Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

The Anomaly Files series has quick become one of my absolute favourites. I adore supernatural stories grounded in realism, and the sense and respect of science in these books allows the paranormal elements to feel possible. Always pacy and exciting, The Possession is a keen, fresh take on the standard 'witch in the woods' story - and is all the more brilliant for it. Ken and Nolan are dear friends now, and I can't wait to see where they go next.

When I started to read this book I wasn't sure whether I would enjoy it but by the end I loved it. The mysterious Walls really spooked me out, Are they a line of defence, an entrance, an exit? A small town where anomalies are treated as everyday and which has an unusual guardian, I need to go and read other books by Michael Rutger, this book has inspired me to find other titles.

By crikey I enjoyed this one! It tells the story of a small town in Northern California that is deep in the woods. When a teenage girl goes missing, Nolan and his team arrive in the town to investigate and discover a lot more than they bargained for. Firstly, I really liked the Anomaly Files team. I thought the characters were really well drawn and the banter between them felt really organic and natural, which I really appreciated as I find that it is often dialogue that can seem forced or wooden. That was definitely not the case here. Secondly, I really liked the setting. It wasn't anything wildly new, but a small town in the middle of nowhere surrounded by woods that are full of creepy walls is always a setting that will work for me. Thirdly, I thought the pacing of the narrative was excellent. There is a three act structure at play here and the escalation of the plot coupled with the heightening of the tension, was really well done. I thought that the plot was interesting and well constructed but my one criticism is that I thought the ending was a little bit flat. Other than that, I really enjoyed this book and will definitely go back and read Rutger's first novel and will read his future books with relish.
I received a free copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Another great read in The Anomaly Files series. This time cantered around some bizarre walks in a remote strange village.
It was creepy and unsettling and felt although the book lost its way 2/3 through, being trapped in a semi dream world I had no clue what was happening. I will continue the series but for me this was a set down from The Anomaly.

This is a 21st century ghost story, speculative fiction which muddies the waters in the semi-permeable membrane between worlds. Author Michael Rutger cleverly blends the deliciously creepy aspects of a golden-era gothic ghost story with the hard-nosed realities of modern lives lived online, the quiet personal tragedies of broken families, and the delicate balancing act of fragile relationships.

Set all that against the backdrop of an archetypal X-File or Twilight Zone teaser – what are all those weird lines in the landscape from prehistoric societies? – and throw in completely contemporary concerns about child abduction and manipulation. The result is a pacey page-turner, simultaneously bewildering and absorbing. It certainly kept me sane during a hellish day of three airports and hours spent waiting for take-off.

The author is an accomplished storyteller in all of his many guises; I’ve enjoyed his writing for a quarter-century and this book is solidly up to his usual standards. He draws three-dimensional characters with whom you can’t help engaging, from the YouTube presenter in search of a breakout story to the striving schoolteacher being stifled by her everyday life. Almost all of the characters in The Possession are hiding something, and each of their secrets plays a pivotal role as the mystery unfolds…

Attempting to stay spoiler-free, I can only say that the plot involves the myths (or otherwise) surrounding witchcraft; a missing teenage girl; her unexplained return from the wilderness – claiming to be dead – and a conspiracy of secrecy in a small town on the edge of nowhere which has a history of weirdness, once a generation or so.

For all its peculiarity, The Possession is firmly rooted in our reality. There may be strange snit going on in the shadows, but most of the folk are more concerned about their social media feeds and why a lover isn’t returning a PM as rapido as usual. That juxtaposition of the everyday alongside the abnormal makes everything that happens feel uncomfortably credible.

For the most part the plot absolutely romps along, although it bogs down a bit with some of the repeated ‘lost in the weird woods’ scenes. There is a lot of metaphysical doubling back in this book; maybe too much for its own good.

In some ways, this is quite a bit like a Charlie Parker thriller – a detective story with supernatural angles – but much more of it echoes early Stephen King stories. Think back to the one about the woman who drove her sports car increasingly fast through blurring countryside which didn’t ought to be there. Or The Mist, with folks hiding in a grocery store while Hideous Things oozed and festered in the fog. The Possession has a similar feel to it – and that comparison is intended to be entirely complimentary.

