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A House of Ghosts

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A House of Ghosts

By: W. C. Ryan
Narrated by: Jot Davies
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About this listen

A gripping mystery with a classic feel: And Then There Were None meets The Silent Companions.

Winter 1917. As the First World War enters its most brutal phase, back home in England, everyone is seeking answers to the darkness that has seeped into their lives.

At Blackwater Abbey, on an island off the Devon coast, Lord Highmount has arranged a spiritualist gathering to contact his two sons who were lost in the conflict. But as his guests begin to arrive, it gradually becomes clear that each has something they would rather keep hidden. Then, when a storm descends on the island, the guests will find themselves trapped. Soon one of their number will die.

For Blackwater Abbey is haunted in more ways than one....

An unrelentingly gripping mystery packed with twists and turns, A House of Ghosts is the perfect chilling listen this winter.

©2018 W. C. Ryan (P)2018 Bonnier Publishing Crime Thrillers Fiction Ghosts Horror Thriller Thriller & Suspense Haunted Scary Crime Exciting Mystery

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Critic reviews

"Almost unbearably creepy and beautifully written." (Liz Nugent, best-selling author of Lying in Wait)

"A splendid tale of wartime skullduggery, featuring both kinds of spooks - perfect fireside reading." (Mick Herron, CWA Gold Dagger Award-winning author of Dead Lions)

"Hugely enjoyable, A House of Ghosts has the bones of a taut thriller wrapped up in the gorgeous romance of its ghostly island setting." (Jane Casey)
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A great book and listen. I don't usually enjoy books with war as a subject matter but this was so much more and I'm glad I gave it a go. There's wonderful characters, intrigue, suspense, mystery, romance and a bit of supernatural. All this plus it takes place in a house with secret passages that's been cut off from the world by storms, what's not to love. Very atmospheric, well written and narrated. I'm hoping for a second book with Kate and Donovan but it will be tough to follow up this one.

A Winter Cracker

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I liked the characters and the setting. The narrator was good with voices and has a lovely voice to listen to.

Really good story

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brilliant story with a strong female character !! The narrator was very good ,able to bring the different characters alive with his changes if voice .

excellent story

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Having read a couple of books by this author, I found this one rather disappointing. I simply couldn’t believe in the characters. I couldn’t see them or place them, any more than I could see the ghosts.
Not one I could recommend.

Not as good as earlier novels

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A country house mystery set during the Great War with both supernatural and government spooks- what’s not to like? Shades of a contemporary Dennis Wheatley.
In the first half, the sense of time and place was beautifully drawn, and the characters were distinct and intriguing.
But the second half lost momentum as the ghosts were relegated to mere onlookers in a wartime drama. Such a shame.
I love the narrator (since Evelyn Hardcastle) but Kate needed a more clipped Celia Johnson accent.

Almost a really really good book.

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The reading is excellent by Jot Davies. There are many ghosts, but they are not in the least frightening. This is essentially a romance between two characters who work for the secret service during the First World War. There’s lots of potential here, and eventually a murder, but there are some cliches too. A house on an island cut off in a storm, riddled with secret passages. Some of the period atmosphere works, but this isn’t Susan Hill or ‘Turn of the Screw’. Saved by an excellent reader as an audio book .

Entertaining tale of spooks

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I enjoy period setting ghost mysteries and this ticks all the boxes. It balances cliché and new ideas well. Isolated island in a storm and cast of secretive characters but also an interesting ghost lore and unexpected interactions with them. I get pulled in everytime I listen. This is one of the stories I judge other stories of the same genre by. It is a slow start but as soon as the séances start it rolls along at a perfect pace. I hope this is the start of a series with Kate and Donovan.

Slow start but give this a chance

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The supernatural elements were totally superfluous to the story.

The book was just starting to get interesting when the author either forgot about the spirits or he accidentally mixed two draft novels together.

As a wartime “who done it” was passable, if not predictable

Didn’t know what it wanted to be

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not exactly a ghost story but ironically with more ghosts than most books. i enjoyed the ww1 angle on an old fashioned british country house mystery all in all well worth a listen.

very entertaining and well read

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I loved this story, it kept me guessing and the touch of romance was subtley done. The narrator was excellent and listened to this in a couple of days.

Fantastic story

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