Jake Logan is one of those small-town kids who escaped to the big city. Maryville, North Carolina is where he grew up, but it never felt like home, so he moved on with his life when he reached adulthood, moved to Boston, and left his parents behind. Years later he has returned, his parents long past, to visit his ancestral home for a short while. It's not a day after settling in that things begin to go terrible wrong, and what at first seems like a string of bad luck quickly takes a turn for the preternatural.

This is a weird one for me. I didn't technically dislike it, but I found myself extremely disappointed by the ending. This is amost never the case with me, I generally accept a story for what it is and can acknowledge that the author did what they did for the reason, but this one had me puzzled, because the end felt out of character for the main character, and the entire time I felt like it was leading in the exact opposite direction.

Anyway, it was a decent book, if not a teensy bit stereotypical in most aspects. I enjoyed the experience, it was creepy in places, and overall I give it a not-great but perfectly satisfactory 3-stars. ( )

The first thing I noticed about this book is the cover. I think it is gorgeous, and a bit misleading for a Gothic novel, it looks more like a fantasy with this cover, in my opinion. Well, you know what they say about covers and books. The author calls this book genre Snowbird Gothic, I have to admit I don't understand the term but Gothic it definitely is. I enjoyed this book, I haven't read a good scary story in awhile and the author did scare me in this one. There are some twists and turns and some unexpected points, which is always good in a ghost story. Take a look and tell me what you think! ( )

Hello creepy haunted house book! Even though it may be a way too overwritten topic, this book manages to take it to a whole new level. Loved the ambiance the author created: it sure gave me goosebumps every now and then. When you think you have this one figured out, keep reading, because it sure wasn't what or who you were thinking in the first place. ( )

Firefly Rain was the creepiest book I've read in a while, and I mean that in a good way!A quote on the back cover refers to this book as horror, but this isn't what I think of when I see that label.The novel has a very gothic feel, with mysterious happenings, a spooky house, a young protagonist at a crossroads in his life (although I tend to think of gothic novels as featuring women), and even a little romance (key to the plot, although not to the storytelling).The book examines what it mean to be from someplace and what it means to belong somewhere. The small town seems like a character at times, and you wonder if the residents are driving the towns atmosphere, or if the town is influencing the actions of the people.I found Jacob to be flawed but sympathetic, and even more importantly, I found him interesting. He's worked hard on his business all of his adult life, and has retreated to his childhood home to decide what comes next.The secondary characters were flat, but deliberately so, I think. They were catalysts in a story that really was about Jacob, his parent's house and the town he was raised it.I'm looking forward to reading more by Richard Dansky. ( )

This book moved very fast! I enjoyed following Jacob as he tries to figure out why strange things are happening in and around his childhood home. The fact that no fireflies would come onto his property was creepy and then to find out that when they were forced by Jacob to come into his yard, they immediately died. What did it mean? Was there a connection to his dead parents, whose graves are in a field behind the house? And what about Carl....a cranky old codger that never wants to be bothered, yet he is always showing up at Jacob's door?

I liked Mr. Danksy's writing style. I am also a sucker for Southern Fiction, especially North Carolina, since this is where I live. This is the first novel of his that I have read, and it won't be the last. My attention was held throughout the book, and the ending was something not to be believed. I highly recommend it!

If you enjoy scary books, then this is a must- read for you. Southern Gothic Horror at it's best! ( )