Ghosts – Grab This Book

Bloody Scotland 2023 – Alice Bell – Grave Expectations

The countdown is on to Bloody Scotland 2023. This is Scotland’s International Crime Writing Festival and this year another stellar ensemble of writers will arrive in Stirling to discuss all things criminal, both fictional and factual. It’s one of the highlights of the year and if you’ve never experienced the friendly buzz of a book festival then I’d urge you to browse the programme and get along to Stirling if you can. For those that cannot attend in person there is also the option to join digitally as many events are available to enjoy online. You can visit the festival website here: https://bloodyscotland.com/

GRAVE EXPECTATIONS

Claire and Sophie aren’t your typical murder investigators…

When 30-something freelance medium Claire Hendricks is invited to an old university friend’s country pile to provide entertainment for a family party, her best friend Sophie tags along. In fact, Sophie rarely leaves Claire’s side, because she’s been haunting her ever since she was murdered at the age of seventeen.

On arrival at The Cloisters it quickly becomes clear that this family is hiding more than just the good china, as Claire learns someone has recently met an untimely end at the house.

Teaming up with the least unbearable members of the Wellington-Forge family – depressive ex-cop Basher and teenage radical Alex – Claire and Sophie determine to figure out not just whodunnit, but who they killed, why and when.

Together they must race against incompetence to find the murderer – before the murderer finds them… in this funny, modern, media-literate mystery for the My Favourite Murder generation.

I’m reviewing my personal copy of Grave Expectations. My thanks to Fiona Brownlee for the opportunity to host this leg of the Bloody Scotland blog tour.

There’s something for every reading taste at Bloody Scotland and on Saturday morning the place to be for fans of cosy crime is the Golden Lion – the Cosy Thrills panel begins at 10:30 am and I’ll be there to hear Alice Bell discussing the fabulous Grave Expectations. Selected by Radio 2 as a Book Club choice, this story has ghosts, a possible murder, a family with more than their fair share of trust issues and a tradition of booking terrible entertainment for their grandmother’s birthday celebrations.

The “entertainment” booked in Grave Expectations is Claire. She is a medium who has been booked by an old university chum to attend Nana’s birthday party and host a seance with the guests. Claire is skint and very much in the market to visit a large ancestral family estate out in the middle of nowhere as she can bump up her normal rates and maybe even get a nice dinner out of it. Things don’t quite go to plan.

Claire is actually a successful medium, mainly because her schoolfriend Sophie is on hand to help. Sophie’s dead. She appeared to Claire after her death and their friendship picked up from where it had left off. Sophie is the best associate a medium can have as she is free to snoop around, listen to conversations without being seen and can also help drum up other spirits for Claire to chat to.

The evening before Nana’s birthday party Claire is encouraged to do a mini-seance for family members. There is the usual mix of believers and doubters in the small group but Claire does manage to convince Nana that she has been able to bring a ghost to the table (literally) and this is more than enough evidence Nana needs to enlist Claire to help her. Nana belives there has been a murder committed by one of her family and she wants Claire (and Sophie) to find out who was killed and identify the killer too.

Thus begins a murder investigation quite unlike anything I’ve read before. Claire and Sophie enlist the help of Basher (former cop but there’s a story there) and Alex who’s quite happy to help out and share their weed on the condition nobody tells their Aunt. A more diverse collection of sleuths you’d be pressed to find – particulaly as they can’t even all speak with each other. But they are utterly fabulous to read about.

The last author that had me laughing out loud as I read their books was Terry Pratchett. Taking up the mantle is Alice Bell (I hope she’s okay with that). Alice has laced Grave Expectations with comic asides, inappropriate interjections and hilarious set-ups that I was hugely entertained from the very first chapters. A large part of this comes from the fact Sophie can only be heard by Claire and, as such, she is not hesitant at making her feelings known. She fills the silence in conversations with the unspoken (and unfiltered) thoughts. It gives the author scope to lighten the tone of the story whenever needed and that makes Grave Expectations hugely entertaining to read.

I had so much fun reading this book. I am concerned the dead companion may put off some readers who enjoy their stories a little more “grounded”. But honestly this shouldn’t stop anyone from enjoying a smart and well worked mystery story. It’s refreshing to see a different approach to crime fiction and Alice Bell absolutely nails it by making the presence of the spirits in her story absolutely normal and non-sensationalist – we just accept Sophie (and others) are dead and get on with solving a murder. Glorious.

