Book review: The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich

Title: The Dead House
Author: Dawn Kurtagich
Published: 6th August 2015
Publisher: Orion Children's Books

It has been a while since I have read a book that really scared me, but after reading this, it all changed. The Dead House tells the gritty story of a mysterious event that happened twenty five years ago. Elmbridge High School burnt down, killing three people, injuring many and led to the unexplainable disappearance of one girl- Carly Johnson. Little was known about the case until a diary was found in the school ruins. A diary written by her twin Kaitlyn, which reveals the eery events that led up to the fire. One of the most mysterious of them being that Kaitlyn never existed.
I will be the first to admit that I am a complete and utter wimp, so my god did this book scare me! There is a LOT of parnormal activity in The Dead House and I think this is what made me sleep with the light on on the first night of reading- something I have not done for many years. So I guess saying that this book scared me is a slight understatement!
Despite this book freaking me out and making me act like a child imagining monsters under the bed and demon like ghosts in the room, I could not stop reading! It is written in a documentary type style with snippets from Kaitlyn's diary, video transcripts and police interviews, making the story feel real and quite unique in its story delivery. You really feel that the evidence is coming together as you read and it definitely keeps you on your toes! I think this partly what will make you whizz through as the narrative changes and the piecing together of all the transcripts keep the fast pace of the story. 
A small confession here- I was tempted to give up at the beginning as the story wasn't really gripping me, but then bam! This book became a compulsive read, I had to keep on reading. You will want to know what will happen next and eagerly read on. 
With Halloween upon us, if you are looking for a spooky read then I cannot recommend The Dead House enough!