WWW Wednesday: 6th November 2019

November 6, 2019November 5, 2019 Ali@abookishlife9 Comments

The WWW Wednesday meme is hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I’ve decided it’s time to break out the festive reads so I started A Wedding in December by Sarah Morgan on Monday and if I don’t have it finished by the end of today I’ll be shocked. I always look forward to Morgan’s Christmas books, I don’t think it’d feel like the holidays without one (even if I am reading it 7 weeks before). I’m currently around the 75% mark and very much enjoying it. Like many of her recent stories the focus is on family and there are three pov’s but for the first time I feel like I’m equally invested in all of them. I may be slightly leaning towards Katie’s story but only slightly.

My NetGalley request for Joe Hill’s latest collection of short stories, Full Throttle was approved on Monday so I’ve also been dipping in and out of it too. I’m incapable of sitting and reading one short story after another so I suspect this is one I’ll be picking up and putting down for a week or two. Having recently watched the Netflix adaptation of In the Tall Grass I have to confess to being tempted to just skip to that one, but will try to resist.

On audio I’m still listening to Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray. Still around 10 hours to go so it’ll also no doubt be here for a while but I’m loving it so it’s no chore.

Recently Finished

As I thought my happen, one Charley Davidson book led to another last week and I ended up going on a bit of a series binge and finished the final three books in the series. I won’t go into any details about the books, too much potential for spoilers, but I have absolutely adored this series. They are just such fun (and funny) reads and completely addictive. If I’d owned all thirteen books I probably would have read the whole lot in one go. I’m a little sorry it’s over but I think the way the author finished it was pretty perfect.

Reading Next

I’ve decided to make this month NetGalley November as I’m going to try and stick mostly to ARCs, of which I have far too many. I posted a TBR at the weekend with the books I’m hoping to read so I should maybe try to stick with it, for a little while at any rate. I like to mix up my genres so given the amount of fantasy I’ve been reading lately, I’m thinking I may pick up YA contemporary Foul is Fair or CJ Skuse’s new book The Alibi Girl which I think is a thriller(?)

Foul Is Fair The Alibi Girl

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.

Happy Reading ❤

November TBR – NetGalley November

November 2, 2019 Ali@abookishlife7 Comments

So October didn’t go so well for me as far as reading the books on my Spooktober TBR. Out of the twelve books on my list I finished four and had to abandon one less than 100 pages in.

The books I did manage to read were great but as is my usual bad habit I wandered off and read a few books not on my list, generally library books or new ARC’s (why is the shiny new book always more tempting than the one on your TBR).

Despite this less than successful month I am however trying again in November. Some books will carry over but given how close to the end of the year we are and the fact that my netgalley shelf is spiralling out of control, my plan is to focus on those 500 ARCs sitting on my shelf. If I manage to make some progress with them I’m hoping I can spend December reading those books I own but never get around to.

Current Titles

A Wedding in December by Sarah Morgan – I am a BIG fan of Sarah Morgan’s books and always look forward to her Christmas stories. I’m a little late in getting to this one, usually I’ll have it read by September, but I’ve been trying to keep my Christmas reads to nearer the time
The Christmas Party by Karen Swan – Another Christmas story by another favourite author. I plan on getting in the holiday mood this month.
The Alibi Girl by CJ Skuse – This one is not a Christmas story (or at least not to my knowledge) but it is by yet another fave author. Skuse is seriously underrated, every single book I’ve read by her has been brilliant whether it’s YA books like The Deviants or her female Dexter type series Sweetpea. I’m therefore very excited about her newest book.

Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan – I really enjoyed the first book in this series Girls of Paper and Fire and with how it ended I couldn’t wait for the sequel. I have high hopes book 2 will be even better than book 1
Into the Crooked Place by Alexandra Christo – I was a big fan of Christo’s last book To Kill a Kingdom so when I heard she had a new series coming out I knew I’d need to read it. The reviews do seem a little mixed but I like to make my own mind up on these things.
The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave – Honestly, this was a case of cover love. I’m not even 100% sure what it’s about. It is already out so I’ve spied it in bookstores and can confirm it’s even more stunning looking in physical copy.

The Night Country by Melissa Albert – This is the sequel to The Hazel Wood, a story with a dark fairytale theme that I absolutely loved. It wasn’t perfect but the writing was just wonderful so I have high hopes for The Night Country.
Foul is Fair by Hannah Capin – It feels like forever since I’ve read a YA contemporary and I really like the sound of this story about a group of girls out for revenge after one of them is assaulted. I suspect it won’t be the easiest of reads but I am curious.
A Bad Day for Sunshine by Darynda Jones – This year has been the year of Darynda Jones for me as I’m so close to finishing the thirteenth and final book in the Charley Davidson series about a PI who’s also the grim reaper. I therefore couldn’t resist this the first book in a new series by the author. It’s not supernatural (I don’t think) but I’m hoping it keeps a lot of the humour and fun.

