"Listen with your eyes. Seek out the sound in the darkness..."
✨ 4
What starts off as curious and mysterious, soon melds itself into the suspenseful, psychological-thriller, paranormal-like world of Kit Capriol. At first I didn't know what to make of Kit. There was just something about her that I couldn't quite put my finger on. But as the chapters unfolded, Kit Capriol and the intricacies of her world urged me to keep turning the pages.
Although The Summoning is filled with uncanny coincidences, séances, psychological, and paranormal-like themes, I wouldn't say that this is a horror novel as some others have suggested. At least for me, there was nothing in this book to keep me up listening to the things that go bump in the night. The slow-burn mystery that was unraveling itself though...that was enough to keep me up past bed time. J.P. Smith's writing style took some getting used to, but once settled in, it was hard to put The Summoning down. With short, teasing chapters, it was easy to say "just another chapter".
Where Kit ordered a "double vodka rocks, same as always." I ordered another chapter every night before bed time.
At times things were a little bit all over the place, but I do feel that this was intentional. Faced with overwhelming financial stress, coated with a sticky layer of emotional and mental stress, grief, and all the gritty in-betweens, Kit's headspace is overloaded. With poor coping mechanisms (try alcohol abuse), Kit is generally speaking, an unreliable narrator seemingly spiraling down a path of madness. This in itself can make things a bit all over the place. Yet, there is more than meets the eye here...and whenever I found myself wondering why Kit wasn't thinking about things, or looking into things, that seemed like glaringly obvious red flags, I had to remind myself of these factors. J.P. Smith added an interesting layer to Kit by making her self-aware of her mental health issues. I was a little let down by the ending and without saying to much, I had hoped for an ending with a little more umph. Although I appreciated the coda, it did feel a smidge rushed.
Overall this was an entertaining read. If you're a fan of psychological/mystery/suspense/paranormal reads, I recommend giving The Summoning a try.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily because books are cool!
