Liz Currently Loves….The Unquiet House by Alison Littlewood.

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Available Now from Jo Fletcher Books.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the review copy.

Mire House is dreary, dark, cold and infested with midges. But when Emma Dean inherits it from a distant relation, she immediately feels a sense of belonging.
It isn’t long before Charlie Mitchell, grandson of the original owner, appears claiming that he wants to seek out his family. But Emma suspects he’s more interested in the house than his long-lost relations.
And when she starts seeing ghostly figures, Emma begins to wonder: is Charlie trying to scare her away, or are there darker secrets lurking in the corners of Mire House?

This was a wonderfully creepy, atmospheric story, one that had me glancing at all the dark corners in my own house and wondering what might lurk there…

Emma is surprised to inherit the property, especially as there are other relatives much closer who should have been obvious choices. Intending to sell, she goes to visit Mire House and is immediately captivated by it. Upon moving in she meets Charlie and after some strange occurrences Emma realises there is something hidden beneath the tranquil surface.

An extremely cleverly constructed novel, as we move back in time to learn the secrets of Mire House, each separate part is a story in and of itself, all adding up to a complete and compelling tale. Emma is an extraordinarily perfect character to follow along with – solitary and emotional, her thoughts and feelings make up a large part of the slow building sense of menace, and give us a true insight into the ambience of the surroundings. As far as psychological horror goes this is spot on for creating a sense of space and time and putting the reader bang into the moment…and unnerving them utterly. The timeslips are perfect, telling us as they do about previous experiences within the house and giving the whole story a real resonance.

I don’t want to give too much away – safe to say that this one is best read with the lights firmly on or outside in the glorious sunshine (should we ever get such a thing in the UK!) because if there are shadows around you as you read, those shadows will certainly menace you. Some beautiful prose to be had here and a fair few moments of magic…within the quiet..or the Unquiet House.

We all go silent in the end…

Terrific. Highly recommended.

Find out more here: http://www.alisonlittlewood.co.uk/

Follow Alison on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/Ali__L

Purchase Information: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Unquiet-House-Alison-Littlewood/dp/1780876467/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_pap?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398323966&sr=1-1&keywords=the+unquiet+house+alison+littlewood

Happy Reading Folks!

 

 

 

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