Charles and Laura are a young, happily married couple inhabiting the privileged world of Cambridge academia. Brimming with excitement, Charles sets off with his daughter Naomi on a Christmas Eve shopping trip to London. But, by the end of the day, all Charles and his wife have left are cups of tea and police sympathy. For Naomi, their beautiful, angelic only child, has disappeared. Days later her murdered body is discovered.
But is she dead?
In a howling, bumping story of past and present-day hell, Jonathan Aycliffe’s haunting psychological masterpiece is guaranteed to make you sink to untold depths of teeth-shaking terror.
Horror Novel Review: Naomi’s Room
Naomi’s Room by Jonathan Aycliffe has been on my radar for some time, having heard that it is on top of people’s lists of one of the scariest books they have read. Naturally, I was compelled to track down a copy of my own to give it a read. Despite this, it would take me a few years to do that. It wasn’t until a few months ago that I found a copy online and figured it would be a good time to read for October just in time for Halloween.
After the sudden disappearance of their daughter, Naomi, the lives of husband and wife, Charles and Laura, curtail into a nightmare when police find her murdered and mutilated body. Immediately, as a parent, the notion of such a thing happening to my kids brings a terrible feeling of horror and disgust. For Charles, a multitude of emotions are present in that he was with Naomi on the dreadful day of her disappearance in London, away from their home in the countryside, for a day of last-minute Christmas shopping. It is in this home, away from the city’s hustle and bustle, where Charles and Laura hope to find solace and comfort with one another after the tragedy of losing their child. But, someone, or something, has other things in mind for the bereaved young couple as they are tormented in the cover of darkness.
I could not wait for night to come so I could get into bed with a small reading light and engulf myself in the horrors that awaited me in Naomi’s Room. I would say that the first half of Naomi’s Room lived up to its reputation with scenes and passages that sent chills down my spine with a captivating and sometimes heart-wrenching mystery. Aycliffe’s writing prose was masterful and engaging. Still, as I neared the book’s conclusion when the mystery began to unravel, there was a slight lull in the narrative as it was bogged down by our protagonist’s extensive research on trying to uncover the truth of everything that unfolded. This is not to say that it deterred the overall story, but it did slow things down a bit for me, albeit its necessity for the narrative to make sense at its conclusion. There was just way too much backstory for my liking. This did, however, display Aycliffe’s writing and exquisite attention to detail.
Again, with about three-quarters of the book, a wonderful and classic ghost story is told complete with an eerie atmosphere and compelling storytelling. But, somewhere towards its conclusion, it went slightly off the rails where “shock and awe” came to the forefront, and the ghostly occurrences took a backseat. At this point, the frights ceased, and it was as if Aycliff kicked it into high gear and relied on more explicit content. I don’t sway away from graphic content and can stomach it, but, again, because more than half of the book is told with such a literary admiration, this turn came from left field and what some may deem shocking. However, there were hints strewn about the novel that could have pointed to this seemingly unexpected turnabout.
While Naomi’s Room was somewhat disappointing, there is no doubt that Arycliff’s writing is impressive and produced the desired effect when warranted. The story itself, while somewhat flawed, is incredibly ambitious, creative, and bold. Although the book’s conclusion left me slightly dissatisfied, the journey was, for the most part, successful, and in no way has this deterred me away from this author.
Take a look at more of my horror novel reviews.