With Rod gone and the house almost back to normal the story takes a romantic turn. What Waters is brilliant at is describing the moment when the observations and comments of others finally force Faraday to realise he might be falling for Caroline.
But the scenes describing the dinner dance at the hospital feel as if they are happening in real time and the criticism that would be easy to make is that Waters spends too long here.
But the story perhaps takes a different turn with the love blossoming because now Faraday is much more involved. He has a personal stake (Caroline) in the house and his ability to pretend that the strange things happening are still signs of tiredness or somehow cries for help are going to be more difficult to maintain.
The history of the child that died emerges and by now as a reader I’m more than happy to be carried along with a full blown supernatural wave happy to ignore Faraday’s voice of reason and immerse myself in the idea the old house is haunted.
More tomorrow…