Where King suggested a scenario and hinted at what might be happening, Rutger explores that possible reality in considerable, mind-bending complexity. The result is a huge amount of fun; an intellectual thriller which twists and turns and warps and distorts, yet doesn’t disappear up its own fundament in frustratingly inexplicable oddness. There are many things that go bump in the night and a pleasingly righteous payoff; a mature ending which has a real ring of truth about it.

However, I would’ve liked more detail about the arcane nature of things, and felt that one of the characters in particular (Val) was woefully under-used. She was a great personality who didn’t get to demonstrate her potential. She felt like a plot device, introduced to bring us some much-needed background info but then sidelined. Shame. Just like an episode of the Twilight Zone, the story stopped just when we got to the really interesting part!

If you haven’t read much by this author before – well, Wiki is your friend, and you’ll find many more of his provocative paranormal / sci-fi thrillers waiting for you. But this works perfectly well as a standalone story, you don’t need to have read the preceding book in the series (The Anomaly) first.

8/10

Summer book alert...with flavours of Dean Koontz and Stephen King, The Possession is a great little spooky thriller to pack in your suitcase and ease into with a summer cocktail.

This is the second book from Michael Rutger, the first being The Anomaly, which I intend to catch up on soon. Michael Rutger is also known as Michael Marshall who wrote the brilliant thriller The Straw Men so this book has great pedigree.

We are introduced to Nolan Moore and his team of YouTube filmmakers Ken, Molly and Pierre who are investigating mysterious stone walls in Birchlake, Northern California that lead no where and seemingly have no purpose. Alongside this Nolan’s ex wife is investigating the disappearance of local teenager, Alaina.

As the two stories intertwine there is a flavour of classic X Files to the book, the exploration of science vs supernatural, which I loved. The character dialogue is sharp and acerbic and the book turns into a real page turner as it hurtles towards its climax. A climax that leaves us wanting more from Nolan and his team.

Perfect summer supernatural thriller ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5

Nolan Moore is the host of a YouTube show called The Anomaly Files. He and his team - Ken the producer, Molly the fixer and Pierre the cameraman - travel around looking into unsolved mysteries that might make good TV for their show. Sometimes these mysteries prove to lead them into dangerous situations....

The team have arrived in the small, remote town of Birchlake, Northern California to investigate some ancient stone walls. No one knows who built these walls; what their purpose was supposed to be; or why they were often built in strange patterns. Walls are supposed to enclose something, but these walls seem to have no logical purpose.

Co-incidentally, Nolan's journalist ex-wife Kristy is also in Birchlake. to investigate the disappearance of a young girl. Events in her own past compel her to find out why the girl has vanished, but no one seems keen to talk to her about what may have happened. The townsfolk are not keen on the appearance of Nolan and his team either and they have been treated with suspicion and hostility since they have arrived.

Things are very wrong in the town of Birchlake and it soon becomes clear that the disappearance of the girl is connected to the mysterious walls in some way. Lines become blurred between reality and imagination, and they soon realise that the walls are not intended to keep something in, but instead are to keep something out......

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The Possession is the second book in the Anomaly Files series and it has everything I love in a horror/psychological thriller book, all tied up with a blood-red ribbon.

Book one, The Anomaly introduced us to Nolan and the team and was a total thrill ride - if you have not read it, why not??? Go and buy it now...I'll wait.....Now that's done, let's continue...

The Possession can be read as a stand-alone, but I would really recommend that you read book one first, as there will be major spoilers if you read them in the wrong order. I particularly enjoyed the fact that the events of the first book are only hinted at, so if you have not read it you will be missing out big time.

This is quite a different adventure to the one the team experienced in the first book, but is equally as scary - albeit in a demonic possession and witchy sort of way this time. The small-town claustrophobia adds to the impending sense of doom in this book and the looming presence of the mysterious walls hangs heavily in the air. The team are about to get themselves into trouble again...

