Classics Challenge: Mid-Month Update

Jamaica Inn is a dark book.

Okay, in that sentence book = first five chapters.
But still.
The book begins with the main character, Mary's, mother dying after a six month illness. Since her father passed away years before, she's left an orphan. Off she goes to live with her aunt at a remote lodging-house called Jamaica Inn.
Mary remembered her aunt as a jovial woman fond of frivolities.
That was before her aunt married an abusive, crazy, ape-like man. Now she's skittering creature afraid of everything. Mary finds herself trapped in this drafty old inn with a terrifying Uncle.
The one redeeming quality is Mary's attitude. She takes everything in stride, isn't entirely cowed by Uncle Joss, and takes to exploring the moors.
I'm not sure this is going to be a book I'm going to finish. It's hard to describe, but there's something missing in the writing style. Don't get me wrong, there are moments of great prose and the characters are real enough, but the story itself isn't engaging.
Then again, who knows? Maybe come October 31st I'll be reporting that I loved "Jamaica Inn," just like I did with "Gone With the Wind."