When Jenine finds an abandoned Polaroid camera in a lighthouse, she takes a photo for fun. But there’s something very, very wrong with the picture: it contains ghosts.
Jenine and her best friend, Bree, realize the camera is capable of capturing the dead. But with each new photo taken, the specters become more aware and more alert, and begin stalking the friends. Desperate, they seek the help of a paranormal researcher. But his news isn’t good: they’ve meddled with a supernatural power far beyond their control, and the ghosts won’t stop… not until Jenine and Bree are dead.
Book Review Blog: Ghost Camera
As soon as I read the title of this book, images of Asian-influenced films such as Shutter and video games like Fatal Frame came to mind. Being a fan of both Asian horror films and the video game, I knew that I had to pick this book up for a read and prepare myself for some genuine scares. Little did I know that I had it all completely wrong.
Darcy Coates is a name that’s been milling around in my head for quite some time as she is known for her novels that revolve around haunted homes and read review after review praising the author. She’s been on my radar, but I never picked up any of her works for one reason or another. Enter Ghost Camera. The name in and of itself should have been a red flag as it was rather bland and unoriginal. Still, with all of Coates’ accolades as a writer surely, I could judge a book by its cover, right?
After reading the first couple of pages, much to my dismay, I knew what I was in for, and the disappointment set in immediately. I had to make sure that I was, indeed, reading a book from this reputable author who has garnered much acclaim for her work. In Ghost Camera, the writing was, to put it politely, juvenile, and I wondered who its intended audience the author was targeting – not I. The dialogue was infantile and very unrealistic. Reactions from both of our heroines, Jenine and Bree, were laughable at best, not fully appreciating the magnitude of this otherworldly discovery that had fallen onto their laps. That discovery is a camera that can capture spirits. Their reactions to having this prized possession amounted to the following,
“You can take photos of ghosts? Cool, but kinda creepy. I gotta go do something, but you’ll be ok, right? Good luck with your creepy camera. Yeah, thanks. Byeeee!“
I rolled my eyes, rolled my eyes again, and rolled my eyes some more. God knows I wanted to put myself out of my misery and stop reading, take a long drive, open my window, and toss the book out into the Hudson River. But that would be wrong. It could wash ashore, and some poor sap could pick it up, and *gulp* read it. But, alas, I didn’t dump it into the river because I made a promise to myself, as much as it tortures me to say, to see things through to the end. Plus, I didn’t want to contribute to the earth’s pollution.
To say this was a bad book would be kind. Ghost Camera was a joke if its intended audience was adults. There is nothing even remotely close to being scary unless you are an adolescent who has never seen a horror movie in your life or heard a ghost story.
If you haven’t guessed it by now, I disliked this book – massively. Words cannot express my utter disappointment after looking forward to getting my feet wet with author Darcy Coates. But, I am all about giving second chances, and I will check out another one of Coates’ books once the sour taste this book has left in my mouth dissipates. The only good thing I can say about this book is that it is very short at around 127 pages and a super-fast read, which allowed me to devour this book in a day. Again, not because I was captivated by its story but instead because I wanted to be done with this novel. I cannot recommend giving Ghost Camera a read. Avoid this one like the plague!