Duivelsbroed

Inhoud

Na de plotselinge dood van har negenjarig dochtertje vestigt Julia Lofting zich in Londen om een nieuw leven te beginnen. Als zij de eerste dag al een glimp ziet van een knap klein meisje dat precies op haar overleden dochter lijkt, vindt ze geen rust. Langzamerhand krijgen angstaanjagende bovennatuurlijke krachten haar steeds meer in hun greep...

Bespreking

Great opening, poor ending

After the sudden death of her nine-year-old daughter, Julia Lofting decides to leave her tyrannical husband and move to London to start a new life. She buys a house but is unaware of the bad history of this new residence. When the first day she sees a nice young girl that looks very much like her deceased daughter, Julia is unable to find her much sought for peace of mind. Slowly but surely she starts to suspect that something supernatural is watching her, waiting for the ideal moment to strike.

And it all started so nicely: a lonely woman in a strange environment seeing things that are not there. The lively narrative of Peter Straub really gave me shivers of excitement. It was like reading one of those creepy old-fashioned haunted house stories so typical for the seventies. But sadly enough, every part of that exiting atmosphere is slowly killed off as the story evolves. It feels like Peter had a bright idea for the start of the novel, but did not find the energy to search for a nice ending. A pity.