Floating Staircase cover art

Floating Staircase

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About this listen

Following the success of his latest novel, Travis Glasgow and his wife Jodie buy their first house in the seemingly idyllic western Maryland town of Westlake. At first, everything is picture-perfect - from the beautiful lake behind the house to the rebirth of the friendship between Travis and his brother, Adam, who lives nearby. Travis also begins to overcome the darkness of his childhood and the guilt he's harbored since his younger brother's death - a tragic drowning veiled in mystery that has plagued Travis since he was 13. Soon, though, the new house begins to lose its allure. Strange noises wake Travis at night, and his dreams are plagued by ghosts. Barely glimpsed shapes flit through the darkened hallways, but strangest of all is the bizarre set of wooden stairs that rises cryptically out of the lake behind the house. Travis becomes drawn to the structure, but the more he investigates, the more he uncovers the house's violent and tragic past, and the more he learns that some secrets cannot be buried forever.

©2011 Ronald Malfi (P)2017 Journalstone Publishing Horror Suspense Thriller & Suspense Scary
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It was a bit flowery and maybe even a bit pretentious (the meta stuff didn't work for me- a fictional writer opining on good writing in a mediocre book that commits sone of the very faults he points out. I'm not sure if it was intentional irony, or what), the characters were frequently frustrating, and (because I listened to this), hot dang, the narrator was terrible at narrating women. Like, I can't even describe how bad. It was almost insulting. And actually, the writer wasn't so hot at writing women, either. The wife was done dirty. She was either fretful and teary or cute and sassy. Urgh.
Ok, but having said that, it was a pretty interesting story. I like ghost stories, and this one wasn't bad. Plenty of twists to keep you guessing (but also a lot of "ugh! seriously? why are you doing that?" moments). It felt a bit like a meditation on grief and survivor's guilt, but it never quite got there. It lacked depth, I think?
Also, the casual animal abuse scenes made ne want to vomit. Just mentioning.

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