Alice will be appearing at Bloody Scotland on the Cosy Thrills panel on Saturday 16 September in the Golden Lion. Alice will be joined by JM Hall and Suk Pannu. You can order tickets here: https://bloodyscotland.com/events/cosy-thrills-jm-hall-suk-pannu-and-alice-bell/

Grave Expectations is published by Atlantic Books. It was a Radio Two Book Club selection and is available in hardback, digital and audio book format. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/grave-expectations/alice-bell/9781838958398

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October 18

The Dying Squad – Adam Simcox (audiobook)

WHO BETTER TO SOLVE A MURDER THAN A DEAD DETECTIVE?

When Detective Inspector Joe Lazarus storms a Lincolnshire farmhouse, he expects to bring down a notorious drug gang; instead, he discovers his own dead body and a spirit guide called Daisy-May.

She’s there to enlist him to the Dying Squad, a spectral police force made up of the recently deceased. Joe soon realises there are fates far worse than death. To escape being stuck in purgatory, he must solve his own murder.

Reluctantly partnering with Daisy-May, Joe faces dangers from both the living and the dead in the quest to find his killer – before they kill again.

I am reviewing my bought copy of the audiobook of The Dying Squad

The blurb (above) actually contains spoilers for the first few chapters of the book. Probably just as well as it would be really tricky to try to review The Dying Squad while trying to keep quiet the fact the lead character, Joe Lazarus, is dead. Not that Lazarus knows it immediately. We join him on a stakeout as he prepares to bring down a gang who have been providing drugs to the local community. The property under surveliance is an isolated farmhouse but when Lazarus enters the property he finds two suspects dead in the hallway and – shockingly – his own dead body in an upstairs room.

Throughout this introduction Lazarus is being accompanied by Daisy-May. She strolled over to speak with him while he was watching the farmhouse and then, despite all his warnings, she followed him into the property and was with him when he discovered his body. Daisy-May is dead too. But she has had more experience at being dead and it is her job to guide him into his afterlife and into purgatory.

No rest for Joe Lazarus, he has a job to do for the woman that runs purgatory. She needs Lazarus to return to earth and find his killer. He will have Daisy-May for company and she will help him investigate and to understand what he can and cannot do now that he is dead. Having Lazarus and Daisy-May together for so much of the story means their interactions need to be fun and by God they are. I loved the zippy one-liners, the sass and the sarcasm. Daisy-May is such a strong character and I loved listening to her keeping Lazarus in check.

One element of The Dying Squad which I really enjoyed was the way Adam Simcox built up the real world, the afterlife and how the characters traverse between the two. Then there are the citizens of purgatory – a mass of lost souls or a sinister collective seeking a purpose? I wasn’t sure how they may fit into the story but contrast that to the evil forces (both on this earth and beyond it). There are bad guys in The Dying Squad and there are REALLY bad guys. The author can dispense some particularly nasty punishment to his characters when a fate worse than death is a geninue threat that will keep them focused on their mission.

It’s clever and creative storytelling in The Dying Squad and as all the “normal” rules are suspended I really did not know what may lie ahead for Lazarus and Daisy-May. Adam Simcox does a great job of developing his key characters, I was buying into their stories right from the first pages and the shocks they expereinced were equally shocking to me. Terrific fun to read – or to listen to in my case.

The audiobook is narrated by Sophie Aldred (soon to be seen back on our television screens reprising her role as Ace in Doctor Who). As a long time fan of the Big Finish Doctor Who audio adentures I have listened to Sophie Aldred’s voice on more dog walks than I can count. As such, listening to her reading The Dying Squad was an absolute treat. She captured the feisty nature of Daisy-May superbly and brought the gravitas and drama for Lazarus as he contended with the changes in his life (beginning with his death). I have a short list of favourite audiobook narrators but after hearing The Dying Squad I will need to make that short list a little bit longer.

The Dying Squad comes with lashings of darkness and you’ll need to have an acceptance for fantasy in your crime stories to enjoy this book as much as I did. Personally I couldn’t get enough of this story and because I was a little late to the party in discovering The Dying Squad the sequal, The Generation Killers, has already been released. Reader – I have bought that too.

