Review: The Vines by Christopher Rice

The Vines by Christopher Rice
Release Date: October 21st, 2014
Genre: Adult Fiction > Paranormal
Source: NetGalley (Thank you NetGalley & 47north!)
Find It: Amazon || GoodReads || B&N
Summary:

The dark history of Spring House, a beautifully restored plantation mansion on the outskirts of New Orleans, has long been forgotten. But something sinister lurks beneath the soil of the old estate.

After heiress and current owner Caitlin Chaisson is witness to her husband's stunning betrayal at her birthday party, she tries to take her own life in the mansion's cherished gazebo. Instead, the blood she spills awakens dark forces in the ground below. Chaos ensues and by morning her husband has vanished without a trace and his mistress has gone mad.

Nova, daughter to Spring House's groundskeeper, has always suspected that something malevolent haunts the old place, and in the aftermath of the birthday party she enlists Caitlin's estranged best friend, Blake, to help her get to the bottom of it. The pair soon realizes that the vengeance enacted by this sinister and otherworldly force comes at a terrible price.

I'll admit, I was a bit scared going into this one. Only because...  I mean, come on! His mother is Anne Rice! I was seriously preparing myself for the worst!

But the worst never really came. 

This follows Caitlin who has just inherited a mansion and caught her husband cheating on her. In the bathroom upstairs. Did I mention it was her birthday? I mean, we don't know much about her husband or the tramp he's with at this point just that dude is doing some major no-no crap right now. Come on man, it's your wife's birthday. You gotta be kidding me! Not knowing what else to do (though I don't really remember why she didn't just bust in there and shank a beezy) she attempts to end her life out in the garden. Only problem is, the garden doesn't want her to die. But it does want her blood. Next thing we know, lover boy and skank girl are sneaking out into the shed. Guess the bathroom wasn't big enough (that's what she said)? And I suppose we can assume the garden can read minds of those who just had their blood licked cleaned because the vines wasted no time eliminating her husband replacing him with a very peculiar looking flower. And whore bag? Well she went bat sh*t stumbling out of the shed.

The rest of the story pretty much follows not just Catlin but the vines and their victims. It also follows Blake, Caitlin's use-to-be-BFF before they had a really bad falling out and Nova, the housekeepers daughter. Nova knows something is up, she's always suspected something off about the property but no one wanted to listen to her. No one until now. Blake and Nova team up trying to uncover the secrets of the mansion and what it is the garden actually wants and how far it will go to get what it wants.

While this read didn't scare me or creep me up and it provided a lot of information about slavery, fiction or not, I admit I really really enjoyed this read. I don't usually stick to adult fiction but this one was a pretty good read for a night in October.

I may or may not be looking into two other titles by Christopher Rice.

"I would like a...  I would..."
Like a what? he wants to ask her. A Bible? A gun? A Valium?