Sadly, when I started reading this book, I found that unfortunately the first few pages didn't really grip me and thought it rather slow and uninteresting. It didn’t strike me as chilling or scary. I may return to it in the future and read again but for the moment I am putting it to one side. I’ve seen a lot of media hype about The Wayward Girls and I’m sure it will do very well for the author and seems to be a hit with a lot of readers.

I had high hopes for this book, especially having read other reviews. It was an interesting theme and original characters, but sadly I didn't find it scary or horrific. It was rather dated and wasn't as gripping as I'd hoped. The theme is one I've read in similar books where the strange goings on are actually explained as being man made. I'm afraid it just wasn't for me.

This was great; readable, and a real page turner.  I really found myself intrigued from the first.  A great read, and one which I would recommend.

A derelict farmhouse, and mysterious happenings made the Wayward Girls one of those novels perfect to read on a dark night, the chill and bleakness perfectly marching the themes and events of the story.

Primarily the story of two young sisters Loo and Bee, Mason seemlessly flipped the story between past and present.

The present, an investigation into the past hauntings of the farmhouse experiences by Bee and Loo, the past, the real time events that would have consequences for the family for the rest of their lives.

It was Mason’s ability to control these two aspects, to slowly build links, to unravel a web of lies and deceit that so impressed.

You could feel the chill and the fear, the knocks, the vividness of the sounds, the moving furniture, the shady recesses and images in the darkened rooms.

The two young sisters, so different, so close their fear tangible, oozing from the page. Loo most affected, the one who returned years later to assist against her better judgement with the investigation. You could sense her unease, the tensions and fear from the past brought to the fore, painful relationships with siblings and a mother, harried and lost in the quagmire of motherhood, brilliantly portrayed by Mason.

I can’t say I liked Bee, older, manipulative, jealous of the attention pressed on Loo. There was something not quite right, but you couldn’t quite put your finger on it as Mason kept you guessing.

Mason certainly knew how to ramp up the tension, how to effortlessly mingle the past with the present, to hurl her characters into a maelstrom of jealousy, and deceit. It was a novel that proved addictive, the narrative compelling, the pages turned at a furious rate, the urge to uncover the truth whatever it may be all encompassing.

A fantastic debut and cannot wait for Mason’s next offering.

This is a novel that I was both desperate to read and majorly apprehensive about as I’m a total wimp when it comes to haunted house stories! I am so glad that I picked this one up though as it was such a good read and I read it all in one sitting! It follows sisters Loo and Bee in 1976 who live in the middle of nowhere in a ramshackle house that seems to have quite a few people coming and going. It alternates with the present day as we follow Lucy going back to her childhood home with a group who are investigating paranormal activity! I was gripped by this novel from the very beginning even though it did give me chills at times with the creepiness! I was so intrigued about what was going on in this house, especially as I grew up in a house that seemed to be haunted. I went back and forth about what I though might be happening in this novel – whether it was ghosts or if someone was playing mind games on the family. The conclusion when it comes is so utterly perfect, I loved it. It has made this a book that is really staying with me and I whole-heartedly recommend it!

In the 70's, sisters Lou and Bee are living in a farmhouse with their family (including their younger siblings), when a number of apparently supernatural events start to take place - everything from unusual noises to items turning up in unexpected places. This leads to the house becoming the focus of a great deal of press interest, with people questioning whether the house is genuinely haunted or whether the older girls are simply inventing stories. In the present day, Lou (who is now going by the name of Lucy) returns to the farm, which is now being examined by psychic investigators. This drags up a great deal of pain for her - she desperately wants to move on, but feels unable to do so.

The structure and overall theme of this book was slightly odd for my taste. However, I found that it kept me gripped throughout, and it was sufficiently scary that I felt myself suffering from that 'creeped out' feeling several times whilst reading. Not a bad read at all, although probably not a favourite for me personally.

In 1976, Lou and Bee are living in a rented farmhouse with their eccentric family and younger siblings. Various strange and apparently psychic events occur, from strange noises to items being moved. The farm soon becomes a focus of national interest. In the present day, Lou, now called Lucy, returns to the farm where she meets one of the psychic investigators with two of her colleagues. Lucy wants to forget her past and move on, but has to finds herself unable to do so. Scary, slightly strange read.

Then - it's 1976. Lou (Lucia) and her sister Bee (Bianca) have moved into a rented farm in the middle of nowhere with their parents, and their siblings Dan (Dante) who is older and Flor (Florian) and Anto (Antonella) who are younger. Their Dad, Joe, has to leave to work, and their Mum, Cathy, is left bringing up all the children and home schooling them. When mysterious things start happening at the Farm - strange noises, marbles appearing from nowhere, things disappearing and re-appearing, the story becomes of national interest. As well as the press interest, psychic researchers move into the Farm to try and find out what is occurring, and eventually write a book on the occurrences.


Now. Lou - now called Lucy, is called back to the Farm of her childhood by the daughter of one of the phychic researchers she met as a child, and two of her colleagues. They are reviewing the case to see if there is a further book to be written. Lou wants no part of this, but her mother, Cathy, insists. Cathy is by now in a home, and suffering from slight dementia, but wants to know what the original investigation missed.


The story is told skipping between the two time frames, with a couple of chapters at the end set in both. The settings is beautifully described and you can see the deserted spooky Farmhouse, and the strange things going on in the house.


This is 'edge of your seat' reading, and you can't put it down until you find out what really happened in the summer of 1976. An excellent story, well worth reading - with all the lights on!

I'm afraid this book did not capture me at all.  I felt like it was generic, and it felt forced and boring to be honest.  The exciting parts of the chapters are nothing but dull tidbits.  I'm afraid I wouldn't recommend this book.

WoW......The Wayward Girls by Amanda Mason was just OMG WoW............It's a book I will read again in the future.
This book alternates between then and now. It's written in the past and centres around Lucy and her family life who lived in a house that had some strange going ons within it. Then, the present day we learn about Lucy, who is torn between work and checking in on her mother who now lives in a care home. Lucy is finding it so hard to forget her past but, people are still showing an interest on what happened in her past and her life within the house they all lived in! Lucy, just wants to forget and get on with her life in the present day.......But, can she?

So if you want a scary but strange read, which is unsettling and totally gripping. throughout this is the book for you. 

Big Thank You to NetGalley and Bonnier Zaffre for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.....I just Loved it.

In the 1970s, a bohemian family move into an old farmhouse. Shunned by the locals who consider them outsiders, the mother struggles with bringing up five children with an absent partner. This is made particularly difficult when the two adolescent daughters seemingly start attracting an otherworldly presence, especially when the press and a team of paranormal researchers become interested. 

In the present day, Lucy, the younger daughter visits her mother after she experiences seeing a ghostly girl in the garden of her nursing home. Despite Lucy's reservations, she is pushed by her mother to meet with a new group of paranormal researchers who are determined to get to the bottom of what happened at the house. 

The dual narrative works really well and makes this a gripping storyline. Just when you want to find out what happens next, the narrative viewpoint shifts. It also keeps you guessing until the end. The author builds up the creepy atmosphere in the house particularly during the investigations. I also thought the characters were very well written, especially the two girls who are very different. A really good spooky autumn read.

DNF at 43%
I felt like this book had so much promise, but unfortunately it didn't work out for me. The "scary" scenes did not frighten me at all, and I felt like with each page we got no closer to working out the 'point' of this story. The pacing seemed ever so slow. All of this was not helped by the formatting of the eARC I received being off, and difficult to read, though I do appreciate this was not the author's fault. I gave myself an entire month to finish this book, and unfortunately I couldn't do it.

