“A powerhouse storyteller delivers his most fantastic ride yet”…these aren’t my words. They come from the front cover blurb…from Ted Dekker. Ted has said frequently that he does not finish most of the books he reads because they just don’t hold his interest. So Liparulo getting a nod from Dekker is no easy task.

House of Dark Shadows is the first book in the Dreamhouse Kings series. Forced to uproot from the home in the city and move to the tiny town of Pinedale, Xander King and family settle in to their new town, where Xander’s dad will be principal. The house they move into is…different. It’s the classic Victorian house set back into the woods. Not even a driveway or a path from the road. It’s been sitting empty for 30 years. Rumor has it, the former family was killed by the father, who then killed himself. But their bodies were never found. Nor was the house ever emptied.

Now strange things are happening in the house. After hiding in the linen closet, Xander finds himself teleported to the inside of locker 119 of the local high school. And big bare footprints appear in house, evidencing that they aren’t the only ones living in house.

Xander and his brother David discover a secret attic which leads to a hall of antechambers, filled with mysterious gear and strange equipment. And the closets. Aren’t closets. They’re portals to another world, another time. Places that aren’t always that safe. Places that have people that make the big footprints they’ve found.

Things are not right. Not right at all. What if the big-footed man returns? Did he come from a portal? What does he want? Well…you’ll have to read the book.

House of Dark Shadows is a mixture of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe and Jumanji with a bit of The Shining thrown in for good measure. I wish the book hadn’t ended. At least on such a cliff-hanger ending. Because now I have to find the continuation of the story, book 2, Watcher in the Woods. Definite 5/5.