Don't let the description on the cover flap fool you into believing that Audrey's Door by Sarah Langan is another of the same old, same old. The allure is the same as your favourite horror tropes, but the result from cover to cover is the breath-of-fresh-air different that the horror genre has waited for. But wait, I still hear someone out there saying, "But it's about a haunted Manhattan luxury apartment, for Chrissakes!" Well yeah, you've got me there. But let me explain.

Audrey Lucas is smart and ambitious, but like most of us, her life hasn't been all peaches and cream. She's been the awkward girl out, only ten-fold. Too many of us can understand that. She was engaged too, but she gave poor Saraub his Dear John letter before he could even think about a walk down the aisle. On the bright side, she has moved into an amazing apartment in an Upper West Side building called "The Breviary". Best of all, it's cheap. Dirt cheap. And here is where Langan would seem to slip back into the traditional, but not really.

Audrey's Door has a scrapbook beginning to chronicle The Breviary's rich past, but it's not The House on Haunted Hill. It's not Hell House either. When you sit down to read this novel (which I strong recommend that you do) you're going to read a story about people. Yes, some awful things happened in Audrey's bathtub, which would be enough to make this shower-addict try to get clean in the sink, but the building seems like more of a backdrop. This is very much a character-driven novel that involves a protagonist with concerns and circumstances that most of us can relate to on some level.

The novel's nastiest moments, or what some might call "The Scary Parts" often seen metaphorical of Audrey's deeper issues. In an age in which much of horror has evolved into "Dark Fiction", these symbols and themes have become increasingly significant. The gore-factor isn't terribly high, but Langan has proven to be an author who can disturb a reader by using substance.

Also important to note is that Langan has distinguished her third novel from her first two, because Audrey's Door isn't just like The Keeper and it isn't just like The Missing. Another achievement is the successful use of a female protagonist, with concerns and challenges that are unique to her, in a more general horror novel. This subtlety avoids the distraction of being considered "women's fiction" in horror and instead keeps the focus on Audrey's life.

Audrey's Door is a real winner and is an example of what horror fiction's evolution is all about. Trust me, her Stoker victories in the last two years have been no fluke. The HarperCollins novel hits bookstores on September 29th and it really should be pushed to the top of your must read list.