This was a creepy, well paced and compelling narrative with echoes of the Enfield Haunting. It tells the story of Loo and Bee, sisters visited by ghosts in their farmhouse and investigated by parapsychologists. Fast forward thirty years and a new team of investigators want to go back to the farmhouse and Loo (now Lucy) must face her past. Told in duel timelines, the narrative alternates between the original investigation and the current one, allowing Mason to ramp up the tension and leave cliffhangers throughout the book, which ensures the pacing is fast and keeps your interest. There is quite a big cast of characters, some of whom are a little one-dimensional, but the core few are well drawn, believable and empathetic. I thought that the tension built really well towards the conclusion, although I did think that the ending was a little muddled. Overall, while this book doesn't do anything startling original, it tells a really good story which keeps your interest from page one and was definitely quite spooky.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is a great, unsettling, tense and emotional book. 

Told in two timelines - then and now - it was very creepy and atmospheric. There were a number of characters to become acquainted with - each one being well fleshed out as well as having an obvious role in the story. Right to the last page there was a real sense of unease. I found myself moving between the time frames and view points, continually questioning and reconsidering and I was really kept on my toes throughout. 

Beautifully written, The Wayward Girls is an accomplished and complex novel and a stunning début. A good book for a chilly, damp and dark evening, Amanda Mason is an author to watch out for!

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Bonnier Books UK/ Zaffre via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Firstly, I would like to thank Net Galley and Readers First for giving me a copy of 'The Wayward Girls' by Amanda Mason, for an honest review. I was really happy to receive a hardback copy of this book as it made it a better experience to read as I still enjoy a physical book over an ebook any day.

This book is unlike any book I have ever read before. It had me intrigued from the very first page and I couldn't guess what was going to happen at all. I have read many thrillers but only a few about the paranormal and they all are very predictable. This book definitely stands out from the rest. I have to say it isn't a light fluffy read and if that is what you want to read then this is not the book for you. My head actually hurt while reading it, especially when I got nearer the end of the book. There is so many twists and turns and secrets that are so hard to figure out but that is what I loved so much about this book. You had to truly invest time into this book and I haven't done that for a long time while reading. 

Lucia and Bianca are perfectly formed characters and I loved getting to know each of them. What started out as a story about two sisters with a considerable age gap really turned into something much more sinister. Amanda Mason did a brilliant job with every character in this book and they were so real for me. With all their flaws at the forefront. Chapter 29 was when the biggest twist occurred and I was plunged into a pool of emotions as to how children could do such a thing! I won't go into too much detail but it really hit me hard and always shocks me how people can be so cruel. 

I enjoyed that the book flitted from 'Now' and 'Then' because it gave us they whole back story and slowly throughout the book we were able to piece things together. It took me just over two weeks to read this book because I refused to read it before bed! I didn't want any bad dreams! I highly recommend this book to those readers who enjoy paranormal thrillers because this is one of the best I've read.

3.5*
Told in a dual timeline with the chapter headings ‘Then’ and ‘Now’, the story revolves round a remote, ramshackle farmhouse. In the present a small research team of three are hoping to discover what caused the strange happenings at Iron Sike Farm several decades ago when Cathy Corvino and her five children lived there. Using a book written at the time by her late father as a reference, one member of the team has emailed Cathy, wanting her to join them and recount her recollections of the time she lived at the farm. Cathy is in the early stages of dementia, living in a residential home, and her daughter Lucy (formerly Loo) doesn’t want her mother troubled. She agrees, against her better judgement, to help the team instead. 

When Cathy and her husband Joe moved into Iron Sike Farm all those years ago it was to lead a healthier and simpler life, but it proved much more difficult than they’d imagined. Joe, feeling overwhelmed, quickly made his painting an excuse to be away from the farmhouse, so everything fell to Cathy and the tension soon mounted. All the paranormal activity seemed to centre around Loo and her elder sister, Bee. They were the main focus of the investigation, the other three children were in evidence but not a great part of the story.

