Don't Leave by Pru Heathcote
Genre: Ghost story, Psychological thriller, Supernatural
Read: 16th August 2022
Published: 29th July 2022
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
JANE is a young woman grieving for her child, who is taken to a remote holiday cottage on the Northumberland coast.
From the moment she arrives at the cottage with her much older and over-protective husband, Peter, Jane keeps catching glimpses of a little girl and hearing a child crying.
Peter is convinced these are hallucinations, as Jane has been diagnosed with schizophrenia – a diagnosis she doesn’t agree with.
She sets out to discover who or what the child could be. A ghost? A real child? Or something else?
MY THOUGHTS:
Supernatural stories are not my usual genre but I have been known to enjoy the odd one that is written well and is atmospheric with a good mystery woven into the tale. DON'T LEAVE ticks all those boxes and more. I can't believe this is the author's debut and am not surprised it was the 2020 winner for a debut thriller set in the North East. The plot is cleverly woven, tightly-knitted and atmospheric, creepy and intriguing from beginning to end.
Grieving the loss of her baby daughter, Jane and husband Peter have taken a holiday to a remote and incredibly isolated cottage on the Northumberland coast. It is her husband's hope that Jane, who was recently diagnosed with schizophrenia, will find the peace she needs to heal there. They are greeted by their unsmiling and somewhat spooky neighbour, Mrs Mortimer, whom they secretly christen "Morticia".
But no sooner have they arrived than Jane begins to hear a child's crying and sees a little girl in various places - from the clifftop to the fields to even inside the house. Even when the tap tap tapping wakes her in the night and she sees the little girl standing in her doorway, with puddles of water forming at her feet. She tries to raise her concerns to Peter who, as a professor of science believes only in logic and mathematical equations, is convinced these are hallucinations...which is evidenced in the fact that Jane has stopped taking her medication. He thought this was the best place for her but maybe he was wrong and decides that maybe they should return to Newcastle.
That night Jane is awoken once again by the tap tap tapping and the whispers in her ear "Don't leave".
Who is the child? Where has she come from? And what does she want from her? Why does she not want her to leave? And why does she not say anything else to her but "Don't leave"?
Jane sets out to discover who the mystery child could be, suspecting everyone from Mrs Mortimer next door to a previous holidaymaker who had stayed in the cottage prior to their arrival. Whoever she is, the little girl is trying to communicate with her...if only she could interpret exactly what that is and why she doesn't want her to leave.
And then one night, when Peter is away at a conference, Jane awakes to a frightening revelation...and she has a name. But can she unravel the mystery?
DON'T LEAVE is a chilling and atmospheric psychological thriller and ghost story all rolled into one. It is so cleverly written by an expert hand it is hard to believe that this is the author's debut. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it as I deftly tried to unravel the mystery myself.
While this is not my usual genre as such, I am so glad I ventured into the pages of this tale because it a thoroughly entertaining and incredibly addictive read while also being creepy but not scary as such. Although had it been me in Jane's shoes, I would have been scared witless because as some of the scenes with the little girl, particularly towards the end as she kept appearing and disappearing and reappearing, would have been enough to rattle anybody.
DON'T LEAVE is a wonderfully atmospheric ghost story that just completely engulfs you as you immerse yourself into the story. It was a quick read but a good one. A real page-turner and definitely worth a read. Once you start, not even you will want to leave!
I would like to thank #PruHeathcote, #RedDragonBooks and #ZoolooTours for an ARC of #DontLeave in exchange for an honest review.
Bathing House, Howick, the location which inspired the book "Don't Leave"
MEET THE AUTHOR:
I moved to Northumberland forty years ago and worked as an adult education tutor, teaching any subject I didn’t need a qualification for, including creative writing.
Over the years I’ve written dozens of stories for magazines, a commissioned biography, and several plays, one of which was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe.
It was one of my plays that formed the basis for my novel Don’t Leave, winning entry in the 2020 Lindisfarne Prize, written during the first Lockdown.
I’m married, with three grown-up children and two grandchildren.
I live in Warkworth, a village on the Northumberland coast, an area that provides most of the inspiration for my stories.
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Thank you so much for this fab review and for taking part in the tour x
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