The Dark Hour: a dark thriller

The Dark Hour by KJ Young is a dark thriller. Mark Norman is desperate for a job. With bills and debts piling up, he takes a job as a live-in home health aide for Roy and Alma Walgrave, two wealthy elderly siblings. Living in the Alden Manor, a run-down mansion, the Walgraves are former stage magicians. While they give off eerie vibes, making strange requests of their employees, Mark ignores it all as they are wealthy and careless with their money. As he makes himself essential to the Walgraves, Mark finds himself dreaming of inheriting their fortunes. Despite warnings of evil, Mark ignores it all. Until odd and unsettling things begin to happen. He is terrified that he is losing his mind or even his life. But can he walk away when the possibility of a big financial windfall might be coming his way? 

I was looking forward to a good thriller. An eerie old house and warnings from a creepy stranger definitely sets the mood. What I got was a not-so-thrilling story as it reminded me too much of the film The Skeleton Key (2005). Mark is immediately unlikable and annoying and left me uncaring if he escaped this twisted web he found himself in. As the job offer comes to him, Mark thinks that luck is finally on his side. Even as he begins to suspect his job was too good to be true, his greed keeps him there. And the extent of the web he finds himself in was too convenient and left me wondering if I missed details that would link all the players. If you are a fan of dark thrillers, you may enjoy it. However, I do not recommend The Dark Hour. 

The Dark Hour is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook