Saturday 12 February 2022

BLOG TOUR: The House of Ashes - Stuart Neville


For Sara Keane, it was supposed to be a second chance. A new country. A new house. A new beginning with her husband Damien.

Then came the knock on the door.

Elderly Mary Jackson can't understand why Sara and her husband are living in her home. She remembers the fire, and the house burning down. But she also remembers the children. The children who need her, whom she must protect.

'The children will find you,' she tells Sara, because Mary knows she needs help too. Sara soon becomes obsessed with what happened in that house nearly sixty years ago - the tragic, bloody night her husband never intended for her to discover. And Mary - silent for six decades - is finally ready to tell her story . . .

The House of Ashes is the stunning new 2022 thriller from the award-winning master of the genre, Stuart Neville - perfect for fans of John Connolly, Alex North and Brian McGilloway.
 

What did I think?

The House of Ashes is the first Stuart Neville book I have read and it certainly won't be my last.  The writing is sublime and the voice of Mary is portrayed magnificently in a unique colloquial manner.  

Sara's new home has a deep, dark secret that only the previous owner Mary can help uncover but Sara's husband is determined to keep the two women apart.  The house refuses to remain silent and it's time for its secret to be revealed.  I don't think I've ever had so many goosebumps when reading a book; it's so dark and creepy.

The storyline is very much a past and present tale with the house in common but there's also a darker undercurrent of domestic violence and controlling relationships.  I really disliked Sara's husband Damien and his father, for very good reason which becomes apparent as the story progresses, but it's the horror of Mary's childhood that remains with me long after I turned the final page.  I'm being purposely vague about Mary's past as each reader needs to experience it for themselves.

Creepy, dark and chilling, you need to wrap up warm when reading The House of Ashes as it's a spine-tingling and goosebumpy read.  

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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