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R.F. Kuang, Sue Lynn Tan, Rebecca Ross, Kate Heartfield, N.E. Davenport, Saara El-Arifi, Juno Dawson and Sunyi Dean I was definitely pulling for Kelda as it was clear she was a mother struggling on her own who only wanted the best for her son but she was saddled with a haunted house, a terrible boss and a dodgy admirer! When it came to The Toll House, she was certainly braver than I would have been in her situation. I would have been out of that house like a shot! But the story begins to build around her. Things beyond her son not wanting to sleep alone begin to happen in the house, the (also boring) doctor she's seeing begins to act strangely and her past catches up with her. Suddenly I understood why she was so flat before, she wanted a new start and left her past behind her, but when it catches up we learn who our protagonist really is and I started to like her much more.
The Toll House by Carly Reagon (9781408726440/Hardback The Toll House by Carly Reagon (9781408726440/Hardback
a touch of gothic horror, gruesomeness, spooks, twists and turns and ghostly goings on..... I dare you to dive in Carly Reagon does her best in this regard; The Toll House is well written, with some genuinely creepy moments and unsettling situations set into a good old fashioned ghost story. There were quite a few moments involving the young son of the protagonist where I felt a genuine chill, however, many of these moments (not involving six year olds) are portrayed in such a way as to sanitise or remove the fear that we crave from this type of story. Indeed, the premise of the book and the story itself is ‘classic’ horror but (to my mind) too much of the story is devoted to relationships, both family and romantic, with too little time given to the outworkings of these relationships and the perceived effect of the supernatural on the characters. It is in essence, a ghost story for people who don’t really want to be scared. He held the candle forward and showed where the balusters had broken away. Then he peered curiously into the void beneath.I hoovered this up in one go. It's perfect for the spooky season. Be prepared for some seriously good twists. -- NATASHA PULLEY author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street And without turning this into a complete complainfest, there are more than one or two plot holes and storylines not so much unresolved as simply abando -
The Toll House by John Sackville | Hachette UK The Toll House by John Sackville | Hachette UK
Meagle fingered his chin. "Who shut it?" he inquired, looking from one to the other. "Who came in last?" Carly Reagon completed a six month course at Curtis Brown Creative and wasshortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish College Fiction Prize in 2019. Her writing is inspiredby her love of the Welsh countryside where she lives with her husband and threechildren. She works as a senior lecturer at Cardiff University, is a keen runner andsinger, and has an interest in anything historic. A house with history. That's how the estate agent described the old toll house on the edge of the town. For Kelda it's the perfect rural home for her young son Dylan after a difficult few years. From the moment Kelda and her son Dylan moved into the toll house things did not seem right. I immediately got that sense of dread and doom that bad things were going to happen and the author did a fantastic job of setting the scene. Throughout the whole story, I felt I was on tenterhooks waiting for things to happen and made the mistake of reading this one at night, which is not something I would advise if you scare easily like me!
A house with History. Who doesn’t love knowing that the property you are moving in to has seen and heard so much over the years, from the many families building new beginnings, to the cycle starting all over again! How wonderful! One of the most dull, pointless, meaningless stories I ever read. This is not a horror and, while I am not an experienced thriller reader, will gather this isn't really a thriller either. I guess this is more of a mystery, but I never felt intrigued by either timeline, and the 1860s timeline really wore on my nerves by the end. This is also absolutely NOT a gothic tale as what this book intends to say with its themes and messages have nothing remotely gothic about them. The toll house itself is a tiny ass old hut with squeaky floors, and that does not a gothic tale make. I loved the whole dual narrative structure as the story initially opens with Kelda and her son Dylan move into an old toll house - it's certainly a house with some history! If you're looking for a ghostly, spooky 👻 read to squeeze in before Halloween then look no further!
The Toll House | Carly Reagon | 9781408726440 | NetGalley The Toll House | Carly Reagon | 9781408726440 | NetGalley
I also liked the alternate timelines used and felt that it managed to convey the whole story perfectly, and added to the drama with the reveals it gave.For those wanting a seasonal escape, we have a selection of rooms available for you to relax in and enjoy a magical time in Lancaster. Bejeepers. This is one of those novels where I question why I read creepy novels at night. There are no real locations in this book but it’s the setting of the old toll house that is the real draw. I read a bit about toll houses when I spotted this book as it seemed as if it was going to lead me down a dark path…and it did. Just look at that cover for a start! Enjoy catching up with loved ones in our restaurant, or perhaps you’d like to cosy around the fire to share laughter between family and friends
The Toll House - AbeBooks The Toll House - AbeBooks
Shaking with fright, he made his way along the passage, and summoning up all his courage, pushed open doors and gazed fearfully into empty rooms. Then, quite suddenly, he heard the footsteps in front of him.Sinister from the get-go, THE TOLL HOUSE is a belter of a ghost story. A novel where two families, 150 years apart, navigate living in a house where grief and murder have bled into the walls. I loved it. -- LIV MATTHEWS author of THE TWINS A classic style ghost story with all the usual twists and turns. The story is set in an old toll house and the events shift between two time periods - modern day and C19th. Interestingly, the details from the past are almost all narrated in the first person present tense from the perspective of the toll keeper, with the modern day events being narrated in the third person. This shift in perspective helps build the suspense and mystery well and is skilfully maintained.
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