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Colquitt and Walter Kennedy, a middle-aged couple, are childless but contented. They live in a wealthy Atlanta suburb where they enjoy the privacy and scenery provided by an empty wooded lot next door. Although they considered buying the lot when they purchased their house, they were told that its odd shape and steepness would prevent anyone from building on it. Colquitt is disturbed when construction begins there on an ultramodern house, and she dreads the loss of privacy and seclusion that new neighbors will surely bring.
The Kennedys become acquainted with the red-bearded young architect, Kim Dougherty. Colquitt has a special friendship with him.
Three stories tell of the three families who move into the house and are forced to leave because of strange accidents and unexplained events. Colquitt is convinced the house is haunted and that it preys on the residents' weaknesses. Its eerie influence soon spreads to other families in the neighborhood. The increase in tension is gradual and frightening, as the house itself becomes an evil character in the story.
I love the descriptions and word images that Siddons uses in her writing, and her characters are always believeable and well-developed. I thoroughly enjoyed the satisfyingly shocking ending.
Originally published in 1978, The House Next Door is Siddons's sole horror novel, a departure from her usual works of women's fiction.
Reviewed by Marie DisBrow
for The Road to Romance
January 14, 2005
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