Monthly Archives: May 2020

Vital Statistics: The Thistlewood Curse

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Continuing my series on the “vital statistics” series of my each of my gothic mystery novels, this week, I’m delving into The Thistlewood Curse.

Title: The Thistlewood Curse

THE THISTLEWOOD CURSE Cover (JPG Print version)

Plot: Can a ghost murder the living?

Lawrence Crane’s powers of astral projection are put to the ultimate test when he and his lifelong friend Detective Laura Buchan investigate a mysterious death on Lundy Island.

Sensing a dark power at work, they attempt to identify a human assassin under the control of supernatural evil.

But can they escape a terrifying, centuries-old curse?

Expect: A denouement that really ought to be obvious, yet somehow you fail to spot it (I’ve yet to come across anyone who predicts the ending).

Wordcount: 99,000.

Current Amazon reviews: 5 five-star reviews, 2 four-star reviews.

Current Goodreads reviews: 3 five-star reviews, 3 four-star reviews, 1 three-star review.

Scariness rating: 6/10. A halfway house between thriller and horror. It begins as a supernaturally tinged murder mystery (if indeed it is murder), develops into a ghost story, and gradually escalates from there.

Read if you enjoyed: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Agatha Christie), The Speckled Band (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle), or if you enjoyed films such as Angel Heart or The Exorcist (or the books they are based on for that matter).

To pick up a copy click here (for the UK) and here (for the US).

Vital Statistics: The Birds Began to Sing

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For the next few weeks, I’m running a “vital statistics” series on my each of my gothic mystery novels, beginning with The Birds Began to Sing.

Title: The Birds Began to Sing

The Birds Began to Sing_1600x2400_Front Cover

Plot: When aspiring novelist Alice Darnell enters a competition to write the ending for an unfinished manuscript by late, world famous author Sasha Hawkins, it appears she might have her big break at last.

However, upon arrival at Sasha’s former home – the sinister Blackwood House – Alice is unsettled by peculiar competition rules, mysterious dreams and inexplicable ghostly visions. She begins to question her sanity as she is drawn into a terrifying web of deceit, revenge and murder.

Expect: A big twist ending.

Wordcount: 89,000.

Current Amazon reviews: 12 five star reviews, 1 four star review.

Current Goodreads reviews: 5 five star reviews, 8 four star reviews, 1 three star review.

Scariness rating: 4/10. More psychological thriller/mystery than horror, and if it were a film, probably wouldn’t be rated stronger than 12A (that’s PG-13 for our American cousins). Yes, there is plenty of page-turning suspense, with our imperilled heroine wandering spooky corridors at night, but let’s put it this way; my notoriously easy-to-scare mother braved it, and managed to reach the ending unscathed.

Read if you enjoyed: Rebecca (Daphne Du Maurier), Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte), Sleeping Murder (Agatha Christie).

To pick up a copy click here (for the UK) and here (for the US).