Chatroom With A View by Glenn Maynard – Review by Ayla Phipps

Chatroom with a View by Glenn Maynard
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the first book I have read by Glenn Maynard, and I was not disappointed. As a fan of true crime and history in that sense the synopsis intrigued me with the ties to Lizzie Borden. The synopsis mentions that the book starts with an episode and lord does it.
The perspective of the book is that of Troy Cullen a distant relative of Lizzie Borden. He is an only child and is currently 24 years old, only he still lives at home. Not because he can’t afford to move out but because his father is extremely violent and abusive and Troy lives to protect his mother. Until that day, returning home from work both of their cars are in the driveway which is strange but after searching the entire house he can’t find or hear any of them until he looks out a window into the back yard. On the family property was an old log cabin that was usually locked up like Fort Knox, having never seen anyone inside it the sight of movement draws Troy’s attention when he witnesses a tragedy, he always feared but knew was coming. Only after a lifetime of being told he would go to prison if something ever happened, he decides not to call the police but to coverup everything and keep his father alive and bound in the house. Life brings another twist when he learns that his ex-girlfriend is pregnant with his child. Being such a dysfunctional family in their small-town Veronica decides to dig into his family history, afraid she becomes determined to shield her unborn child from the evilness that lives within the family and genetics, but will it be enough?
Will Troy follow in his ancestors’ footsteps? What will happen to Veronica and their baby? Can Troy break the cycle or is he doomed to forever be a monster? Becoming his father was never his goal but now he sees a monster is within him too. The world the author builds, the characters and scenarios are realistic and have meat too them. Being well fleshed out and three dimensional I found myself holding my breath is several places and rushing to finish the chapter to start the next. This book keeps you on your toes guessing what will happen next and how it will end.

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