The chapters are from several different—past and present—perspectives, sometimes confusing and proving a little difficult to keep track of all the characters. It becomes obvious a tragedy had occurred but is only revealed as Lucy confronts the past. As children, Lucy and Bee felt isolated. They were homeschooled so didn’t meet any other children. Boredom, frustration and mischief was magnified to a degree that it’s unclear what is actually happening at the farm, who or what was causing poltergeist activity. The arrival of the paranormal investigators gave the girls something to focus on but also caused friction between them. 

The middle of the book had too much exposition for me and could have been shorter and tighter, keeping up the momentum. The story wasn’t particularly scary, more mysterious, and creepy in parts, raising questions that I wanted addressed. 

The beginning and ending thirds of the story are good, atmospheric, with tense moments and secrets, and also the unsettling relationship between Loo and Bee, who was the dominant personality, at the heart. The family dynamics are well observed and the past and present threads merge smoothly.

This is an atmospheric and creepy novel that keeps you guessing what the heck is going on. It is told in two timelines, “Then” and “Now” and there are quite a bunch of characters you have to get accustomed to. 

The story “Then” is about Cathy and her 5 kids living on a farm outside a rural little town. They keep to themselves. Cathy is homeschooling her elder children and father Joe is mysteriously away for work. The main characters are the two sisters Bee and Loo. They begin to experience a knocking in the walls and it is hailing marbles. Some kind of Poltergeist is obviously haunting them. One night Cathy calls the police and so the strange things happening at the farm finally gets public. It brings on a team of people who wants to investigate the paranormal activities and join the family on their farm.

In the other timeline Loo is grown up and Cathy lives in a home for elderly people. The other siblings are scattered all over the world. Cathy reveals to Loo, who calls herself Lucy now, that she was contacted by a woman who wants to investigate once more what happened at their farm. Lucy does not like the idea for her own personal reasons.

In both timelines there is a team of three people, two men and one woman, who investigate those paranormal activities at the house. While reading I had problems to tell which person belongs to which timeline. So many names and similar things are happening. I also hat my problems finding into the story. As creepy as this is the writing style is a bit aloof. I could not connect to Loo/Lucy and I was immediately unnerved by her sister Bee. The relationship of the sisters is very complicated and dominated by Bee who in my opinion was a sociopath. 

Overall I enjoyed the book but I am not overexcited about it. It reminded me of “Headful of Ghosts” from Peter Tremblay. I did not like the writing style because it held me at arm’s length somehow and I had problems to sort out the two timelines and all the characters. It is not a bad book but not the page-turner who gives me goosebumps I was hoping for.

It was all too easy to get immediately sucked into the world of the Corvino family; the two eldest daughters Bee and Loo springing to life from the first page where we are given those first tantalising hints that something isn't right here. It's Loo that we follow for most of the book, both present day and in the past, with her the centre of the haunting and also the only sibling of five that really still cares for their mother - a woman who has been gradually unraveling since the events in the earlier timeline. Loo is an intriguing woman: she seems to have it all together while at the same time dangling on the edge of a precipice we don't learn the nature of until late in the book. 

The characterisation on the whole is strong in The Wayward Girls and none more so than in the female characters. Cathy is all at once sympathetic and frustrating; Bee is larger than life - we all knew a Bee at some point while growing up; the photographer, Issy, is the embodiment of local level journalism frustrations; Nina, with her personal connection to the earlier investigation, is strong and determined yet also, like Loo and Cathy, dangling off the edge of a precipice. 

Split timelines can go either way for me: both timelines can be equally enthralling or one will pull me in more than the other and I'll skim over the rest. The Wayward Girls definitely landed in the former category for me. Mason's prose was at its most evocative when describing the world of early 1970s rural Britain, from the ramshackle farm cottage the Corvinos live in, to the country pub and shop, to the family themselves and the paranormal investigators they find themselves involved with. But the present day is just as vivid - the decay the farmhouse has endured a tragically beautiful contrast to the grand but clinical care home Cathy, the matriarch of the Corvino family, now lives in. 