The Dying Squad is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-dying-squad/adam-simcox/9781473230767

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June 22

The Haunting of Crimshaw Manor – Mark E Drotos

Every town has a mystery.

The Crimshaw family were once the caretakers of the prestigious Strathmore Estate. After the great blizzard of 1868, the townspeople found Elizabeth Crimshaw’s body hanging from the banister. Her young son and husband were declared missing and never found.

Every town has a legend.

The locals say they have seen Elizabeth’s ghost and that the manor is haunted. Others claim to have heard a woman’s scream and have witnessed strange lights and shadow people.

Some mysteries are better left unsolved.

What really happened to the promising Crimshaw family? Are the rumors surrounding the family true? Intent on investigating these claims, Stephen Davenport, adjunct professor of Paranormal Studies at Strathmore University, along with students from the school’s paranormal investigations club begin a weekend investigation.

What they find confirms their beliefs in the paranormal—and challenges them to simply stay alive.

I received a review copy of The Legend of Crimshaw Manor from the publisher through Netgalley

Sometimes a book lands on my Kindle and it’s the type of story I need to read right there and then. That’s what happened with The Legend of Crimshaw Manor. I was in the mood for a chilling horror tale and I stumbled upon Crimshaw Manor – the timing was perfect so I dipped straight in and before I knew it I was over 30% of the way through the book. The whole story was read over three days but only because I was having a busy weekend so didn’t get as much reading time I had hoped.

Stephen Davenport is the lead character in this creepy tale. He has an ability to see ghosts and is brought to Strathmore University to take on a professor role overseeing Paranormal Studies. Stephen comes to Strathmore and finds himself offered the opportunity to supplement his income by overseeing the management of a new nightclub which is being built/renovated in one of the old abandoned buildings in town. His friend knows Stephen can’t run a bar but would like him to be around on the property to oversee things while the construction is ongoing. Needless to say the old building where Stephen will be sleeping houses a few ghosts and it’s clear Stephen is going to be encountering more than a few spirits in this story.

Stephen’s department get the opportunity to investigate an old house on the edge of town – Crimshaw Manor. The house is famed locally as being haunted and the story of its former residents is disturbing and tragic. A couple and their young son moved to the house many decades ago. They were not used to the area and were unaware of the need to adequately prepare for winter. The snows came early and the family were cut off from the rest of the town. They had little food and no means to contact the outside world for help. The family didn’t survive but exactly what happened to them while they were snowed in to their home is not clear.

Now Stephen and two of his students are at Crimshaw Manor and they are brining all their best scientific gear to the old property to see if they can record the presence of ghosts. Suffice to say their weekend is going to be eventful.

I will confess to being a fan of a good haunted house story and there were more than a few chilling chapters in this book which kept me well entertained. Not all threats which the team encounter are supernatural and there are some good action sequences thrown in too. Combine these with flashbacks into Stephen’s past and there’s a lot of creepy action to enjoy here. One minor quibble, the scenes between those chilling moments didn’t hold me quite the same way – I wanted back to the spooky stuff – and one of the support characters brought slightly too much comedy when I didn’t always feel it was needed. Minor, as I say – the chills really outweighed the niggles.

The Haunting of Crimshaw Manor is published on 12 July 2022 and will be available in digital and hardback editions. You can pre-order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Haunting-Crimshaw-Manor-Mark-Drotos-ebook/dp/B09ZMVPP48/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2KOJS5Q3YKHRY&keywords=crimshaw+manor&qid=1652990655&sprefix=c%2Caps%2C47&sr=8-1

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January 16

The Library of the Dead (Edinburgh Nights 1) -T. L. Huchu

When ghosts talk, she will listen . . .

Ropa dropped out of school to become a ghostalker – and she now speaks to Edinburgh’s dead, carrying messages to the living. A girl’s gotta earn a living, and it seems harmless enough. Until, that is, the dead whisper that someone’s bewitching children – leaving them husks, empty of joy and life. It’s on Ropa’s patch, so she feels honour bound to investigate. But what she learns will change her world.

