REVIEW: The Stranger in Our House by Sarah A. Denzil

The Stranger in Our House by Sarah A. Denzil

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense, Supernatural

Read: 17th March 2023

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 7th February 2023

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

What would you do if your son became a stranger overnight?

Tired of their cramped London apartment, Aaron and Meera relocate to the idyllic village of Little Crake along with their two children, Noah and Uma. The new cottage looks out over the many miles of woodland beyond. It’s a far cry from their tiny flat and the perfect fresh start.

Until fifteen-year-old Noah wanders alone into the forest. For three days, a search party combs the woods. Aaron braces himself for the worst, convinced his son is lost forever. Until he finds Noah alive, hiding in the hollow of a tree. It feels like a second chance.

But why doesn’t Noah remember those three days in the woods? And why are there strange cuts slashed across his torso? Why did he cover himself in mud and hide away in an old oak tree?

Once a studious and gentle boy, Noah becomes a troublemaker at school. He withdraws from his family, sleepwalks at night, and creates eerie sketches of Dark Valley Forest. Aaron tells himself that Noah just needs time to readjust. He’ll soon be himself again. But Meera believes otherwise. This new version of Noah is harsh and cruel—a complete stranger.

A mother knows when something is wrong with her child. Aaron may be deluded, but she knows the boy who came back from the woods is not their son.

MY THOUGHTS:

He looks like my son...he sounds like my son...but he's not my son...

What would you do if your son became a stranger overnight? One day he was your son and the next...a stranger took his place. He looks like your son, he even sounds like you son...but he isn't your son. He is a stranger. An evil malevolence that seeks to envelop and destroy your family. How will you get out of it alive? Thus, what ensues is an atmospheric psychological thriller steeped in Yorkshire folklore and the legend of the Gytrash. Not my usual trope but I do so enjoy a Sarah Denzil thriller. Needless to say, having not really read the premise beforehand, I had no idea what I was in for!

THE STRANGER IN OUR HOUSE is unique in its storytelling in that Denzil has created a narrative using solely diary entries, voice notes and articles which thus gives it an air of something derived from actual events. Even the Foreword is written in such a way that I had to wonder if this was in fact a true story. But Denzil was clever in her portrayal of this story that it seemed as such despite being entirely a work of fiction. Of course, at the time of starting the book I still had no idea just how "Amityville horror" it would be, without the levitating furniture and all that. This was something far deeper, something rooted within the psychological masquerading as folklore.

The Aiken family had had enough of London and wanted their children to grow up in the clean fresh of the rural countryside. So after a visit to a North Yorkshire village, Little Crake, and falling in love with the cottage Woodsman's Hut, Aaron and Meera sell their pokey little flat in Dagenham for the greener pastures of Little Crake. In less than a month, their entire lives would be irrevocably changed.

A couple of weeks after the move on his way home from school, their eldest child Noah goes missing in the woodlands bordering their cottage. A search party is summoned and after three days the family assumes the worst. Until curiously he is found sandwiched inside the hollow of an oak tree trunk. He is covered in mud and has criss cross cuts on his abdomen. His voice pleads in the still silence..."Help me!"

Noah remembers nothing of his ordeal and yet upon his return he is a completely different child to their usual quiet yet happy son. He is even more silent than ever and speaks only to utter words of anger or to taunt his younger sister, 13 year old Uma. But his taunts are not that of the usual sibling rivalry kind...they are cruel and harsh, bordering on violent. Uma comes to fear the brother she once adored, locking her bedroom door to stop him from coming in an standing threateningly over her as she slept. He would constantly stomp in the night in his attic bedroom, mutter to himself "I am not Noah, I am not Noah" and draw the most hideously frightening images of the woods which held him captive for three days.

Within the first day back at school, Noah is suspended for violently lashing out at a student. Aaron is forced to contend with Noah at home, but his son only locks himself in his attic bedroom, chanting to himself, staring at nothing or drawing those horrible images of evil faces and gnarled trees. 

