Blackwater, Part III: The House

No matter how horrifying the events unfolding in Perdido, Alabama are, one can't help but get drawn back into the web of lies and bitter betrayals that permeate the Caskey family in the Blackwater series. Elinor Dammert made her appearance after the flood - she married Oscar Caskey and insinuated herself into the family over the wishes of Oscar's mother, Mary-Love. She bored him two children - Miriam was given to Mary-Love in exchange for ownership of the house that she gave them for their marriage, and young Frances was kept by Oscar and Elinor. James mourned the death of his wife, Genevieve, who died in that tragic car accident (or was it?) and cherished his young daughter Grace all the more.  Young John Robert DeBordenave went missing, even though Elinor knew what really happened to him just before the cornerstone was laid for the new levee. Sister married Early Haskew and moved off to Chattanooga.  Queenie saw the return of her ex-con husband, who raped her and left her with child. Despite Mary-Love's best efforts to keep utter control of her family, ever since the arrival of Elinor, the Caskey family and anyone within their reach seemed to be coming apart at the seams...

And now we come to third installment in the Blackwater series - The House.

Author Michael McDowell delves deeper into the familial relations of the Caskeys as the grow older and tensions are pulled tighter. McDowell also raises the ante on the underlying horror that is Elinor Caskey, as her true nature becomes more and more apparent.  While the main story comes across as a family drama from the Depression Era, there is a continuation of the undercurrent of dark horror connected with the Perdido River and how it is used by Elinor to perpetrate unspeakable horrors on those who dare to get in her way.  McDowell opens this book with a look at the youngest of the Caskeys - Miriam and Frances Caskey.  They may be sisters, and they may be close in age, but they could not be any more different.  Raised by the matriarch, Mary-Love, Miriam has become a mirror image of her grandmother and has adapted to her grandmother's hatred of Elinor and resentment towards Frances.  Frances, on the other hand, remains frail and meek - a young girl who only seeks the lover of her sister and grandmother, which, sadly, she will never have.  Of course, Frances has one thing going for her that Miriam and Mary-Love do not - a mother who has a supernatural connection to the mighty river that flows behind their homes.

There is a lot that takes place in the 121-pages of story this book offers up. Sister returns home for a visit, and we learn more things about her relationship with Early Haskew (which, as those who read The Levee know, was not exactly founded on the most loving of relations). Carl returns to Perdido, having been released from prison, and settles in with his wife, Queenie and their three children - which, of course, causes a lot of stress for Queenie, who ultimately turns her youngest son, Danjo, over to James to raise (since his daughter, Grace, has gone off to college) to protect him from Carl.  The Depression hits America, and it eventually makes its way to Perdido, where its affects are felt when the bank calls in the loan given to Oscar to buy all that land in the previous book - and Oscar proves he has more smarts than he is given credit for when he turns to his mother for help in paying off the loan so he can keep the property, but she turns him down out of her hatred for Elinor (something Oscar anticipated, because he already planned to get the money from James, who co-signed the loan and who was just as responsible for the debt - but his test proved to Oscar once and for all that his mother would turn her back on him just to spite his wife).  And when Queenie is nearly killed by Carl, she moves in with Elinor and Oscar to recuperate - which begins the spiral path that leads the Caskey to a major loss that will forever change the dynamic of the family...

Now, where is the horror, you may ask? Well, for starters, there is that strange closet in the front room of the second story of Oscar and Elinor's house. When Frances is made to stay in that room while Queenie recovers, Frances sees the ghost of John Robert DeBordenave, who appears alongside a strange white light that illuminates the entire room.  And when Carl takes action to try and retrieve his wife or see her die for leaving him, Elinor steps in and sees that Carl never harms anyone ever again (and in a very gruesome manner!).  Finally, when Frances becomes ill following the Carl incident, it is up to her mother to nurse her back to health using water from the Perdido River that flows just behind their house.  The same water that Elinor later uses to show Mary-Love once and for all who has the true power in the Caskey family.

The Flood may have been the introduction, and The Levee was the first act, The House definitely hits what can be described as the crescendo of this tale.  What started out as a bit slow-moving has definitely increased in intensity, as the characters evolve and continue building towards the ultimate climax of what is to come.  By this point, it's pretty clear that Elinor has a goal in mind - what's not so clear is whether she is the villain or the Caskeys are the villains.  As in real life, humanity can often be the real monster.  Carl definitely showed that, first by raping his own wife in the last book, and then by his hateful, murderous actions in this book. That is why, when he meets his fate, the reader doesn't have one ounce of sympathy for the man - quite frankly, he gets what he deserves.  But what is going to happen to the innocents of this series?  Django?  Frances? Oscar? James? Sister? Queenie?  Grace?  With three books left in the series, I am definitely getting more and more interested in where this story will ultimately take these characters.

McDowell is a mastermind with the subtle horror and suspense, and I'm honestly glad I waited until I was older to read this series, as I may not have enjoyed it as much as a teenager (when this originally came out).  

RATING:  9 glasses of cold nectar out of 10 for developing the characters in this story in such a way that the reader can't help but get drawn into their drama, both human and otherwise!