Doing Time by Jodi Taylor – It’s been forever since I read a Jodi Taylor book. This is a spin off from her St Mary’s series which follows a group of time travelling historians.
Nine Elms by Robert Bryndza – I love Robert Bryndza’s books so am very happy to get my hands on a copy of the first book in a new series by him.
Summoned to Thirteenth Grave by Darynda Jones – I got this from NetGalley way back in December 2018 but as this is the thirteenth and final book in the series and I hadn’t read the first twelve (why do I do this to myself) it’s taken me a bit of time to get to it. I am however reading it right now (well not right now, as I’m writing this) so it’ll definitely be one book on my TBR for November I’ll manage to finish.

There are of course a ton of other books sitting on my NetGalley shelf at the moment (the current count is 90) so I may do a little switching around but I have high hopes of at least making a small dent in the pile. Is your NetGalley shelf as out of control as mine? Have you read any of the books on my list? Let me know in the comments below.

Happy reading

Ali x

WWW Wednesday: 30th October 2019

October 30, 2019October 29, 2019 Ali@abookishlife19 Comments

The WWW Wednesday meme is hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

At long last I finally made a start on The Wych Elm by Tana French on Monday but unfortunately it seems like French’s writing may be a little too vivid as it somehow managed to trigger a panic attack. This is genuinely the first time that has ever happened to me and there’s a strong possibility that it was a number of different factors that contributed but it has made me a little wary of reading on. I’m already finding old anxieties resurfacing so I think I’m going to put it on hold till I feel less wobbly.

Eleventh Grave in Moonlight (Charley Davidson, #11) I’ve therefore decided on a slightly safer choice of reading with Eleventh Grave in Moonlight by Darynda Jones. The Charley Davidson books always make me laugh and I’m determined I’m going to finish all thirteen books in this series before the end of the year. I only started it yesterday morning but have been making great progress (they’re pretty quick reads) and am around a third of the way through.

On audio I’m still listening to Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray. I think I’m maybe 5 hours in so still not even half way through. It is making me laugh a lot though and I’m really enjoying it. Someone really should give the narrator a prize for how unique she makes each character’s voice, she brings the story to life.

Recently Finished

Two books finished again this week, the first of which was Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay. I tend to be a bit hit or miss with Barclay but was drawn in by the premise of a serial killer using elevators to bump people off. Unfortunately while not a bad read, it never really gripped me. I think I was expecting something with a little more pace and action but with multiple pov’s (something I’m not a fan of generally) it all seemed slow and I didn’t really connect to any of the characters. It does pick up towards the end and I loved the way the author showed the impact on New York but not for me I’m afraid.

Next up I decided to read Tess Gerritsen’s The Shape of Night. I’m a long time fan of Gerritsen so had been looking forward to this new standalone for a while and I actually ended up reading the whole thing in a day, I found it very addictive. I do however have some rather mixed thoughts on it and I was kind of surprised how much this felt like one of Gerritsen’s old romantic suspense reads. It’s definitely heavier on the romance than the mystery and the romance is a bit Fifty Shades. This wouldn’t be a bad thing, I kind of liked Fifty Shades, but the relationship feels abusive making it somewhat problematic. Hopefully once I get my thoughts straight I’ll get a review up.

Reading Next

I’m thinking I maybe need to stick to avoid creepy and violent reads for a bit and maybe go for something a little fluffier. I have a couple of Christmas books on my NetGalley shelf so I may dip into them or I may try to press on with Charley Davidson.

Christmas Party A Wedding in December The Trouble with Twelfth Grave (Charley Davidson, #12)

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.

Happy Reading ❤

Teaser Tuesday: The Wych Elm by Tana French

October 29, 2019October 28, 2019 Ali@abookishlife2 Comments

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purple Booker. If you want to join in grab your current read, flick to a random page, select two sentences (without spoilers) and share them in a blog post or in the comments of The Purple Booker.

This week my teaser comes from The Wych Elm by Tana French, a book I received from NetGalley but only got around to starting yesterday. I do love Tana French books but I seem to be having a few issues with this one. Nothing wrong with it (it’s definitely me and not the book) but it starts with a pretty brutal attack on the MC and it’s so vivid and real it kind of freaked me out. Think it may be getting put on the back burner a little longer.