She’ll dice with death (not part of her life plan . . .) as she calls on Zimbabwean magic and Scottish pragmatism to hunt down clues. For Edinburgh hides a wealth of secrets. And in the process, she discovers an occult library and some unexpected allies. Yet as shadows lengthen, will the hunter become the hunted?

Opening up a world of magic and adventure, The Library of the Dead by T. L. Huchu is the first book in the Edinburgh Nights series.

My thanks to Jamie-Lee at Black Crow for inviting me to read The Library of the Dead. I received a copy of the book from the publishers through Netgalley.

Book One of the Edinburgh Nights series. Perfect. Not the first in the “Ropa” series but the Edinburgh Nights series. Why is that a good start? Quite simply if the series is named after a character then you know that no matter how bad things get – the lead character will pull through. Reacher, Rebus, Baggins, Morse…okay maybe not Morse but you get my point. But The Library of the Dead is about the Library, it is the Edinburgh Nights series – will our lead character, Ropa, make it to the end of the book? Well I am not sharing but lets just say she is in for a terrible experience in the first of T. L. Huchu’s series.

Ropa lives in Edinburgh, in a caravan with her gran. She makes money by meeting the dead around the city and taking messages back to their relatives who will pay for the message. I particularly liked the family of bakers who were receiving recipes from beyond the grave as secret of the perfect battenburg was a closely guarded secret until it was too late to pass it to the next generation.

Edinburgh is very recognisable to anyone that has visited the city, Ropa covers a lot of ground and even a ‘Weegie like me could identify many of the areas she visited. However, Edinburgh is not recognisable as we know it. “God Save The King” is a greeting with “Long May He Reign” the response. Money is shillings again, technology such as mobile phones does exist but the city feels poor and the vibe was of a historical setting. All my confusion made the story feel nicely jarred with reality and I had no issues accepting the fantasy themes of magic, ghost whispering and the catalogue of fantasy horrors which will creep into story.

A ghost approaches Ropa – she is worried for he young son. Although she has died she cannot rest until she knows her son is safe. Ropa approaches the family but they are not helpful, she has a mission to fulfil but chasing down what is seemingly a lost cause does not pay the bills. After meeing a friend from school Ropa may finally catch a break. Her friend has a job in a secret place and he thinks Ropa may find what she is looking for there – a secret library where magic is commonplace and actively practiced. The only problem for Ropa is that her magical skill – speaking with ghosts is rather primitive for the fussy and traditional users of the library. There is also the small matter of her unexpected arrival in a place which was meant to be a closely guarded secret – a price to be paid.

Ropa wants information about young children disappearing around the city. When one child makes it home after a period of absence he has changed – hidden away by his family Ropa manages to see the child…head and face aged and withered. What dark process could have inflicted this child? Is the ghost of the worried mother going to discover her missing son is also going to age in this unnatural fashion?

Chasing down a lead one night Ropa spots something unexpected inside a house, she decides to break in to investigate futher. Inside she stumbles upon a clue which may just explain what has happened to the missing childre however entering the house was the worst mistake Ropa has made in her young life. It may also be the last mistake she makes.

The Library of the Dead pitches nicely between fantasy and light horror. The initial confusion I experienced while trying to pigeonhole an identifiable time and society structure for Edinburgh soon became irrelevant as I just accepted the story as a fantasy tale in a setting I knew. The characters are will defined and each needs an edge to survive in this slightly dark world. I read less fantasy than I once did but this was a treat and I was extremely glad I picked it as one of my first reads of the year – a strong start and I very much look forward to more in this series. More Library, more horrors and a bit of magic to keep everything unpredicable.

The Library of the Dead is published by Tor and will release in hardback, digital and audiobook on 4 February 2021. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Library-Dead-Edinburgh-Nights-ebook/dp/B08JM2P3L1/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&qid=1610798054&refinements=p_27%3AT.+L.+Huchu&s=digital-text&sr=1-1&text=T.+L.+Huchu

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November 3

Ghoster – Jason Arnopp

Kate Collins has been ghosted.

She was supposed to be moving in with her new boyfriend Scott, but all she finds after relocating to Brighton is an empty flat. Scott has vanished. His possessions have all disappeared.

Except for his mobile phone.

Kate knows she shouldn’t hack into Scott’s phone. She shouldn’t look at his Tinder, his texts, his social media. But she can’t quite help herself.

