Review; The Haunting of Las Lágrimas by W. M. Cleese

Earlier this year, I read the historical horror novel The Haunting of Las Lágrimas by W. M. Cleese and today I'll post my review of the book.

Description from Goodreads

Argentina, winter 1913.

Ursula Kelp, a young English gardener, travels to Buenos Aires to take up the role of head gardener at a long-abandoned estate in the Pampas. The current owner wishes to return to the estate with his family and restore the once-famous gardens to their former glory.

Travelling deep into the Pampas, the vast grasslands of South America, Ursula arrives to warnings from the locals that the estate is haunted, cursed to bring tragedy to the founding family of Las Lágrimas. And soon Ursula believes that her loneliness is making her imagine things – the sound of footsteps outside her bedroom door, the touch of hands on her shoulders when there’s no one there. Most strangely of all, she keeps hearing the frenzied sound of a man chopping down trees in the nearby forest with an axe, when all her staff are in sight.

As the strange occurrences intensify – with tragic consequences – Ursula questions if there’s truth in the rumours about the cursed estate. The family’s return is imminent – are they in danger? And the longer Ursula stays at the estate, the more she realises that she too is in mortal danger.

My Thoughts on the Book

The Haunting of Las Lágrimas is a haunting and atmospheric gothic novel. In typical gothic horror fashion, it's slow paced, which fitted this novel nicely, as it builds up the creepiness over time. Another gothic element is the isolation and the (creepy) house with secrets. The plot and the story is well written, perhaps a bit too slow in certain parts, but it slowly builds up to total chaos in the end. I also really enjoyed the writing style of the author, in addition to the fact that the characters were well written too.

Overall, I highly recommend The Haunting of Las Lágrimas, so feel free to pick it up if you're in search of a creepy read.