My Teaser

There was something horrifying about being exposed and handled so efficiently and impersonally. He was acting like my body was meat, not attached to a person at all.

8% The Wych Elm by Tana French

Blurb

For me it all goes back to that night, the dark corroded hinge between before and after, the slipped-in sheet of trick glass that tints everything on one side in its own murky colours and leaves everything on the other luminous and untouchable.

One night changes everything for Toby. A brutal attack leaves him traumatised, unsure even of the person he used to be. He seeks refuge at the family’s ancestral home, the Ivy House, filled with cherished memories of wild-strawberry summers and teenage parties with his cousins.

But not long after Toby’s arrival, a discovery is made. A skull, tucked neatly inside the old wych elm in the garden.

As detectives begin to close in, Toby is forced to examine everything he thought he knew about his family, his past, and himself.

A spellbinding standalone from a literary writer who turns the crime genre inside out, The Wych Elm asks what we become, and what we’re capable of, if we no longer know who we are.

Spooktober Review: The Six by Luca Veste

October 28, 2019October 28, 2019 Ali@abookishlife

The Six by Luca Veste

Full of twists and turns The Six by Luca Veste is a gripping read that keeps you guessing till the very end. Also have to say a huge thank you for the 90s nostalgia, I loved it.

THE BLURB

Six friends trapped by one dark secret.

It was supposed to be our last weekend away as friends, before marriage and respectability beckoned. But what happened that Saturday changed everything.

In the middle of the night, someone died. The six of us promised each other we would not tell anyone about the body we buried. But now the pact has been broken. And the killing has started again …

Who knows what we did? And what price will we pay?

REVIEW

The Six, or “I Know What You Did Last ~~Summer~~ 90s Music Fest”, is just the kind of addictive serial killer thriller I love. I literally couldn’t put it down once I started it and read it from cover to cover in an afternoon.

The story follows six thirty something friends who go to a 90s music fest to try and relive their youth. They’re having a great time until the final night when tempers start to fray a little and someone ends up dead. The friends decide to cover it up by burying the body and making a pact to never speak about it again but as guilt starts to eat away at them and one of them dies suddenly a year later it seems the secret won’t stay buried.

It’s a cracking story and just the sort of twisty tale that keeps you guessing, and boy did I come up with some pretty out there theories. It doesn’t really help that the author throws in more than a few red herrings to send you down the wrong path or to point out how crazy that brilliant theory you’ve come up with is.

Pretty much the whole thing is told from the pov of Matt, one of the friends and this single pov works perfectly. Matt is not the most reliable of narrators and it’s safe to say he is not coping well with things, he barely sleeps or leaves the house and is living in a constant state of fear. It definitely makes him an intriguing and compelling character.

I also loved the portrayal of the other characters too. They are so well defined and distinctive and the way they develop and grow is perfect. It’s a real character study in how different personalities deal with guilt but it’s also a story about friendship. I think a lot of people will be able to recognise themselves and those friends they’ve had since childhood in this.

Given the characters are of a similar age to me I could certainly relate to them. I also have to say a big thank you for all of the music references, they really took me back to my school and uni days.

My only real niggles were the time line which for me felt a little off (although it’s very possible I just missed something) and that I found it a little repetitive at the start.

Other than that I enjoyed it. This was my first book from Luca Veste but it will not be the last. It’s very clear he knows how to tell a great story.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy. This has in no way influenced my review.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

WWW Wednesday: 23rd October 2019

October 23, 2019October 22, 2019 Ali@abookishlife18 Comments

The WWW Wednesday meme is hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I managed to get my hands on a copy of Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay on Overdrive/Libby so as there’s only 5 days left on my hold and there are 8 people waiting I thought I’d better read it. I haven’t read many books by Barclay, my Dad’s a bigger fan of his stuff than I am, but I did like the sound of this one (even if I may never get in an elevator again). I’m around a quarter of the way through as of last night and so far it’s been ok. I don’t feel like it’s completely hooked me yet. This could just be me though as I’m still feeling pretty tired and a little ropey, so struggling to focus on anything.

On audio I’m still listening to Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray. I think I’m maybe 3 hours in so still quite a bit to go (and we’re not really into the action yet) but I’m very much enjoying it.

