#BookBlast The Burning House by Neil Spring @QuercusBooks @MillsReid11 @NeilSpring #BurningHouse

The Burning House by Neil Spring
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

'Neil Spring is Agatha Christie meets James Herbert' STEPHEN VOLK

It was a victimless crime...

Estate Agent Clara is struggling to make a sale. With her abusive ex-husband on the brink of finding where she's hiding, she needs to make a commission soon or lose her chance to escape.

Boleskine House on the shores of Loch Ness has remained unsold for years, and Clara is sure that an 'innocent' fire will force the price down. But the perfect crime soon turns into the perfect nightmare: there was a witness, a stranger in the village, and he's not going to let Clara get away with it that easily...

**********

Clara is on the run, she has started a new life and all she wants is to lie low. And, she needs to sell Boleskine House, but the price is too high. So, she thinks if she only could get the price reduced a bit, then everything will be fine. A small fire will do the trick. However, someone saw her, someone that has a plan for Boleskine House, and now he has a plan for Clara as well...

From blurb may the book seem like an ordinary thriller, but this is a Neil Spring book so when weird shit starts to happen was I not surprised. Delighted, but not surprised. I wouldn't say that the book scared me or anything. However, I was intrigued. I mean Boleskine House, that's one cool place with a lot of history. For instance, Alistar Crowley and Jimmy Page are two notorious owners. And Crowley, well he pretty infamous. I didn't know this before I started to read the book. I actually didn't reflect much on the blurb since all I saw was new Neil Spring book and I wanted to read it. I've read THE GHOST HUNTERS and THE LOST VILLAGE and I loved them both. So, getting a new book was a treat.

THE BURNING HOUSE is perfect if you love to read paranormal thrillers. As with the previous books, I have read is the writing fabulous and it was nice to read a story set in modern time. Neil Spring has become a favorite author of mine and I will read pretty much anything he writes. As long as I get delightfully dark stories of course.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!

#BookReview The Lost Village by Neil Spring (@NeilSpring) @QuercusBooks

The Lost Village by Neil Spring
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Some stories are never finished. Some voices insist on being heard, even after death . . .

Many years ago, soldiers entered a remote English village called Imber and forced every inhabitant out. It remains abandoned . . .
Each winter, on one night only, Imber's former residents return to visit loved ones buried in the overgrown churchyard. But this year, something has gone wrong. Secrets are surfacing, putting all who come near Imber in danger. And only one man can help.

Notorious ghost hunter Harry Price has reluctantly reunited with his former assistant Sarah Grey. Once, she worshipped Harry, but their relationship has recently soured. Harry knows that Sarah could be the key to unlocking the mystery of Imber, but will her involvement in the case be the undoing of them both?

Inspired by real historical events, this is the second novel by Neil Spring featuring the notorious real-life ghost hunter, Harry Price. The critically acclaimed ITV drama Harry Price: Ghost Hunter, starring Rafe Spall, was adapted from Spring's first novel, The Ghost Hunters.

**********

I found The Ghost Hunters to be pretty awesome, but this book was fabulous! I was thrilled to learn that the Ghost Hunters would get a sequel and I was even more thrilled when I got the book to read. And, what a book. From the first page was a hooked and the story kept its hold on my wall the way until the end. You don't have to read the first book, to read this one, but I would recommend you do that to get to know Sarah Grey and Harry Price from the start, how they met, how Sarah started to work for him and what went wrong.

The Lost Village is a captivating tale. I was curious to learn what the connection between Sarah and the village. And, is Imber really haunted? And, what has the movie theater that is said to be haunted to do with everything? Is there some connection between the movie theater and the village? Sarah and Harry reunite to solve the mystery of Imber. But, their past is between them and the village is not a very peaceful place. This case could be the end of them...

Neil Spring is a very talented writer and I sure hope that he will write at least one more book about Sarah and Harry. Although, to get this one was more than I hoped for and it was very bittersweet to turn the last page. It's an extraordinary tale and I recommend it warmly!

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!

The Ghost Hunters by Neil Spring

The Ghost Hunters by Neil Spring
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sarah Grey has returned to England after a brief time as a model in Paris. She is looking for a new job, but she never expected to be offered and accepting a job as a personal assistant to Harry Price, the infamous ghost hunter. Harry has devoted himself to expose mediums and false hauntings. And, despite being temperamental and neurotic is he also very charming and Sarah can't help but be drawn to him. One of the most puzzling cases for them will be Borley Rectory. Is the place really haunted or are the rumors about it exaggerated?

**********

I think the knowledge that Borley Rectory was a real haunted place and Harry Price was a real ghost hunter makes this book extra special. The author has taken some liberations with the story. This is not a true story, but there are some truths in the story. Sarah Grey has never existed, she is based on a secretary that worked for Harry Price a while. But still, it's really fascinating to read this book and I was intrigued by Harry Price and can fully understand why Sarah Grey was too. Even though as I understand it the Harry Price in this book was more charming than the real one.

I didn't know before I read the book that Borley Rectory had existed and that Harry Price was a real person. Or rather I have a vague feeling that I have known and forgotten about it and it hit me when I looked up the place and the man himself on the net during the time I read the book. Strange how the mind can forget things.

The story in itself was good. This was after the First World War, a time when many people were desperate to make contact with the other side, to know that they were all right. And, many people took advantage of this to earn money of other people's grief. Harry Price like Houdini in America, debunked many false mediums. Arthur Conan Doyle has a small part in this book, he was quite crossed with Harry Price because of his negative attitude towards the paranormal. Conan Doyle believed quite strongly in the afterlife.

This is absolutely not a horror book, more a mystery would I say. A paranormal mystery book. Despite dealing with a house that is said to be haunting was the book never scary to read. And, it could feel a bit long sometimes. I can honestly say that if Sarah Grey and Harry Price had not been so interesting to read about had this been dull to read. But they give the book life.

It's a very interesting book. There are not many big twists in this book, but still the story is enjoyable. There are one big secret thing; Sarah Grey's secret that she hides from Harry Price. But, that never felt like a secret. I don't know how it was for others that read the book, but I guessed it right away and then it was just waiting for her to tell him. And, honestly, I thought that she was a bit too cruel to him towards the end when everything was revealed. Although he did treat her appalling sometimes. In the end, one can say that the case of Borley Rectory became something that bound and tore them apart.

I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!