3.5 stars from me as I enjoyed this but also found it ever so slightly too long. There are traces of Agatha Christie in the ill-assorted house party on an island cut off by a storm and with a nefarious killer on the loose... a bit of the Famous Five with secret passages galore... a supernatural overlay as the house is packed with literal ghosts which pretty much everyone can see... an amiable romance... and even an all guns blazing shoot out at the end! Mixed in with all the drama are some more sympathetic portraits of grieving families and men traumatised by WW1.

Personally, I found there was too much packed into one story and not enough atmosphere or tension. It's also irritating that when people reveal things to other characters the information is withheld from us - an artificial way of supposedly building suspense that in my case annoyed. So I'm not sure the shifting tones quite came together, but this is a fun read all the same.

I enjoyed this book but in a different way to what I expected, it defintely was more a murder mystery book than the supernatural kind I was expecting , don't get me wrong theres ghosts and bumps in the night a plenty but not as spooky as i was hoping. Great book , well told story and lovely little twist. Well worthy of 4 stars.

3.5 stars

I actually found this quite light hearted,thanks mainly to the banter between Kate and Donovan.
It made it an incredibly easy read,though probably unfortunately not creepy.
As I think about it,a group of people stranded on an island, a house full of ghosts and mot of the guests having grudges against each other AND a murder should have had more tension.
It was incredibly enjoyable though,trying to figure out who had doe it and why...and if some or all of the ghosts were real.
Other reviews have likened it to Agatha Christie and I have to agree.... in a good way.

Reader, I read this.
In daylight as, well, I wasn't sure
But it was ghostly and spooky but ok....

Blackwater Abbey on a fictional island off the coast in Devon makes this sound very chilling and otherworldly. It reminded me early on of that house and island in the Agatha Christie novel And then There were None. The grey walls, the sharp and jagged rocks below, the howling winds and then there's the strange noises...

This is not a straight forward ghost story though as the ghosts are not what and who you think they might be. Well not exactly. It's hard to say too much without giving anything away but it's a goosebumpy ride getting there!

I think what really makes this a shivery read is the fact that the spiritualists are trying to get in touch with the ghosts of those lost in the war. And so the history and backstory of a lot of people comes out as do their secrets....and lies

An immersive read.

I've had my eye on this for a while, mainly because I loved the cover, and the early reviews looked good. And im so glad I did. A House of Ghosts was a hugely enjoyable read.

From the get go, the story picks up and doesnt let go. I really enjoyed the 2 main PoV characters, Donavan and Kate. They worked well together, and theyboth have a shady past that we are slowly fed more info on as the book progresses. As a side point, there's still a lot more to discover about these characters, so i hope this means we'll be getting a series out of these two!

The story itself is a good old fashioned closed house murder mystery. The setting is perfect; cut off and cold. The supporting cast are varied and colourful. We even have an acceptance that ghosts are real and can be seen to appear throughout the novel, which i felt actually added to the creepiness of the tale.

What i did really love about this though, was the way that the First World War was woven throughout the story. From the grim brutality of life in the trenches and tunnels of the western front, to more subtle mentions of inadequate gas masks and faulty ordinance. These elements, added to the murder and ghost story, combine for a brilliant read.

As October approaches, readers will be searching for a spooky, atmospheric tale and WC Ryan's story is perfect for chilly winter evenings. His post war setting rings absolutely true and he has combined a genuinely eerie ghost story with a twist ending that took me by complete surprise.. Very enjoyable.

This story is set in the winter of 1917, during WW1, and the owner of Blackwater Abbey, situated on island off the coast of Devon, is hosting a house party of the most sombre kind. Lord Highmount of Highmount Industries (developers and producers of armaments for the war effort) lost two of his sons in the trenches and the get-together at the Abbey is for the purpose of contacting his sons' spirits, with the assistance of two invited Mediums. But some of the guests are not necessarily who they appear to be and may have agendas of their own.

A decent, slightly old fashioned haunted house whodunit with great characters and an engrossing mystery, but despite all the ghosts I found the story lacking in atmosphere and suspense.

A House of Ghosts is a shiver inducing beautifully written and immersive story – think Agatha Christie meets M.R. James but done in Mr Ryan’s own indomitable style, which if you’ve read “The Constant Soldier” you’ll know is pretty damn fine.

Its a perfectly pitched mystery, set in wartime, a place and time the author brings to descriptively vivid life. The story itself is most excellent, spies and nefarious goings on, in a haunted house cut off by a storm where nobody is being entirely honest.

Our two main protagonists, Kate and “Donovan” are wonderfully drawn and highly engaging plus ghosts. Yes well, it is a house full of them and not necessarily of the other worldly kind.

I loved it, from the claustrophobic and literally haunted setting to the intelligent mystery elements and all the way to the terror filled finale. Oh and there’s some thought provoking truths about that time in our history thrown in for good measure. A story with many layers which is overwhelmingly entertaining throughout.

Lots of brownie points for this one. Don’t be scared. The dead can’t hurt the living…can they?

Highly Recommended.