On the first morning of her new job at Heartfield House, a care home for the elderly, Annie Jackson wakens from a terrifying dream. And when she arrives at the home, she knows that the first old man she meets is going to die.
How she knows this is a terrifying mystery, but it is the start of horrifying premonitions ... a rekindling of the curse that has trickled through generations of women in her family – a wicked gift known only as ‘the murmurs’...
With its reappearance comes an old, forgotten fear that is about to grip Annie Jackson.
And this time, it will never let go...
What did I think?
Oh wow, Michael J. Malone has done it again. Just when I think he's written his best book, he goes and pulls another one out of the bag. The Murmurs is an outstanding gothic thriller that chilled me to the bone.
Annie has always felt different from her twin brother Lewis, and it wasn't helped by their mother treating Lewis as the golden child and all but ignoring Annie. Their mother Eleanor always feared that Annie had a curse lying dormant inside her and now it's about to wake up. Eeeeeek! The death premonitions and whispering voices really creeped me out and I loved it!
The whole story is very intricately plotted around Annie's curse and it's like untangling a ball of wool so I couldn't read fast enough to discover all of the book's dark and creepy secrets. I loved the story of Eleanor and her sisters and it was heartbreaking to read about how patients (mainly women) with mental health issues were treated in the not too distant past.
Expect the unexpected with a Michael J. Malone book and you will not be disappointed. The Murmurs is a dark, creepy and compelling book that ticks all the boxes of a fast-paced thriller but it goes one better by adding an element of the supernatural.
I received a digital ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
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About the author:
Michael Malone is a prize-winning poet and author who was born and brought up in the heart of Burns’ country. He has published over 200 poems in literary magazines throughout the UK, including New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. Blood Tears, his bestselling debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish Association of Writers. His dark psychological thriller, A Suitable Lie, was a number-one bestseller, and is currently in production for the screen, and five powerful standalone thrillers followed suit. A former Regional Sales Manager (Faber & Faber) he has also worked as an IFA and a bookseller. Michael lives in Ayr, where he also works as a hypnotherapist.
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Thanks for the blog tour support x
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