It isn't long before Meera begins to believe their son is possessed by this evil Gytrash a local woman told them about. But Aaron isn't so sure. Something happened to their son in those woods...besides consuming copious amounts of hallucinogenic mushrooms which no doubt contributes to his memory loss. He is withdrawn, lashing out in anger, sleepwalking and obsessed with drawing hideous images of the woods - the Dark Valley Forest. To help process what happened to him, Noah undertakes therapy but is it enough? Or is it too late to save him? To save themselves...

THE STRANGER IN OUR HOUSE turned out to be something completely different to what I expected (having not read the premise before I began). I'm not usually a fan of stories with a supernatural element unless they are done in just the right way. This one was and you are let feeling flummoxed as to the complete hash everything was made by Noah just wandering into the woods one day. We do learn why in the end though not before all hell has been wreaked upon this family and they have been ripped apart from the inside out. All the while reading about the Gytrash, folklore and the supernatural hold upon Noah I still kept waiting for the logical side to kick in. A psychotic break of some kind maybe? But which of it is it to be? You will have to read it to find out!

The story is wrapped up with a few drawings made by Noah and a conclusion that deftly ties the different threads together nicely. You aren't left with a feeling of unfinished business or loose ends and you aren't left wanting more. It ended just right.

The story definitely has a creepiness about it and the atmosphere tense throughout. If you like a mix of psychology, suspense and the supernatural then you will love THE STRANGER IN OUR HOUSE.

I would like to thank #SarahADenzil and #Netgalley for an ARC of #TheStrangerInOurHouse in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Sarah A. Denzil is a suspense writer hailing from Derbyshire in England, an author who has also previously gone under the name of Sarah Dalton writing Young Adult fiction and speculative fiction primarily for teenagers. Now focusing primarily suspense and mystery, she is adept at creating a tone of foreboding and intrigue, something which has managed to garner her acclaim from far and wide in a relatively short amount of time. Knowing and understanding her genres well, she has become a master of marketing, as well as being a highly gifted writer and contemporary author, as she builds her name and brand on a worldwide scale.

As a bestselling author of psychological suspense novels, Sarah's books include number one bestseller Silent Child, which was a Goodreads Choice semi-finalist in 2017. Her books have been published in several different languages and have appeared on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list.

Sarah lives in Yorkshire with her husband and cat, enjoying the scenic countryside and rather unpredictable weather. She loves to write moody, psychological fiction with plenty of twists and turns.

For cat pictures and book news follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

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REVIEW: Don't Leave by Pru Heathcote

Don't Leave by Pru Heathcote

Genre: Ghost story, Psychological thriller, Supernatural

Read: 16th August 2022

Amazon

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’ve always loved telling stories and putting them down on paper as soon as I could write. I began my working life in Hertfordshire as a local newspaper reporter – obits, weddings, Uncle George’s Kiddies’ Corner – then went on to teenage magazines (Fab and Rave) and women’s magazines.

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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REVIEW: Echoes of Home by M.L. Rayner

Echoes of Home by M.L. Rayner

Genre: Ghost story, Supernatural

Read: 8th August 2022

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 28th June 2022

★★★ 3 stars

DESCRIPTION:

After accepting a generous opportunity to start afresh, Leslie Wills, eagerly begins his journey to the Scottish Highlands of Elphin, a settled village that sits huddled amongst the mountains. 

The people are welcoming, and the scenery is breathtaking.

But deep within its Highland paths, a location rests hidden from the public’s eye. An atmospheric location that entices you to learn the truth of its troubled past.

 

But once you bear witness to its sights and sounds, its presences will never allow you to forget. Uncover the truth, journeying back to a forgotten time. 

Echoes of Home is beautifully crafted into a plot full of secrets and suspicion that will leave you longing for answers. A ghost story, which will haunt you long after it's finished...

