by Richard Chizmar and W.H. Chizmar
Release Date: September 30, 2025
2025 Gallery Books
Ebook ARC; 336 Pages
ISBN: 978-1668057704
ASIN: B0DV651KYF
Audiobook: B0F3996BDK
Genre: Fiction / Horror
Source: Review copy from publisher
4 / 5 Stars
Summary
Longtime residents of Harper’s Cove believe that
something is wrong with the Widow’s Point Lighthouse. Some say it’s
cursed. Others claim it’s haunted.
Originally built in 1838, three workers were killed during the lighthouse’s construction, including one who mysteriously plunged to his death from the catwalk. In the decades that followed, nearly two dozen additional deaths occurred in or around the lighthouse including cold-blooded murder, suicide, unexplained accidents and disappearances, the slaughter of an entire family, and the inexplicable death of a Hollywood starlet who was filming a movie on the grounds.
The lighthouse was finally shuttered tight in 1988 and a security fence was erected around the property. No one has been inside since. Until now.
My Thoughts
Originally built in 1838, three workers were killed during the lighthouse’s construction, including one who mysteriously plunged to his death from the catwalk. In the decades that followed, nearly two dozen additional deaths occurred in or around the lighthouse including cold-blooded murder, suicide, unexplained accidents and disappearances, the slaughter of an entire family, and the inexplicable death of a Hollywood starlet who was filming a movie on the grounds.
The lighthouse was finally shuttered tight in 1988 and a security fence was erected around the property. No one has been inside since. Until now.
My Thoughts
Widow's Point was originally a short story that was expanded into this fleshier novel, and I enjoyed the story quite a bit. Now I am not one to get scared easily and I definitely have not really found a horror novel that scared me, even this one, so when I review horror novels, my reviews are NEVER based on scare value as that is so personal for everyone. Yes, I've been grossed out, weirded out, disturbed, felt a lot of tension while reading horror novels, but scared, where I have to sleep with the lights on? Never. And I have read hundreds of horror novels. But I love atmospheric novels, and man, did this one have atmosphere galore. The tension was definitely there as the characters slowly lost their grip on reality and tried to figure out what was happening. Where I got lost was in the ending.
Most of the story is told through two story lines, the first in 2017 and the second, in 2025. Both are found footage using video cams, audio recordings, video recordings, diary entries, etc... I love found footage type horror novels so this was right up my alley. Both of the stories had slow-burn starts, but when they picked up, they definitely picked up and the tension continued right through to the end. And mannequins, the one thing that will creep me the hell out which is why there are no dolls in my house, AT ALL. The atmosphere was amazing, creepy, and the descriptions of the lighthouse just creeped me right out. I liked how the author combined the history of the lighthouse, the personal histories of the characters, and the legends and lord surrounding the lighthouse with what was currently happening in this locked-room type setting. Even though the characters could leave the lighthouse, you knew they wouldn't be able to actually leave the lighthouse, if you know what I mean. You could just see how the lighthouse was preying on each character, their fears, their past histories in order to destroy their minds and keep them there. It was definitely eerie, that's for sure.
Considering what was happening, you definitely have some half-decent character development and each character had their own individual quirks and nuances so it was easy to keep them separate. I empathized with all of them and hope that things would go well, but messing around with darkness is certainly not a wise thing to do. This had Blair Witch vibes all over it, and the way the authors created tension in this book was quite good. I prefer sinister tension, one that slowly builds to a crescendo, not cheap shock tropes that are so pervasive in so many novels, so this one appealed to me quite a bit. You know, the kind where you know something is going to happen, and you are constantly yelling at the characters to get out while they can, but they brush everything off, but the viewer can see what is happening behind them.
Verdict
Widow's Point had a lot of things in this book that I love in a horror novel: it had atmosphere, tension, found footage, diaries, historical events, creepiness, fog, water, etc... The tension built up slowly and never let up. Do I think there was anything really innovative and new in this book? No, not really. But what was here was well done, and I enjoyed it. Where it did lose me was the last entry in the book. I understood it, but... I am definitely looking forward to more from this duo as they write my kind of creepiness. For the record, if this lighthouse existed, I wouldn't step a toe in the building.
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