Recently Finished

Two books finished this week, one from my Spooktober TBR (four down, 8 to go) with the other a bit of a wander off track (not sure it was worth it). I’m pretty sure you can probably guess which is which 😀

First book finished was Monstrous Heart by Claire McKenna, an advance copy of which I’d received from NetGalley. It’s not out till next year so I’m not entirely sure how “finished” it is but I ended up very much enjoying it. It has a few problems (nothing is explained or described so if you’re like me reading it is work) but it’s so atmospheric and the writing so wonderful that it’s easy to overlook them. I think comparisons to the Binding are probably fair as while there are some fantasy aspects it’s quite a slow read with a focus on the romance.

After the darkness of Monstrous Heart I did feel l needed something light so when I spied Melissa Foster’s latest book on NetGalley I decided to grab it and read it immediately. I’ve actually never read a book by Foster so This is Love was my first and for the most part I enjoyed it. It’s a fun romance that reminded me of The Bodyguard movie in terms of story. I did feel like there were too many secondary characters though and I found myself skimming through the parts they were in. I guess they’re from previous books so if you’re a fan you’ll probably be happy to catch up with them but for a newbie I wasn’t especially interested. I also felt it was a little too lovey dovey (and the characters too good) but that may just be me being my usual bitter and twisted self 😉

Reading Next

Gah!!! It’s been on my TBR forever so I really, really need to pick up The Wych Elm by Tana French next. I always do this with French’s books and I always end up loving them once I convince myself to read them. After that I don’t know but I’m thinking maybe The Lingering by SJI Holliday. I’ve been wanting to read it for ages but tend to bump it for ARCs.

The Wych Elm The Lingering

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.

Happy Reading ❤

WWW Wednesday: 16th October 2019

October 16, 2019October 14, 2019 Ali@abookishlife13 Comments

The WWW Wednesday meme is hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I’ve been having trouble trying to decide what to read over the last few days but after starting and stopping about four different books I think I’ve finally settled on Monstrous Heart by Claire McKenna. This was an ARC I received from NetGalley a few weeks ago and it’s not out for ages so should probably be further down my reading list but it just seemed the kind of book I was in the mood for. I only started on Monday so very early days but I think I’m enjoying it. I have to confess I’m a little confused about what’s going on but I am liking the writing style and am still at the intrigued stage.

On audio I started listening to Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray. Again I only started it at the weekend so not made a lot of progress but so far so good and it seems like an appropriate read for the season.

Recently Finished

Three books finished this week, two of which were actually from my Spooktober TBR (three down, 9 to go) so I’m pretty happy with that. First up was The Curse of the Tenth Grave by Darynda Jones. This is the tenth book in the Charley Davidson series and I forgot how much I loved these books. It’s been a good six month since I read the previous book but it was very easy to fall back into the story. My biggest difficulty has been resisting going off to read the rest of the series.

After Charley Davidson I was still in the mood for something light and fluffy so decided to go for historical romance When Strangers Marry. I did kind of enjoy it but I don’t think it was anything special. It did make a nice change to find one that’s set in New Orleans.

The third book finished was Blood Bound, the second Mercy Thompson book, by Patricia Briggs. It’s been a few months since I read the first in the series so I did have my doubts about this but really, really liked it. I think it first came out in 2007, so I was worried it would be a bit dated but it’s really not. It also made for a pretty fantastic Halloween read with ghosts, vampires, werewolves and other creatures. It’s light on the romance and also genuinely creepy in a couple of places. I’m kind of tempted to read on.

Reading Next

I’m still planning to keep plugging away at my Spooktober TBR (I’m determined I will read everything on it) and I think I’m going to try and pick up The Wych Elm by Tana French next. With the Dublin Murders starting on TV, I’m in the mood for one of French’s books. I’d also like to pick up Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell. I’ve been really looking forward to it so not sure I’ll be able to resist for long.

The Wych Elm Wayward Son (Simon Snow, #2)

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.

Happy Reading ❤

Teaser Tuesday: Ninth House

October 15, 2019October 14, 2019 Ali@abookishlife1 Comment

This week my teaser comes from Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. I have to confess I haven’t started reading it yet as I’ve just started an ARC of another book but as I’m probably not supposed to share any teasers from that (it’s not out till April 20) I’ve decided to dip into this instead. It is a book I’ve been looking forward to so I’m sure it won’t be long till I am reading it.

My Teaser

He realised her shoulders had gone loose and easy. Her stride had changed. She looked a little less like someone gearing up to take a swing.

Pg37 Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Blurb

The mesmerizing adult debut from #1 New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo

Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?

Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.