MY THOUGHTS:

This is not my usual genre but I do tend to enjoy a little ghost story if it's written well and usually in a dual timelines format. ECHOES OF HOME isn't plotted out that way so the beginning is somewhat slow but I was eager to uncover its mysteries all the same.

Leslie Wills is something of a loner, one of five children who have all since left home, abandoning what once was in the poverty stricken streets of Stoke-on-Trent and thus leaving Leslie to care for his ailing mother after the sudden death of his father. When his mother succumbs to her own ailments, has but little direction left in life as his older brothers had all fled as soon as they came of age and never looked back. As the youngest, Leslie was left behind and now remains alone.

Until one day there is knock on his door. It is with great surprise that he opens it to find his older brother Jonathan, who had been the first to leave, on his doorstep. He came bearing something of a gift. A cottage in the Scottish Highlands. Without any hesitation, Leslie packs up his belongings and begins his journey to Elphin Cottage nestled within its beautiful yet rugged landscape of the highlands.

Upon arrival in the isolated countryside, Leslie soon begins to experience some strange occurrences. Knocking at his door. Cries and bumps in the night. A strange light emanating from a long unoccupied cottage across the moor. Shadows at his window. Bloodied handprints on the pane. And the cries in the night. So spooked is he that he abandons the cottage in the midst of a storm and trudges on foot to the nearest dwelling seeking shelter and refuge from both the storm and that which haunts him back at the cottage. There he befriends Coulls, an aging farmer who recounts to him the history of Elphin Cottage and that of the abandoned Clais Cottage which stands opposite. Together they forge something of a friendship and endeavour to put right the wrongs of the past.

There are some fascinating elements retold in this atmospheric ghost story, particularly surrounding the dire circumstances of the Great Famine and the Potato Famine (which was a topic I learnt about in a previous supernatural thriller set in Ireland "The Belladonna Maze"). As I read the the blackening of vegetation and rotting food I was reminded of my previous read. Coull's recounting of this part of the story was what held my interest the most as did Peter Daily's diary entries of the time, and I found this probably would have been better presented in a dual timeline format with both Leslie's story and that of the Ferrells and the tenant farmers of Elphin House both unfolding intermittently together. That being said, it was still something of an interesting tale, and not really what I was expecting. Though to be honest I had no idea what to expect. 

As the author's debut, ECHOES OF HOME is a quick read and I ploughed through it in under 4 hours and it does hold one's interest and yet there is still something of a distance remaining between that of the story and the reader. Is it the remote setting? Or is it the story itself? I think the Scottish highlands, particularly the remote, is the perfect setting for a ghost story such as this. It has a noir feel to it but also a disconnection that is difficult to explain. And yet it is completely atmospheric.

The acknowledgements at the end of the book give the reader a better understanding knowing that Clais cottage is very real and many of the characters in the "story" are named for the author's own ancestors. That would most definitely give the story something of a personal touch. His own family having lived through the potato famine of Ireland in which the namesake at the focus of this tale also perished. I found these threads to be of most interest and how Rayner incorporated each of them into his story.

Overall, ECHOES OF HOME is an interesting and different read - particularly for me. Would I read something by the author again? I'm not sure. I guess it would depend on the story. Am I glad I read it? Most definitely, despite it not being my usual genre. I wouldn't call it a thriller or a horror. It is simply put, a ghost story. And best of all, no animals (dogs, in particular) were harmed.

I would like to thank #MLRayner, #RedDRagonBooks and #ZoolooTours for an ARC of #EchoesOfHome in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Born and bred in the county of Staffordshire. Matt is a keen reader of classical, horror and fantasy literature and enjoys writing in the style of traditional ghost stories. During his working life, Matt joined the ambulance service in 2009, transporting critically ill patients all over the UK.

After writing his first novel, Matt was welcomed into the family of Question Mark Press publishing and now dedicates his time on future releases. His hobbies include genealogy and hiking, and he enjoys spending time with his wife, Emma, his children, and his family.

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