THE PLACE WHERE THEY BURIED YOUR HEART by Christina Henry is a terrific blend of gothic horror, haunted house horror, and tragic family drama that spans decades and provides both chills and complex character studies along the way.

Jessie Campanelli grew up on what looked like an ordinary suburban street in Chicago. The exception was the old McIntyre house that carried with it many years’ worth of rumors and ghost stories that drove fear into the hearts of the nearby residents. Still, Jessie’s eight-year-old brother, Paul, and two of his friends entered the house on a dare. No one would ever see Paul again. Jake and Richie claimed that the house ate him alive. They were covered in blood after attempting to save Paul, and Jake lost his arm.

"The conclusion is a wild one, with plenty of surprises along the way, making THE PLACE WHERE THEY BURIED YOUR HEART a frightening and memorable reading experience."

This event literally haunts Jessie, who had been grounded by her parents for smoking, which prevented her from being there to protect Paul. She swore that she would get her revenge on the McIntyre house if it was the last thing she ever did. That was 1993, and we ride along on Jessie’s plight, which takes us into the early 2000s.

Paul’s death destroys Jessie’s family. One day her father enters the McIntyre house in an attempt to burn it to the ground. But whatever evil lives there prevents that from happening, and he ends up burning himself to death in the process. The neighbors pull his charred remains from the house, and the entire area is stunned by what has unfolded.

Now, Jessie is forced to co-exist with a mother she has no real relationship with while trying to figure out what she can do to avenge her deceased family members. When she tries to take on the house herself, it is her friend, Alex Dobrowski, who pulls her away from it and saves her life. Jessie continues to try to understand the history of the house and all the various stories of lives lost inside it. This has to begin with the McIntyre family, whose own tragic history makes it easy to understand how evil was allowed to bleed into every facet of this domicile.

The “house that ate people” continues its mounting death toll, which regrettably includes Jessie’s mother, leaving her all alone against an evil that no one can name or understand. Her life changes when she becomes pregnant from her first sexual encounter with Alex, and her son, E.F., becomes a part of her daily life. Alex has issues with drug dependency, which lands him in jail and eventually out of their lives. However, Alex’s father, Ted, stands by Jessie and E.F. One day soon, they will have to face the horror of the McIntyre house when E.F. goes missing and reportedly was last seen inside that dreadful place.

The conclusion is a wild one, with plenty of surprises along the way, making THE PLACE WHERE THEY BURIED YOUR HEART a frightening and memorable reading experience.