WWW Wednesday: 9th October 2019

October 9, 2019 Ali@abookishlife9 Comments

The WWW Wednesday meme is hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I haven’t really been in a reading mood over the last couple of days, a combination of work stress and general tiredness, so I’ve been dipping in and out of How to Fail by Elizabeth Day. As someone who is a bit of a perfectionist and therefore not able to cope will with failure (or just not being very good at something) this has been a pretty eye opening read. It’s full of anecdotes about failure from the various celebrities the author has interviewed but what I’m loving the most are the author’s own personal stories, they’re very relatable. Unfortunately my library loan is up soon so I don’t think I’ll manage to finish it but I’ll definitely be putting a hold on it so I can get it back out again (or maybe I’ll just buy it).

Recently Finished

As always, the second I do a TBR post I seem to lose my reading mojo so only managed to finish one book this week, The Secret of Cold Hill by Peter James. I actually finished it late on Friday night but ended up reading literally nothing over the weekend (I may have gone on a bit of a netflix/movie binge watch). The Secret of Cold Hill is a classic haunted house story but the author has brought it up to date by setting it in an ultra high tech home kitted out with every gadget you could ever want. It was a completely addictive and often creepy read but I’m not sure it’s one I’ll necessary remember. You can read my whole review here.

Reading Next

I posted my Spooktober TBR at the end of last week so I’m going to try and keep making progress on it. Given my current slumpiness I think I’m probably going to pick up the next Charley Davidson book next or maybe Victoria Schwab’s City of Ghosts.

The Curse of Tenth Grave (Charley Davidson, #10) City of Ghosts (Cassidy Blake, #1)

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.

Happy Reading ❤

Spooktober Review: The Secret of Cold Hill by Peter James

October 7, 2019 Ali@abookishlife3 Comments

The Secret of Cold Hill by Peter James is a classic haunted house story with a bit of a modern twist. It’s creepy and a little bit gruesome in places making it the perfect read for the season.

No spoilers: while this is the follow up to The House on Cold Hill it follows completely different characters so can be read as a standalone and there are no spoilers in either the blurb or my review 🙂

THE BLURB

The Secret of Cold Hill by Peter James is the spine-chilling follow-up to The House on Cold Hill. Now a smash-hit stage play.

Cold Hill House has been demolished to make way for a new housing estate. Luxury-living at its best with high specification gadgets all thrown in – part-exchange available for the right buyers.

The first two families move in, and as soon as they do, the unearthly residents of Cold Hill begin to make themselves known.

Nobody who moves into Cold Hill reaches their fortieth birthday, and the old couple that have just arrived . . . let’s just say their days are numbered.

MY REVIEW

I read the first book in this series, The House on Cold Hill, around four years ago and very much enjoyed it so was very excited when I heard there was a sequel. The House on Cold Hill, was a classic haunted house story with all that that entails and this is more of the same albeit set in the new housing estate built on the site of the original mansion. It focuses on young couple Jason and Emily Danes but brings in their new neighbours the Penze-Weedells (the only other residents in the estate)

Jason and Emily made for very likeable and relatable couple. They’re both in their late 30s, with Jason an artist whose star is rising and Emily running her own catering business. Their new home seems like the perfect place to build a better life but it’s not long before things take a turn for the creepy.

James uses all of the classic haunting tropes, there are strange noises, voices, mysterious figures and sights which can’t possibly be real. What I particularly loved though was how he welded old to new. Rather than the creaky old house, the author makes full use of the new and modern. This is a high tech home of the future with everything controlled by voice via a central command unit so as you can imagine there are a few glitches (which may not be glitches).

I also loved the use of the neighbours to bring in the usual neighbourhood rivalries and conflicts. The PWs are not the nicest of characters, wife Claudette believes herself better than everyone else and is determined to have the best while her poor long suffering husband Maurice tries to manage her expectations (think Keeping Up Appearances), but it brings a bit of much needed humour to the story and I think many people will have experienced similar neighbours. I also found myself having a little bit of sympathy for them both as they too begin to experience some strangeness.

The story itself ticks along quite nicely and definitely keeps you guessing in terms of both what’s going on and what’s real and what’s not. There are a few chilling moments, a few that are a bit bleurgh and I have to admit that it did creep me out a little at times too. It was probably not the best idea to read it in bed late at night but it was just so difficult to put down.

I do feel though that while it was a fun read for Halloween there wasn’t much that stood out about it. I did enjoy it as I was reading it but I doubt I’ll remember it for long. I also wasn’t wholly convinced by the ending, it was confusing and left me with more questions than I started with which, given the title raised expectations that the secret would be revealed, was frustrating.

It is however great for what it is. If you like a classic haunted house story I think you’ll enjoy.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc. This has in no way influenced my review.