That’s when the trouble starts. Strange, whispering phone calls from numbers she doesn’t recognise. Scratch marks on the door that she can’t explain.

And the growing feeling that she’s being watched . . .

My thanks to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for the chance to join the blog tour and to Orbit for my review copy.

Ghoster is the most impressive contemporary horror tale I have read. It also seamlessly blends the traditional themes of a strong horror tale, loss, isolation, obsession, terror and paranoia and drops it into a modern day tale with social media, smart phones and our societies expectations. Clever, chilling stuff.

Kate Collins is looking for her soul mate. On Valentines Day she is browsing Tinder looking for possible matches when one profile picture leaps out at her. This guy has a handsome but vulnerable look and Kate feels an immediate connection. She clicks on the super-like and waits. And waits. But when she gets a like back it is not from the guy she clicked on. Instead she ends up with a disasterous match which subsequently forces her off social media.

In a bid to purge her obsessive online fascination with her ex-boyfriend’s activities Kate books into a weekend retreat digital detox clinic. Also booked onto this course is Scott, the handsome guy she had Super Liked on Tinder. He doesn’t recognise her, why would he? But Kate certainly recognised him and over the weekend the pair find themselves drawn together and they seem to click.

Moving forward a few months and Kate is leaving Yorkshire to move to Brighton where she is moving into Scott’s house. She has given up her paramedic’s role in Leeds and making full commitment to their deepening relationship. So imagine her horror in arriving at Scott’s house to find it entirely empty. No Scott, no furniture and no indication as to where he may have gone. Scott has totally vanished. Is he Ghosting her? Is he dead? Has she been dumped or is she the victim of an elaborate hoax? Kate’s life is in turmoil and she has no idea where to turn. The only clue she may have is that Scott’s mobile phone is found hidden outside his flat on his balcony. Can Kate somehow piece together the life Scott was leading while she was still in Leeds?

Narrative swings between the current day as Kate tries to juggle her investigations and her new job in the Brighton paramedic team and then back to six months earlier as we read how Kate and Scott’s relationship grew while they spent time together.

Kate goes through an emotional wringer and she makes some shocking discoveries about the man she thought she knew but seemingly massively misjudged. Kate needs to know the truth and her quest to uncover Scott’s secrets threaten everything she holds dear. But where is Scott?

I was kept guessing on Ghoster and at times I wasn’t even sure I was reading a horror tale. Well until a ghost appeared that it. Kate’s story was one of loss and personal drama but where does the horror lie? Everywhere. And at times it is so normal I didn’t even see it for what it was.

This is sublime, clever and chilling writing. Ghoster is a modern horror classic. If you love this genre then you need to read this book.

Ghoster is published by Orbit Books and is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format. You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B06X3V9VSX/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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June 13

Dead is Beautiful – Jo Perry

“These books are weird, unique, funny and sad all at the same time.”

DEAD IS BEAUTIFUL, finds Rose leading Charlie from the peace of the afterlife to the place he hates most on earth, “Beverly Fucking Hills,” where a mature, protected tree harboring a protected bird is being illegally cut down.

The tree-assault leads Charlie and Rose to a to murder and to the person Charlie loathes most in life and in death, the sibling he refers to only as “his shit brother,” who is in danger.

Charlie fights-across the borders of life and death–for the man who never fought for him, and with the help of a fearless Scotsman, a beautiful witch, and a pissed-off owl,

Charlie must stop a cruel and exploitative scheme and protect his beloved Rose.

My thanks to Emma at Damppebbles for the chance to join the blog tour. I received a copy of Dead is Beautiful from the publisher – Fahrenheit Press.

The 4th book in the Charlie and Rose adventures and one of the most loved (and unusual) series which I follow. Here are the need to knows:

Charlie is dead. Shot in the chest and life extinct.

Rose is a dog. She too is dead. Left tied up with no access to food or water until life drained away.

Charlie and Rose can visit the living world if they choose to do so but cannot interact or influence anything which happens.

Dead is Beautiful can be read as a stand alone story but I’d urge you to read all the Charlie and Rose books as they are hugely enjoyable.

