Today's featured book is a real chiller of a book- The Lingering by SJI Holliday.
An unnerving mystery, a chilling thriller and a dark and
superbly wrought ghost story set in an isolated commune.
Married couple Jack and Ali Gardiner
move to a self-sufficient commune in the English Fens, desperate for fresh
start. The local village is known for the witches who once resided there and
Rosalind House, where the commune has been established, is a former psychiatric
home, with a disturbing history.
When Jack and Ali arrive, a chain of
unexpected and unexplained events is set off, and it becomes clear that they
are not all that they seem. As the residents become twitchy, and the villagers
suspicious, events from the past come back to haunt them, and someone is
seeking retribution…
At once an unnerving locked-room mystery, a chilling
thriller and a dark and superbly wrought ghost story, The Lingering is an
exceptionally plotted, terrifying and tantalisingly twisted novel by one of the
most exciting authors in the genre.
My Thoughts
This is a modern gothic novel which drips with atmosphere and ever deepening suspense. Set in an isolated and mysterious mansion, which is set apart, you learn about its secretive and troubled past. With elements of witchcraft, ghosts and unexplained events, the tension soon begins to mount. The commune inhabitants are isolated and regarded with suspicion by the local villagers. As you read the story, you are never quite sure who to trust or what is real and to say that there are unreliable narrators is an understatement.
Told through the perspectives of Ali and Angela, you change your mind several times as to what has actually been happening. I found this to be tense, taut writing with some fascinating characters and a thoroughly disturbing plot. This is a story which unnerves the reader and leaves you slightly breathless as the story develops. The Lingering is a chilling tale which preys on one's fears and nightmares.
In short: An original and unnerving tale where the supernatural and horror collide.
About the Author
S.J.I. (Susi) Holliday is a pharmaceutical
statistician by day and a crime and horror fan by night. Her short stories have
been published in many places and she was shortlisted for the inaugural CWA
Margery Allingham prize with her story ‘Home from Home’, which was published in
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine in spring 2017. She is the bestselling author of
the creepy and claustrophobic Banktoun trilogy (Black Wood, Willow Walk and The
Damselfly) featuring the much-loved Sergeant Davie Gray, and has dabbled in
festive crime with the critically acclaimed The Deaths of December. Her latest
psychological thriller is modern gothic with more than a hint of the
supernatural, which she loved writing due to her fascination and fear of
ghosts. She is proud to be one of The Slice Girls has been described by David
Mark as 'Dark as a smoker's lung.' She divides her time between Edinburgh and
London and you will find her at crime-fiction events in the UK and abroad.
Thanks to SJI Holliday, and Karen Sullivan and Anne Cater of Orenda Books for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.
Be sure to check out these brilliant bloggers!
Huge thanks for the continued blog tour support x
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