Presented as a version of gothic noir, the first half of The Darkling makes promises it fails to deliver. The tale begins in 1974, when Bob and Berta Henderson and their children—Margo, sixteen; Erin, twelve; and Donald, nine—all fair-haired California transplants, move into newly renovated estate Belle Fleur in Coden, Alabama. In the 1940s, Coden was a hideaway for movie stars and eccentric artistic types, but the elegant hotel bordering Belle Fleur is now in terminal disrepair. Among the blonde Hendersons, live-in tutor Mimi Bosarge stands out with her long dark hair but has comfortably integrated into the family of her three students.

Presented as a version of gothic noir, the first half of The Darkling makes promises it fails to deliver. The tale begins in 1974, when Bob and Berta Henderson and their children—Margo, sixteen; Erin, twelve; and Donald, nine—all fair-haired California transplants, move into newly renovated estate Belle Fleur in Coden, Alabama. In the 1940s, Coden was a hideaway for movie stars and eccentric artistic types, but the elegant hotel bordering Belle Fleur is now in terminal disrepair. Among the blonde Hendersons, live-in tutor Mimi Bosarge stands out with her long dark hair but has comfortably integrated into the family of her three students.

When the family agrees at the behest of Mimi's grandmother to take in a stranger, sixteen-year-old Annie, who professes no memory of her past, what begins as a gesture of kindness becomes instead a scene of tragedy: "The Hendersons opened a door to the past that should never have been unsealed." Dark-haired like Mimi, with an unusual, if feral beauty, Annie slides easily into her role as new family member. Unfortunately, teen Margo cannot hide her jealousy, sure the intruder has intentions of competing with her for the family's attention. Already caught up in a confrontational cycle with her mother, a condition common to most girls her age, Margo's rebellion exceeds the boundaries of what her parents are willing to tolerate. Annie is in the background, watching the unfolding drama with a sly smile.

Literally all hell breaks loose when Margo runs away. While the others frantically begin to search the wooded area around the mansion, Mimi takes note of Annie's reaction, at this point the only one questioning the girl's convenient lack of memory and pleasure in the family's discord since her arrival. Nothing has gone beyond the believable—yet. Before long, as tragedy strikes the household, so do visions of horrible scenes manifest themselves, but only to Mimi, otherworldly beings that threaten Erin and Donald. Now, there's the rub. Why can Mimi see and hear what no one else can? And if Annie is the link to the presence of evil, what is the significance of Mimi's insight?

There seems to be a battle between good and evil being waged amid the family dramas. And once the claws come out, so to speak, the violent incidents increase, most leading to gruesome, horrific deaths. Whatever has been unleashed appears to correlate with Annie's arrival, doing her bidding or acting as her "familiar," the Hendersons pawns of forces beyond them. Investigating Annie's background with a local private investigator who also dies in questionable circumstances, Mimi finds her suspicions confirmed and jumps into battle like an avenging angel. As tragic events unfold one after another, this particular visitation of evil develops in a cyclical pattern, destined to revisit the residents of Belle Fleur whenever a new family moves in. The problem is that there are so many outrageous events lacking explanation, so many secrets, bodies and inexplicable fires, that the plot loses all sense of continuity.

It seems obvious by this point (teeth-gnashing demons, amputated hands found in the woods, menacing doppelgangers of the children) that this novel is written to appeal to a less sophisticated audience, perhaps the teen horror market, the style and plot more suited to that genre. Chesterton is certainly no Stephen King, writing more on the level of the Twilight series and its ilk. But to expect a sophisticated reader to find this story credible is a bridge too far. In that case, there's a vacant estate I'd like to sell you in Coden, Alabama, called Belle Fleur.