77 Shadow Street by Dean Koontz

The Pendleton has a dark history of murders, suicides, and mysterious disappearances but for its current residents it was a beautiful home and a refuge from their past. A series of bizarre events however turned this sanctuary into a trap. 

2011 marks the 38th year since the last gruesome event at Pendleton. The original owner Andrew North Pendleton was not its first victim. The mysterious events go back in time even before the construction of the mansion in 1880s, according to Witness, a lingering presence whose motives are still yet unknown. 

The current residents of the apartments at Pendleton experience strange events like elevators going down 30 floors below, TV screens announcing extermination of the residents, and people wearing clothes from another era walking the hallways and then disappearing. The story is told from individual points of view of the characters including Witness and an omnipotent entity who calls itself the One. Things worsen as some residents see shadows moving and then one of the occupants goes off killing people.

Whatever happened to people who lived in the Pendleton in the past must be happening again. Maybe they will experience for themselves the forces that drove people to commit murder and suicide, but with a price. What they were about to discover was something beyond their human power to stop and all they could do is survive through it alive and sane.

If the Pendleton's history didn't creep you out, the things that its current residents have discovered and are about to experience will. The idea of an awful, unstoppable force is terrifying. What's more, the residents cannot do anything about it but ride through all the changes and try to survive. The background and buildup of tension is consistent throughout the book. There is a sense of helplessness despite the wealth, power and prestige of the residents; both the kindhearted and corrupt people were not spared. From start to finish I was always afraid I might discover something more frightening than the last. I did not even have any idea how the residents might survive all the events especially when some things started hunting them down. And when I thought I read all the horrifying details, Koontz adds more as the residents discover what awaits them below the Pendleton near the end of the book.

The ending was unexpected and almost anticlimactic however. It was completely different  from what I was expecting and yet that must be the only way to end it;  for what choice do the residents have against such forces? After all, the antagonist here isn't something they can send to jail or stab to death like those from other Koontz books. I wanted more confrontations and casualties as well, but some small twists and the appearance of unlikely allies made up for the lack in action.

The book definitely had more than a little influence of Lovecraft in it, but Koontz showed that he is still good at what he does. It has been a while since he last wrote a horror novel and 77 Shadow Street* was not a disappointment.

Rating: 9 out of 10

*This edition contains the short story Moonlit Mind about events from across Pendleton which provides a sinister backdrop to events at the apartments.