Now you’re caught up on the basics – lets consider Dead is Beautiful. Guided by Rose, Charlie finds himself in Beverly Hills or “Beverly Fucking Hills” as he calls it – this area seems to represent everything Charlie hated about society when he was alive.

The story begins with a tree being felled – Rose is a frenzy of spirited activity as she tries to prevent (ineffectively) the destruction of a protected tree which is home to an equally protected species of owl. Fortunately for Rose a very naked woman is also nearby and willing to put herself into harms way to save the owl from murder.

Needless to say the presence of an angry woman and the arrival of the police to investigate an attempted murder allegation grants both owl and tree some reprieve. However, there are people at work who need that tree gone and will not permit a small owl to thwart their plans – they consider there are much bigger priorities to address.

As you may have gathered, Dead is Beautiful takes a dark humoured view on society and our priorities. Charlie and Rose will watch events unfolding and guide the reader through the story, the reader learns what is happening as they do.

For Charlie the events in Dead is Beautiful will be personally challenging as this return to the real world sees him encountering his “shit brother”. Clearly there was no love lost between the brothers and Charlie finds it hard to be sympathetic to the problems his brother will face. Actually he rather enjoys quite a lot of the misfortune which shall befall his elder sibling.

Although they cannot interact with the real world there is a distinct threat for Charlie to face in Dead is Beautiful and the consequence of his failure was just too grim to consider. The fact ghosts can also be unpleasant bullies should (with hindsight) not have been too much of a shock but when a ghostly bully turns on our heroes I can’t say I enjoyed seeing them reeling.

I did very much enjoy the bonus appearance of an outspoken Scottish punk who was happy to have a vocal and very direct opinion on many things which were occurring. I always enjoy seeing a fellow Scot displaced from their native land and bringing a touch of “home” to far flung places! These scenes were joyous and had me grinning like a loon as I read them.

Jo Perry once again delivers a cracking story with her oddly paired protagonists. Dead is Beautiful is recommended – as are all the Charlie and Rose stories.

Dead is Beautiful is published by Fahrenheit Press in paperback and digital format. You can order a copy here: http://www.fahrenheit-press.com/books_dead_is_beautiful.html

Remember: if you order a paperback copy of a Fahrenheit Press book they also make sure you receive a digital copy of your purchase too.

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February 21

The Haunting of Henderson Close – Catherine Cavendish

Ghosts have always walked there. Now they’re not alone.

In the depths of Edinburgh, an evil presence is released.

Hannah and her colleagues are tour guides who lead their visitors along the spooky, derelict Henderson Close, thrilling them with tales of spectres and murder. For Hannah it is her dream job, but not for long. Who is the mysterious figure that disappears around a corner? What is happening in the old print shop? And who is the little girl with no face?

The legends of Henderson Close are becoming all too real. The Auld De’il is out – and even the spirits are afraid.

I received a copy of this book from the publishers to provide a review as part of the blog tour.

I find it surprising that there are not more horror stories set in Edinburgh’s Old Town. If you have ever have the opportunity to visit the narrow streets of the Scottish capital then you will know how atmospheric it can feel. The city has its fair share of ghost stories and there are plenty of ghost tours and accompanied ghost walks to entertain residents and visitors alike.

That is what makes The Haunting of Henderson Close so appealing – the key characters in the story (well in the modern day part of the tale) are staff at a ghost walk. Clad in period costume and taking the role of real characters who lived in their corner of the Old Town, Hannah and her colleagues tell eerie stories of days gone by. They give tourists a look into the past and explain what life was like in olden days when the streets were slums and disease was rife.

Hannah is the lead character in The Haunting of Henderson Close. She is just starting in her new role as cast member on the tours. As she finds her feet and learns the background to the people and the houses she needs to discuss we get glimpses of strange figures in places they should not be. Cold gusts of wind on a still day and the sensation of being watched.

The author does a fabulous job of capturing the sense of location, the narrow streets, dark corners all make the chilling encounters seem so vivid. As we get drawn into the story the peril to Hannah and her colleagues increases. Soon the visions and visitations will escalate, danger becomes more imminent and Hannah even finds herself experiencing a flashback? (maybe) to decades previously when the streets buzz with the poorest wretches of Edinburgh’s past.

