Saturday, September 12, 2020

A haunting read...

 "He'd thought Rookward would be a sanctuary, their safe shelter to keep the hungry tiger out. But it had become a cage instead."

 Guy's life isn't going well. Not only has he lost his fiancee and his job, he's had to move back in with his mother. So when he finds the deed to Rookward House in his mother's attic, he has a glimmer of hope. If he can fix it up and sell it, he might have enough money to make a fresh start somewhere else. But while Rookward House has been abandoned for fifty years, it's not exactly empty. Doors open and shut; Guy hears footsteps and the crackle of a baby monitor; he even sees the face of a woman with long, dark hair. Either he's losing his mind, or there's a malevolent spirit haunting Rookward House.
"His mind unravelled as it fought to make sense of what he'd seen. ... This house is messing with my mind. He'd never been a jumpy sort of person, but he guessed the isolation and claustrophobic spaces were making him see things that didn't exist."
 The Haunting of Rookward House by Darcy Coates is an entertaining ghost story, but then I always like a book with a haunted house in it. Guy's a likable protagonist, and the back story of Rookward House is suitably creepy. I liked the way the truth about it unfolded bit by bit. Most of the intense ghostly action doesn't take place until the second half of the book, but then...it's page-turning, chilling and scary fun. Talk about a creepy psycho ghost! Overall, this one's a good, quick read that's perfect for this time of year.

Happy Reading!

Other haunting reads by Darcy Coates:


37 comments:

  1. Sounds like a spooky good read! I love these kinds of books this time of year. :D

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  2. Looks like any of them would be good options for R.I.P. :)

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    1. Yes! Darcy Coates writes good haunted house stories. :)

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  3. I do love spooky reads this time of year, especially with a haunted house. I just got through with two, one I liked a little better than the other. I'll check this one out. Curious as to which of Coastes books you like the best?

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    1. The Carrow Haunt is probably my favorite out of the four Coates novels that I've read. Which haunted house book did you just finish that you liked?

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    2. Ok, I'm going to see if they have the audio for that one. Riley Sager's Home Before Dark. I know it's on your list, so I hope you like it too! It was fun and had a little unexpected ending.

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  4. I could have told Guy not to go inside that house...LOL

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  5. Funny how the minute September gets into full swing I want to read something weird. Sounds like you feel the same. Currently reading The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss... it's certainly qualifies as 'weird'. LOL

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    1. The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter is definitely a unique book. I read it last October. I liked Mary Jekyll and Beatrice Rappacini. And I liked how Goss tied all those classic monster books together with her society. There were a few other things I didn't love, but I still thought it was a fun read.

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  6. it does sound creepy and that cover is great for a creepy sounding book.

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  7. Sounds good! I'm adding this to my wishlist should my creepy book mood strikes. :)

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    1. Coates is a good author to keep in mind if you want an eerie read without it having too much horror in it. :)

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  8. I like stories with haunted houses in them too. Especially when the house itself could be considered a character. This sounds like a fun read.

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    1. Haunted house stories are the best. Do you have a favorite?

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  9. Yikess this one looks spooky! And fun :):)

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  10. Whew, creeepy! And atmospheric too from the looks of that cover!

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    1. Isn't that the best cover? I'd love to explore a house like that...but maybe not if it had ghosts like the one in this book. :)

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  11. Thanks Lark, October and the winter months are coming and I definitely want to read more novels about haunted houses, ghosts etc. The Sun Down Motel is also on my list. Have you read Phyllis Whitney, Mary Stewart, Victoria Holt? I haven't but I understand they were classic authors when it came to romantic suspense.

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    1. I love Mary Stewart's books! Especially Nine Coaches Waiting and Thornyhold. But all of her books are good. And I used to read a lot of Phyllis Whitney's books. I liked her books a little better than Victoria Holt's. And The SunDown Motel is a good mystery/ghost story. :D

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  12. Not heard of this and I do enjoy a ghost/haunted house story - perfect sounding read for spooky October! xxx

    Lainy http://www.alwaysreading.net

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    1. I like to read more spooky books in October, too. :)

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  13. I have stuck this one on my tbrm and just bought the ebook of The Haunting of Blackwood House - it sounds really good xxx

    Lainy http://www.alwaysreading.net

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    1. I want to read that one next. Fingers crossed its another good one. :)

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  14. Ghost stories can be si entertaining. I only read a limited number of them because if the lack of time to get to all the books that I want to get to. I do not mind a slow start for such books as that kind of goes with the territory.

    I really like the cover artwork.

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    1. I know what you mean about having limited time to get to all the books I want to read. It can be a real juggling act at times, can't it? :)

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  15. I don't read haunted house or haunting books in the genre as ghosts are my least favourite creature, so to speak. I do intend to try something by this author though!

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    1. Ghosts aren't for everyone. I don't know why I like this kind of book so much, but I do. :)

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  16. Wow, this sounds like a good read! And in time for Halloween, too. :)

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    1. I always get in the mood for a good ghost story about now. And this one's pretty good. :)

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  17. I love a good ghost story and a crumbling mansion. Wow, this has all the elements needed to make it spooky. I'm not sure if I've read this author before so I'm going to add it to my TBR!

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    1. You'll have to let me know what you think of her. :)

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