There's not much that scares Annie Graham. Not even the horrors she has witnessed during her years on the police force.
When she agrees to look after her brother's farmhouse, she finds herself drawn to the crumbling old mansion in the woods nearby. But an innocent exploration of the empty ruin and the discovery of the diary of former resident Alice leaves her more than a little spooked. She knows it holds the secrets to a dark past, and she has to find out more.
What was the terrible truth that Alice uncovered? And how could what happened to her over 100 years ago help solve the murders of young women in the town?
Annie needs to stop the serial killer before she becomes his next victim – but the past comes back to haunt her in ways she could never have expected.
When she agrees to look after her brother's farmhouse, she finds herself drawn to the crumbling old mansion in the woods nearby. But an innocent exploration of the empty ruin and the discovery of the diary of former resident Alice leaves her more than a little spooked. She knows it holds the secrets to a dark past, and she has to find out more.
What was the terrible truth that Alice uncovered? And how could what happened to her over 100 years ago help solve the murders of young women in the town?
Annie needs to stop the serial killer before she becomes his next victim – but the past comes back to haunt her in ways she could never have expected.
I was gripped by The Ghost House from the absolute beginning when Annie Graham began exploring the old mansion in Abbey Woods where her brother was the caretaker.
She found far more than she bargained for though, when a ghostly voice scared the living daylights out of her. She escaped back to her brother's house, determined never to set foot in the eerie old house again when she remembered grabbing an old leather bound book that she had been flicking through and stuffing it into her bag before she ran out.
She found it and realised that she had taken a journal which had been written by a housemaid, Alice Hughes, who had lived more than a hundred years previously in the manor house in the woods.
The story then flashes back between the late 19th century and the present day, with the diary of Alice, helping illustrate the story of the house in Abbey Woods and it's inhabitants, which holds the most terrible and gruesome secrets.
Whilst Annie is delving into the secrets of the mansion that she feels inexplicably drawn to, a young girl has disappeared in their town, and the police fear that time is running out to find her safe and well. As the death toll rises, they realise they are dealing with a serial killer who is very much on the loose, and he seems to have his sights set on Annie to be his spectacular finale.
The Ghost House is an incredibly gripping tale, full of spine chilling mystery and suspense (and a lovely romance!)
I absolutely loved to read Alice's tale and the flashbacks of the 19th century, as harrowing and heartbreaking as the were, and felt her fear and heartbreak as though it were a true story.
The police aspect seemed for me, extremely true to life and well researched, and the murders were as gruesome and chilling as you would expect in a book about a serial killer, although for me, not too awful to deter me at all, even though the ghost story at times left me peering round doors when I was alone.
Having said that, it took me less than twelve hours to complete as I really couldn't put it down.
I found the conclusion spectacular and it ended exactly how I would have liked. I loved the kick ass heroine, Annie, definitely not a simpering female and I enjoyed watching Will's character change around her!
To sum it up, The Ghost House is the most exciting book I have read in a very long time, and would make an absolutely perfect Halloween read!
Amazing début from Helen Phifer and I eagerly await more from her!
Find Helen here at her website - http://www.helenphifer.co.uk/
here on Twitter - https://twitter.com/helenphifer1
and here on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/helen.phifer?fref=ts
Many thanks to the publishers for providing an ecopy in exchange for an honest review.