To build on the experiences Hannah is encountering we are also taken back in time to meet people who lived in the streets of the Old Town. Some of those we meet are not destined to end their lives peacefully and we begin to question if their spirits are those that Hannah is encountering in modern day.

The time hops in the story become more significant as we get drawn into events (no spoilers as to why) but it was a nice shift in the narrative which I felt worked well and made me keen to keep reading.

If supernatural chills are what you seek then The Haunting of Henderson Close is highly recommended.

The Haunting of Henderson Close is published by Flame Tree Press and is available in digital, paperback and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Haunting-Henderson-Fiction-Without-Frontiers-ebook/dp/B07L9L8P9Z/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1550695144&sr=8-1&keywords=catherine+cavendish

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November 27

The Sorrows – Jonathan Janz

The Sorrows, an island off the coast of northern California, and its castle have been uninhabited since a series of gruesome murders in 1925. But its owner needs money, so he allows film composers Ben and Eddie and a couple of their female friends to stay a month in Castle Blackwood. Eddie is certain a haunted castle is just the setting Ben needs to find inspiration for a horror film.

But what they find is more horrific than any movie. Something is waiting for them in the castle. A malevolent being has been trapped for nearly a century. And he’s ready to feed.

My thanks to Flame Tree Press for my review copy and to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the chance to join this tour.

I find horror tales to be the most unpredictable reads in my tbr pile. With a crime thriller you generally know what to expect, adventure stories feature the “untouchable” heroes and psychological thrillers are twisty unexpected tales where the lead character will usually prevail in the end. In a horror story – all bets are off.

My favourite chilling tales are the haunted house stories where the menace is hidden, subtle and is slowly revealed. But there is very much a place on my bookshelves for a “schlock horror” where everything is bloody and brutal and the story has zero subtlety.

So what of The Sorrows? This one evolved as the story developed. Early indications were that this would be a subtle read. Four key characters in a remote location. Each brings their personal demons to a large lonely castle on a quite island off the coast of California. The aim is to produce the score for a forthcoming horror film – the creepy location to inspire the creative process for the composers.

At first the castle seems to be tormenting each of the residents, apparitions or memories will surface. Footsteps stopping outside a locked bedroom door but no sound of the person leaving again. The castle has a dark history and it soon becomes apparent that our residents are in grave danger. However, it is hard to feel too sorry for one of the guests as he really does not come across as a nice guy. Heavily in debt and unable to convince his father to bail him out of his latest predicament – the castle presents a haven to escape the unwelcome attentions of the debt collectors. If something bad were to happen to this chap it may make for entertaining retribution!

Happily Jonathan Janz knows how to deliver the chills. The subtle chills give way to monster perils, the danger full and bloody and very much in your face. The tone of the story changes up once the scene has been set and the back stories established. Danger escalates, terror increases and the psychological chiller gives way to a brutal battle with a demonic entity.

The unpredicability of the story kept me reading, I wanted to see which of the characters may survive and which would meet a grim fate. It is the eternal lure of a horror tale – we know there is a “big bad” out there and that not every character will make it to the end of the story…the fun is seeing what may happen.

The Sorrows is published by Flame Tree Press and releases on 30 November 2018 in paperback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sorrows-Fiction-Without-Frontiers-ebook/dp/B07JGDX81V/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543257520&sr=8-1&keywords=the+sorrows+janz

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February 22

Jonathan Dark or the Evidence of Ghosts – A.K. Benedict

Maria King knows a secret London. Born blind, she knows the city by sound and touch and smell. But surgery has restored her sight – only for her to find she doesn’t want it.

Jonathan Dark sees the shadowy side of the city. A DI with the Metropolitan Police, he is haunted by his failure to save a woman from the hands of a stalker. Now it seems the killer has set his sights on Maria, and is leaving her messages in the most gruesome of ways.

Tracing the source of these messages leads Maria and Jonathan to a London they never knew. Finding the truth will mean seeing a side to the city where life and death is a game played by the powerful, where everyone is lost but nothing is missing, and where all the answers are hiding, if only they listen to the whispers on the streets.

Shot through with love and loss, ghosts and grief, A K Benedict weaves a compelling mystery that will leave you looking over your shoulder and asking what lurks in the dark.

My thanks to Orion for my review copy which I received through Netgalley.

