This book was reviewed for Xpresso Book Tours

 

The Empty Room is Sarah Clemens’ debut novel about a pair of newlyweds who move to the sleepy town of Eastbrook, Maine to get away from the drudgery and rat-race of their former jobs with different advertising agencies. Dean and Elizabeth purchase a Victorian style home at a great deal, though it had be purchased ‘as-is’, complete with all the former resident’s belongings.

 

At first, all seems well, even if the townspeople give them the cold shoulder, for the most part. Yet, every attempt they make to find out about the former owner of their new home is met with either silence or cryptic comments, such as ‘are you sure you really want to know?’ Yeah, talk about creepy and suspicious. They keep digging, until finally uncovering an extraordinary truth.

 

I enjoyed this book for the most part. I found the writing to be slow, with far more telling than showing, though The prologue was an especial example of this, being a large information dump of extraneous info. I did enjoy the ending, which I hadn’t guessed. Overall, the story had a strong X-Files feel to it for me, and I look forward to seeing more Clemens’ grow as a writer.

??? Recommended if you enjoy mystery and suspense.