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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
It's 1917, Britain is embroiled in the most brutal war ever seen until this point, with grief and death casting a long shadow over the lives of many. But while the war rages on the front line, the Highmounts, owners of one of the country's biggest weapons manufacturers, are hosting a gathering of family, friends and acquaintances at their island property just off the Devon coast. It's not simply a reunion, however. The Highmounts have invited two mediums to try and contact the spirits of their recently deceased sons, casualties of the shelling and gassing of the front lines. Kate, our protagonist and an employee of the war office, is sent with Donovan, a former army officer-turned-spy, to keep an eye on proceedings. Why, she doesn't know, but with grief, desperation and the impacts of war threatening to explode the relationships of all involved in the gathering, it's only a matter of time until the cracks start to show.
The Gothic novel has seen something of a resurgence in recent years, and haunted house novels, in particular, have broken into the mainstream, buoyed by the success of books like The Silent Companions and the Haunting of Hill House TV series. With many Gothic novels, however, there's a hefty dose of ambiguity as to whether the events are psychological, supernatural or simply misdirection. That's not the case here, with the author early on making it very clear that ghosts and spirits exist and are constantly involved in the plot, and it's both refreshing and makes for a very original approach.
Kate, who has recently lost her brother to the war and is keen to see him again, is able to see these spirits, and whilst dramatic events are unfolding in the real world, there's clever asides about the way that the spirits in the room are reacting, whether they're advancing menacingly, watching with interest or pointedly ignoring the scene. It not only helps to keep the reader invested, but marks a major point of difference to other similar books and adds some brilliant colour to the world.
In a completely masochistic way, I love gothic novels because of the way they make you feel. They're totally immersive, usually rather claustrophobic, and above all, spine-chillingly creepy. Certainly, with previous haunted house novels I've had to put the book down at points, or have had to turn the light on to keep reading. With this book, while I was utterly gripped by the mystery and the characters, I was never on edge or scared. Perhaps this is better for some readers, but for me it felt slightly lacking.
The plot itself is thoroughly enjoyable, romping along at a good speed, with lots of intersecting storylines and two central mysteries which manage to converge and split at the right points and create an atmosphere ripe for a good twist or two. While the twists themselves aren't mind-blowing, they're very cleverly realised, make complete sense and offer a whole new dynamic to many of the characters you've spent 300 pages with. The climax itself is tense, revealing and explosive, leaving a fantastic conclusion to a highly enjoyable journey. My one nitpick with the plot is that a major revelation relies on a very conveniently timed eavesdropping scene, which is a real bug bear of mine. It just feels slightly lazy for an otherwise very tight, impressively-drawn plot.
I do feel there were perhaps slightly too many characters. One of the benefits of this kind of storyline with a group of people isolated in a foreboding location is that you really get to know each of the characters involved quite intimately. In this case, however, they are some characters who are purely there to make up the numbers and offer nothing to the plot, and others who are wholly underutilised. I appreciate it's sometimes necessary to have auxiliary characters, but it definitely feels like a couple could've been culled here to streamline without affecting the plot.
All in all, this is a really fantastic book, combining a brilliant plot, a rather unique take on a haunted house narrative and two fantastic mysteries that are entirely satisfying throughout. Managing to tackle heavier themes in rather commercial fiction can often be a challenge, but concepts of grief, war, pacifism and revenge are tackled with aplomb while never distracting from the pace of the plot. It's a fantastic read as the nights draw in and Halloween is nearly upon us, and one I'd wholeheartedly recommend. Here's hoping to read more from this author (and ideally with these two protagonists) again in the future.
The Gothic novel has seen something of a resurgence in recent years, and haunted house novels, in particular, have broken into the mainstream, buoyed by the success of books like The Silent Companions and the Haunting of Hill House TV series. With many Gothic novels, however, there's a hefty dose of ambiguity as to whether the events are psychological, supernatural or simply misdirection. That's not the case here, with the author early on making it very clear that ghosts and spirits exist and are constantly involved in the plot, and it's both refreshing and makes for a very original approach.
Kate, who has recently lost her brother to the war and is keen to see him again, is able to see these spirits, and whilst dramatic events are unfolding in the real world, there's clever asides about the way that the spirits in the room are reacting, whether they're advancing menacingly, watching with interest or pointedly ignoring the scene. It not only helps to keep the reader invested, but marks a major point of difference to other similar books and adds some brilliant colour to the world.
In a completely masochistic way, I love gothic novels because of the way they make you feel. They're totally immersive, usually rather claustrophobic, and above all, spine-chillingly creepy. Certainly, with previous haunted house novels I've had to put the book down at points, or have had to turn the light on to keep reading. With this book, while I was utterly gripped by the mystery and the characters, I was never on edge or scared. Perhaps this is better for some readers, but for me it felt slightly lacking.