Ghosts – it is right there in the title…Jonathan Dark and the Evidence of Ghosts does contain actual ghosts (lots of them). But it is not a ghost story, well not in the traditional ‘haunted house’ ghost story way that you may have initially imagined.

In Jonathan Dark we learn that ghosts are all around us, they are living amongst us and (on rare occasions)interacting with the environment around us. Most of us cannot see these ghosts but a select few people can look beyond the normal and see the spirits around us. There are a few key characters in Jonathan Dark who are actually ghosts – it works brilliantly, their capacity to interact with the main characters is virtually nil but they have a massive impact on the story.

Having accepted the fact there are ghosts in the book you can now get on with enjoying a brilliant crime story which contains the threat of a murderous stalker, a powerful crime syndicate with a chilling recruitment ritual and an evil entity which feasts on the neurosis and fear of its victims.

The most chilling aspect of Jonathan Dark was the danger that A.K. Benedict heaped upon Maria King. Maria was born blind but has recently undergone surgery that was able to give her the ability to see for the first time. Maria is reluctant to give up the darkness she has known and still elects to wear a blindfold rather than accept the reality of how the world around her looks.

Following the shocking discovery of an engagement ring left for her to find ***Spoilers prevent me from telling you WHY it was shocking*** Maria is further rocked by the revelation that her flat has been equipped with video cameras which have allowed someone to spy on her while she believed herself safe (and alone) at home.

The police are called and head of the investigative team is the titular Jonathan Dark – a wonderfully complex character who has more than his share of secrets too. Dark is facing a race against time to keep Maria safe from the stalker and his investigations will bring him into direct competition with the powerful crime syndicate who do not like the thought of the police getting too close to some of their members.

I want to tell you more, there are so many side plots I want to discuss, characters that I would love to see feature in future books and there is something that Dark does which makes me want to know WHY! But I can only hope he returns and that A.K. Benedict gives us more of these wonderful stories.

I wish that every book I read was as enjoyable as Jonathan Dark and the Evidence of Ghosts. A 5/5 review score is a given.

Jonathan Dark and the Evidence of Ghosts is published by Orion on 25 February 2016 and can be ordered here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jonathan-Dark-Evidence-Ghosts-Benedict-ebook/dp/B00M88VQWS/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1456184627&sr=1-1

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December 17

Ghost Camera – Darcy Coates

A small number of cameras have the ability to capture ghosts on film. This gift comes at a steep price; the ghosts are resentful and hungry, and the cameras offer them a rare chance to reach their favourite prey… humans.

Jenine doesn’t know any of this when she finds an abandoned Polaroid camera in a lighthouse. At first she assumes the ghostly shapes in the photos are a glitch or a prank – but then the spirits begin to hunt her down, and she’s forced into a deadly race to free herself from the camera’s curse.

Thanks to Patchwork Press and Netgalley for my review copy

At 118 pages long Ghost Camera by Darcy Coates is a short but engaging read. The story focuses on Jenine, she finds an old Polaroid camera in an abandoned lighthouse and is delighted to find that it still works. After snapping a few pictures Jenine is unsettled to find that there are ghostly figures appearing in the pictures she has taken.

Turning to her friend Bree for advice, together the pair try to make some sense out of what they may be seeing in the pictures. The more photographs they take, the more obvious (and hostile) the ghostly figures are in the resultant images.

With Jenine facing a constant threat the race is on to find someone who can help free her from the attentions of the ghosts, however, the only person who seems to understand the problem does not want to talk with her!

I really enjoyed how Darcy Coates managed to build up the sense of growing menace during Ghost Camera. Initially Jenine is unnerved by the images she sees, however, her anxiety soon grows and she starts to realise that she is constantly surrounded by ghostly figures and that they are beginning to be able to make their presence felt. The author conveyed Janine’s growing fear really well and as I read I got caught up in the building tension.

The logistics of how the titular Ghost Camera worked and how it exposed Janine to danger was excellent. I am a big fan of a simple idea being worked well and Darcy Coates nails it here. The explanation of the camera was introduced at exactly the right point in the story and incorporated in such a way that it did not feel that explanations were being forced upon us.

It has been a while since I read a ‘proper’ ghost story but I thoroughly enjoyed Ghost Camera and it whet my appetite for more supernatural thrills.

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