a vengeful ghost is killing off his classmates. Ties to Lord Byron give this haunted-house story more complexity, while still provoking genuine terror.

The Dead Path by Stephen Irwin. Nicholas Close returns to his Australian hometown after the death of his wife, but a recent car crash has left him with the ability to see ghosts. Upon his arrival, he learns that several local children have gone missing in the nearby woods, which Nicholas believes is tied to an ancient witch who has resided in the town for centuries. Another substantial horror novel that incorporates elements of family ties and ancient magic into a story that is genuinely creepy.

[aleahmarie_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

If you like horror this book may be for you. It sure wasn't for me. A haunted house, Voudou, demon possession, oodles of murder. All of those elements should lend themselves to a suspenseful page-turner. But they didn't.I read The Good House for a discussion group, so I will admit that it's not the type of book I'd pick up on my own. The silver lining? I'm glad I read it so that down the road I can recommend it to any Stephen King fans I run across.

[the_hag · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Well, The Good House means I've encountered another new author whom I will be looking to read again sometime in the future. This is apparently her fourth book and is something of a ghost story but has strong voodoo elements. In The Good House we are greeted with a Prologue which sets up the premise of the "haunting" and where we meet the main characters Grandmother and initiator of a curse which take three generations to play out. Due weaves together family drama, voodoo, haunted/spooky events, and the strong bonds of friendship, creating a compelling, if somewhat long winded tale that keeps you turning pages well into the night. When we finally meet Angela Toussaint, we are presented a strong, likeable character; Angela is very much a family oriented person, taking time away from her law firm in Los Angeles to spend the summer with her teenage son in her Grandmothers house in Sacajawea, Washington...a house which she herself visited every summer as a child. Things are not smoother between mother and son and tensions are taut when her ex-husband Tariq shows up with the notion of putting their family back together. All of this comes crashing down on the 4th of July, tearing the family apart for good and starting in motion a chain of events that will terrorize Angela and those closest to her...starting with her son's suicide in the basement and ultimately sending Angela on a search for answers and a way to stop the terrifying entity that is bound and determined to see her destroyed. This story isn't just about Angela...bits of it are told from Corey's (her son), Tariq's, and the Grandmother's perspectives. Additionally, we weave back and fourth from the early 20th century to the present day learning the story of the Toussaint family (origins in Lousiana, naturally) and how their curse came to be. I enjoyed the multi-perspective...it was nice to see things in a different light and to be given small pieces to the larger puzzle as each has their turn with telling their side of the events. This gives us a much greater change at really knowing each character Due creates, so the "cast" of The Good House is well rounded and each feels real and richly developed, but this method isn't without problems though, as we replay the same events several times while getting the full picture...and it makes for a LOT of filler that maybe could have been condensed. Overall, I enjoyed this book but felt that it dragged on and on when it could have been tied up much sooner has the author not added hundreds of pages of exposition...I love the history that goes along with the story, but in places, it was just too much. Due is fantastic at creating human drama that feels real and important...that is a great deal of this books appeal, you FEEL involved in the events and want to know what happens next! That said, The Good House shouldn't have gone page 300-350 pages, so it was about 100 pages too long and I really, really, really could have done without the Hollywood ending...Angela earned the original ending, what came after it felt tacked on and totally fake...I wish the author hadn't tried to give us a happily ever after, the best ghost stories don't have them. I give it a solid B; it was a good solid book with a great premise that was just a tiny bit too long. I'll be looking at more of this authors work in the future!