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.

My rating:

Buy it from

Amazon

Follow the tour:

The Girl Before - JP Delaney

Jane stumbles on the rental opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to live in a beautiful ultra-minimalist house designed by an enigmatic architect, on condition she abides by a long list of exacting rules. After moving in, she discovers that a previous tenant, Emma, met a mysterious death there - and starts to wonder if her own story will be a re-run of the girl before. As twist after twist catches the reader off guard, Emma's past and Jane's present become inexorably entwined in this tense, page-turning portrayal of psychological obsession.

Following in the footsteps of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, The Girl Before is being brought to the big screen by Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard.

What did I think?

I am not surprised that The Girl Before is being made into a film; it's chilling, creepy, gripping and scarily believable.  Edward Monkford is the landlord from hell, although he's so enigmatic that his tenants don't even realise that they've sold their soul to satan.

The Girl Before is written in the tried and tested 'then and now' scenario but with a psychological twist; both timelines are scarily similar; the same patterns, the same events, the same words but different women.  I was reading with my eyes wide open in terror as I prayed that history wouldn't repeat itself.

Then: Emma and Simon are looking for a new home as Emma doesn't feel safe after a burglary in her home.  One Folgate Street, with its state-of-the-art security, seems perfect and Simon just wants what's best for Emma so they apply to be tenants.  After completing the grilling questionnaire they are accepted but their dream home turns into a house of horrors.

Now: Jane is looking for a new start after she lost her baby.  She feels a definite connection with Edward Monkford when she is interviewed to be his new tenant, and it's not long before he moves into One Folgate Street with her.  As the reader is treated to glimpses into Emma's past we realise that Jane is in grave danger, but from whom?

This is a completely addictive book.  I read the whole book in one day as I was unable to tear my eyes away from the page for one single second.  It's like 50 Shades of Grey meets Psycho as the ladies who are drawn to Edward Monkford end up dead, in what appear to be accidental circumstances.  My brain was on overdrive trying to anticipate what was going to happen, whilst at the same time fizzing with anger as Edward purposefully repeated history as if he was reading from a script.  He is a total control freak who made my blood boil, but is he also a psycho?

Definitely one to add to your reading list and I can't wait to see what Ron Howard does in the film version.  I think it might be one to watch from behind the sofa!

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon