Red Water – Shadows of Camelot Crossing: A Haunting in Stillwater by Lisa Courtaway
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Hazel and her family have just moved into their new home in Camelot Crossing, amidst the worsening conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic. Their lives are essentially on hold in this new place while they wait for the world to settle. Unfortunately, their new home already has a resident, and she is running out of time to get her message across. What follows is the story of Hazel and her family attempting to adjust to a home just as unsettling and unpredictable as the outside world.
Red Water was an interesting and refreshing read for me in the haunted house sub genre. The haunting itself was motivated differently than many modern ghost stories which allowed for some surprises. Hazel was a relatable character, the house was a fantastic setting, and having the story take place during the Covid-19 pandemic provides a grounding realism to the tale and the world it takes place in.
First, Hazel. She was a teenager struggling with more than just growing up. School was no longer in person due to the pandemic, so both she and her twin brother, Holden, had to adapt to online learning and being separated from their friends. Throw in a move to a new place, where she can’t even leave the house to discover the town around her, and you have a teenaged girl already frightened and vulnerable. And this seems to make her the prime target for our haunting. Hazel is the character we follow through most of the story, and I found her to be a strong protagonist, with empathy, true emotions, and human flaws. Of course, there were some things that I feel she (and her family) could have picked up on a bit faster, which could occasionally be frustrating. This isn’t too uncommon in the genre though.
The house was an interesting setting. While having a Tudor era appearance, it was in fact build in the 80s. So, not quite a place you would expect to be haunted. The contrast between the old style of the house and the lifestyle and technology of a modern, well to do family was enjoyable. Just imagine a home that Henry VIII could have lived in filled to the brim with Alexas and other smart home devices, and you’ll get an idea of what I mean here. It also provided some unique ghost phenomena opportunities that I truly hope to see in more books in the future.
Then the Covid-19 setting. This, as I stated above, provided a grounding realism in the story. I could relate to the anxiety about the spread of Covid, the hope of a world returned to ‘normal’, and the utter disbelief for how lightly some people were taking such a serious matter. I think that we all could empathise with the family and their feeling of claustrophobia, as they could not leave their home. Even without the haunting, their mounting uneasiness and restlessness was perfectly realistic.
I don’t want to talk too much about the haunting, as that would be gosh darn spoilery, and you don’t deserve that, but as a person who reads a lot of ghost stories, I was very pleased with the familiar elements of the story and the fresher ones. If you read a lot of ghost stories, this may be a good one to break up the pace a little bit.
I wouldn’t call Red Water a horror story. Instead, I would classify it as a mystery with eerie, ghostly elements. None the less, I very much enjoyed it and I believe that people who enjoy lighter horror elements and mystery and very human experiences will get a great deal out of reading this book.
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