Overall, I really enjoyed Mason's writing, the dialogue in particular stood out for me - it's spare and realistic. Dialogue can be such a bitch so tricky to get right but it's deftly handled here and enjoyable to read rather than the cringe dialogue can sometimes cause.

The Wayward Girls has everything that I love: dysfunctional family dynamics with teases and hints about what is rotten at the core rather than having it spelled out from the get go; a found footage vibe to the present day timeline - some of it was very The Blair Witch Project in the best sort of way; dark dry humour in places; and an all-consuming creep that didn't let up for even a second.

Mason is a master of dropping hints and keeping those pages turning. The end of every chapter brought fresh revelations and a need to keep going - I was reading long into the night despite a sickeningly early alarm waiting for me. It's easy to forgive a lack of sleep on a book as enthralling as this one though.

In Amanda Mason's first novel The Wayward Girls, it's the 1970s and two adolescent girls, Bee and Loo, are living in isolated farmhouse with their bohemian mother Cathy and siblings, Dan, Florian and Anto. While their father Joe, an artist, is away working in Scotland the girls start to hear strange knocking sounds in their shared bedroom ... and then other things start to happen. Marbles are hurled through the air by an invisible force, and furniture moves on its own. Desperate for help, the family become involved with a local photographer and a team of paranormal investigators who make it their mission to find out who, or what, is haunting Iron Syke Farm - and why it seems to manifest so strongly around the girls.

In the present day, Loo is now Lucy and Cathy is in a care home, mostly lucid but in the early stages of dementia. When Cathy has an accident while wandering outside, convinced she has seen the ghostly figure of a young girl in the grounds, Lucy discovers that a group of students want to investigate Iron Syke farm all over again. What might they find there - and what might they awaken?

The 1970s sections of the book form a gripping ghost story in their own right, with strong echoes of the Enfield Poltergeist case, but are also a vivid portrait of two adolescent sisters isolated by their geographical location and their parents' attempt to educate them at home. Their environment is one in which boredom, puberty and sibling rivalry are allowed to intensify and fester - the relationship between the sisters, and their interest in the attentions of the paranormal investigators, is sometimes as heavy with threat as the behaviour of the entity haunting their home.

By contrast, the present day sections have a calmer and more measured feel - less intense, certainly, but no less eerie as Lucy is reluctantly forced to revisit the farm and relive the events that happened there. There's certainly something haunting her, but how much of Lucy's unease is driven by supernatural occurrences at the farm, and how much stems from the guilt, loss and trauma of her past? And what will happen when the past and the present collide?

The Wayward Girls is a novel that repeatedly unseats the reader just as we think we're comfortable in the saddle. It's a chilling read, but it's also a perceptive portrait of a family falling apart and it's a measure of Amanda Mason's skill that, even when the characters' actions seemed cruel, unwise or shocking, I could fully understand and sympathise with their motives - there no heroes or villains in this book, only flawed, confused and sometimes damaged human beings whose behaviour never fails to convince.

The Wayward Girls is an accomplished debut that straddles the boundaries of ghost story, psychological thriller and coming-of-age drama - I look forward to reading more from the same author.

The Wayward Girls is a gothic tale that tells the story of the Corvino family, with the main focus being on two sisters, Bee and Loo. Strange knocking sounds, items being moved, marbles and stones flying through the air culminate in the police being called, and an investigation being carried out by a team who carry out research into the 'anomalous activity'. A Haunting at Iron Sike Farm was written by one of the investigators, Simon, and years later his daughter Nina, and two others return to carry on where he left off. Loo, or Lucy returns to her childhood home and despite telling the team that it was all a hoax concocted by her older sister Bee, and brother Dan, there are phenomena that can't be so easily explained. Jumping between Now and Then we learn more about the intricacies of the Corvino family, and a tragic event that occured after a seance. The Wayward Girls was well written and imaginative, but I didn't fully connect with any of the characters, which may simply be because this isn't my preferred genre. For those who enjoy a spooky, dark story, it's definitely worth a read.