Haggard House
In Elisabeth Rhoads’s brooding psychological thriller Haggard House, a sheltered religious boy meets his free-spirited match, unlocking a door to the past where trauma and truth lie hidden.
It is 1859 in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and Adam is eleven years old. He attends the public schoolhouse for the first time. His devout mother, Sarai, commands him each morning to “keep to the straight and narrow,” which Adam does…until he meets Penny, a beautiful, spirited classmate who extends an offer of friendship. Suddenly, Adam’s circumscribed world opens in ways that test his obedience to Sarai. Penny chips away at the enigmatic walls Adam constructs, both in his mind and in the woods where their secret friendship blossoms in makeshift shacks and forts.
Years later, Adam heads west to work on the railroad, eager to become his own man. Experiencing firsthand the consequences of debauchery and sin, Adam returns to the UP and the only girl he ever loved. However, he and Penny must face the quiet wrath of Sarai and the sinister secrets she guards at Haggard House.
Told through multiple character viewpoints that give a comprehensive view of events from each person, the story is gilded with authentic dialects and impassioned yet economical dialogue. The gothic overtones succeed in the rugged, cold environment of upper Michigan, and the complicated, tempestuous love of Adam and Penny is a classic model of star-crossed lovers. As they work to build a new life together upon the cracking foundation of a curse, the narrative hits the accelerator and rockets to a bittersweet, shocking conclusion.
Haggard House is a dark and dazzling novel about young love, hypocritical religion, and the long-term damage that trauma inflicts on individuals and the communities they create.
Reviewed by
Peggy Kurkowski
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