The plot itself is thoroughly enjoyable, romping along at a good speed, with lots of intersecting storylines and two central mysteries which manage to converge and split at the right points and create an atmosphere ripe for a good twist or two. While the twists themselves aren't mind-blowing, they're very cleverly realised, make complete sense and offer a whole new dynamic to many of the characters you've spent 300 pages with. The climax itself is tense, revealing and explosive, leaving a fantastic conclusion to a highly enjoyable journey. My one nitpick with the plot is that a major revelation relies on a very conveniently timed eavesdropping scene, which is a real bug bear of mine. It just feels slightly lazy for an otherwise very tight, impressively-drawn plot.
I do feel there were perhaps slightly too many characters. One of the benefits of this kind of storyline with a group of people isolated in a foreboding location is that you really get to know each of the characters involved quite intimately. In this case, however, they are some characters who are purely there to make up the numbers and offer nothing to the plot, and others who are wholly underutilised. I appreciate it's sometimes necessary to have auxiliary characters, but it definitely feels like a couple could've been culled here to streamline without affecting the plot.
All in all, this is a really fantastic book, combining a brilliant plot, a rather unique take on a haunted house narrative and two fantastic mysteries that are entirely satisfying throughout. Managing to tackle heavier themes in rather commercial fiction can often be a challenge, but concepts of grief, war, pacifism and revenge are tackled with aplomb while never distracting from the pace of the plot. It's a fantastic read as the nights draw in and Halloween is nearly upon us, and one I'd wholeheartedly recommend. Here's hoping to read more from this author (and ideally with these two protagonists) again in the future.
Brilliantly written, wrapped up well and an absolute pleasure to read!
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This novel has the high honor of being the most boring ghost story I've ever read, the most boring manor mystery I've ever read, and the most boring spy novel I've ever read. The characters had no depth and no chemistry.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A somewhat shaky blockbuster-style novel, that is fun to follow along for the ride, but ultimately will fall apart if examined too closely. Pretty much all of the individual points that I can make about this book are entirely negative, but overall I still enjoyed most of the reading experience in a way that is somewhat difficult to pin down. I think a large part of this is vibe and atmosphere; if nothing else Ryan does successful conjure the atmosphere of an isolated manor house on a cold, wintry island. There are strong shades of Agatha Christie, impossible to escape in such a setting and leaned into pretty heavily; unfortunately Christie is a more skilled writer and would have been able to bring together all the various elements that here fail to find relevancy or just fizzle out.
To summarise; we find ourselves several years into the first world war. A wealthy couple invite several friends and acquaintances to spend a few days at their manor house around Christmas. The house is old, remote and isolated, and the island is beset by winter storms. Having lost both of their sons in the war, the Lord & Lady Highmount in their crazed grief have turned to mediums in attempt to contact their deceased sons. Some of these mediums may be more genuine than others, as the old house seems to have true ghosts wandering around it anyway. Along with the Highmounts we have their friends the Cartwrights, whose daughter was previously engaged to one of the Highmount sons, and now works as a codebreaker for the government. This ties in to the other element of the plot; Lord Highmount has made most of his money selling arms and armament, and there are indications that someone within his inner circle, perhaps the Lord himself, has been selling info to the Germans. Naturally, as the days progress, weird things start to occur in the manor house, and secrets start to be dragged to light.
That seems to have all the right elements to create a truly engaging and intriguing story. We’ve got winter on an isolated island, government spies and intrigue, deep grief and the lasting effects of the war, messy entangled family relationships, fake mediums and actual ghosts! Unfortunately, so few of these elements are developed into anything interesting, or even anything that affects the plot in any way. It seems to largely be a case of throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks. The ghosts may be the worst offenders of this type; this supernatural phenomenon has precisely zero impact on anything. Their limited interaction with other characters involves them merely standing and watching; they could have been used to potentially highlight clues, or confuse other characters, or in any way interact, but they are relegated to set dressing. Even as such set dressing they fail to impress somewhat- if the aim was to be creepy or unsettling I think you need to do a little bit more than just say “there are ghosts”. You may as well say “there is a spooky thing”- I’m betting that sentence didn’t spook too many people! Explain to us how these ghosts are spooky, or at the very least let us know how they affect the characters and their emotions.
But the characters are another downfall here, few scraping above caricatures and none showing anything approaching emotional depth or nuance. Kate, one of our viewpoint characters, is woefully passive in the narrative, essentially providing no input, decisions or actions to really affect anything. Donovon, one of our other main viewpoints, is hardly better- investigating things as they happen and uncovering things, but never in time to actually affect anything. You get the distinct impression that the plot would have progressed in exactly the same way even if most of these characters were absent. The promise of juicy interpersonal conflicts from broken-off engagements, partially-estranged families, reveals of treachery; none of it lands with any significant impact. It’s a real shame.
It also has the problem of needed a serious edit- so many small elements that don’t make sense that add up to a large amount of confusion; characters not knowing things we know they know, people being present or not in certain scenes, worldbuilding that just doesn’t add up at all. For example, we’re set on a small island, maybe 4 miles long, with no habitation and only a small ferry to get there; but apparently the manor house has extensive stables complete with horses? Or the main character, who has visited the island many times before, doesn’t know the ferryman? These niggling inconsistencies, when married with the numerous grammatical errors and the deluge of plot elements that fail to contribute anything make the whole thing feel like a first draft.
Still a fun little popcorn read if you let it be, channelling the locked-room mysteries of Christie as it does, but one wonders if it might not be better to simply go back and read some works by that undeniably more talented author. The wasted potential and unfulfilled promises of this book mean that ultimately it feels frustrating and disappointing. There is absolutely room for a great story here, with the murder mystery and real ghosts, and if anyone has written that I’d be happy to read it too.
To summarise; we find ourselves several years into the first world war. A wealthy couple invite several friends and acquaintances to spend a few days at their manor house around Christmas. The house is old, remote and isolated, and the island is beset by winter storms. Having lost both of their sons in the war, the Lord & Lady Highmount in their crazed grief have turned to mediums in attempt to contact their deceased sons. Some of these mediums may be more genuine than others, as the old house seems to have true ghosts wandering around it anyway. Along with the Highmounts we have their friends the Cartwrights, whose daughter was previously engaged to one of the Highmount sons, and now works as a codebreaker for the government. This ties in to the other element of the plot; Lord Highmount has made most of his money selling arms and armament, and there are indications that someone within his inner circle, perhaps the Lord himself, has been selling info to the Germans. Naturally, as the days progress, weird things start to occur in the manor house, and secrets start to be dragged to light.
That seems to have all the right elements to create a truly engaging and intriguing story. We’ve got winter on an isolated island, government spies and intrigue, deep grief and the lasting effects of the war, messy entangled family relationships, fake mediums and actual ghosts! Unfortunately, so few of these elements are developed into anything interesting, or even anything that affects the plot in any way. It seems to largely be a case of throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks. The ghosts may be the worst offenders of this type; this supernatural phenomenon has precisely zero impact on anything. Their limited interaction with other characters involves them merely standing and watching; they could have been used to potentially highlight clues, or confuse other characters, or in any way interact, but they are relegated to set dressing. Even as such set dressing they fail to impress somewhat- if the aim was to be creepy or unsettling I think you need to do a little bit more than just say “there are ghosts”. You may as well say “there is a spooky thing”- I’m betting that sentence didn’t spook too many people! Explain to us how these ghosts are spooky, or at the very least let us know how they affect the characters and their emotions.
But the characters are another downfall here, few scraping above caricatures and none showing anything approaching emotional depth or nuance. Kate, one of our viewpoint characters, is woefully passive in the narrative, essentially providing no input, decisions or actions to really affect anything. Donovon, one of our other main viewpoints, is hardly better- investigating things as they happen and uncovering things, but never in time to actually affect anything. You get the distinct impression that the plot would have progressed in exactly the same way even if most of these characters were absent. The promise of juicy interpersonal conflicts from broken-off engagements, partially-estranged families, reveals of treachery; none of it lands with any significant impact. It’s a real shame.
It also has the problem of needed a serious edit- so many small elements that don’t make sense that add up to a large amount of confusion; characters not knowing things we know they know, people being present or not in certain scenes, worldbuilding that just doesn’t add up at all. For example, we’re set on a small island, maybe 4 miles long, with no habitation and only a small ferry to get there; but apparently the manor house has extensive stables complete with horses? Or the main character, who has visited the island many times before, doesn’t know the ferryman? These niggling inconsistencies, when married with the numerous grammatical errors and the deluge of plot elements that fail to contribute anything make the whole thing feel like a first draft.
Still a fun little popcorn read if you let it be, channelling the locked-room mysteries of Christie as it does, but one wonders if it might not be better to simply go back and read some works by that undeniably more talented author. The wasted potential and unfulfilled promises of this book mean that ultimately it feels frustrating and disappointing. There is absolutely room for a great story here, with the murder mystery and real ghosts, and if anyone has written that I’d be happy to read it too.
Fun mystery with poignant link to the devastation of WWI on the Lost Generation. Like Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None with ghosts! Perfect narrator for the main character. Entertaining listen.
I thought the book was wonderful. I had a hard time putting it down. I was disappointed in the final page but overall that story pulled you in and was enjoyable.
A decent read !
Very good book however not as scary as I hoped it would be
Very good book however not as scary as I hoped it would be
Part of me wishes that I had waited until Fall or Winter to read this. It was a delightful cozy mystery. The supernatural elements were not center stage as much as a murder mystery. The beginning seemed to drag on a bit which almost caused me to lose interest. However, I’m glad I kept on reading.