It is wonderful to be back with Nolan, Ken, Molly and Pierre in their second adventure and it is just like meeting up with old friends. They are such great characters and their relationship with each other is so natural - Ken is actually my favourite, probably because of his liberal use of "wanker" and "twat" when referring to the pain in his back-side that is Nolan (although they love each other really).

Since this is a spoiler-free review, I am not going to give away any clues about what happens in these pages. It is safe to say that, if you enjoy a good Stephen King horror that scares the bejesus out of you, crossed with the best of a well-researched Michael Crichton thriller, then you will definitely enjoy both of The Anomlay Files books.

I am certainly looking forward to more of the gang's adventures.

The Possession by MIchael Rutger

Nolan Moore hosts The Anomaly Files, a YouTube show that explores unsolved mysteries and allows Nolan to flounce around in a large, gaping white shirt under the scornful, sneering gaze of his cynical producer and crew. Time has passed since their last adventure, recorded in The Anomaly, and Nolan is ready for more. Although this time they’ll stick above ground and try not to die.

They arrive in the remote, small town of Birchlake in northern California to investigate the mysterious low walls that spiral their way around the town and its woodland. Noone knows who built them or why. The producer, Ken, thinks this is all rather dull, but the chances of getting killed do seem significantly reduced from their previous case. A low wall hardly seems dangerous, And then they learn about the missing teenage girl. Strange noises soon follow. Then comes the fear.

I loved The Anomaly and I was very keen to return to Nolan and his colleagues. Nolan is a personable, likeable man, interested in the strangest of things, full of endless useless facts, and he is very funny, not always intentionally. Certainly his colleagues think he’s funny, and not necessarily in a good way. But I love them all, perhaps all the more because of their griping, moaning and arguing. We get to know more about Nolan here, too, thanks to the appearance of his journalist ex-wife.

I love to be scared when I read horror and The Possession definitely gave me the heebie jeebies. I’m not sure it’s as scary as The Anomaly and the setting isn’t as terrifying as that horrible cave, but it’s nevertheless steeped in atmosphere and mist.

Once again, this is a very well-written, witty novel with glittering dialogue. There are plenty of smiles along the way to go with the thrills and the loud bumps in the night and so I gobbled up the pages. The highlight for me is most definitely Nolan Moore. He is a fantastic creation. I can’t wait to see what mystery he tackles next. But I do know I’m glad I’m not going with him. He’s a man who attracts ghouls and monsters like noone else. If only more people watched his YouTube channel…

Other review
The Anomaly

I really enjoyed this book and it was really creepy. I read a lot of horror, and this is the first in a while to send chills down my spine.

We are following a small team of Youtube film-makers who go to Birchlake, Northern California, to investigate a series of mysterious stone walls which lead nowhere, and seem to have no purpose.

The presenter, Nolan's ex-wife, Kristy is also in Birchlake investigate the mysterious disappearance of a local teenager, Alaina.

Both of these things are connected. The author creates a spooky other world where what you see is not always what is real.

The writing is face-paced, descriptive and the characters are all three-dimensional. I had a genuine interest in what the characters did and back story was, and the consistent mystery and existence of these walls was a great touch.

Difficult to know where to start with this review. I wasn’t sure what I expected. I hadn’t realised this was the second book the first being The Anomaly. But to be honest that really didn’t matter as this book on its own was good. There were a couple of mentions of some sort of previous adventure but that was only near the beginning of the book.

Nolan,Ken,Pierre and Molly are You Tubers looking for conspiracy theories to look into. Nolan decides to look into The Berkeley Walls Mystery which is basically walls that were built but no one knows who by or when across California.. Kristie is Nolan’s ex-wife she has gone to a town to look into the disappearance of a young girl called Alaina. Which just happens to be in the same area that Nolan has taken his team unbeknownst to them initially. The wall idea doesn’t seem to pan out into a story they want to do so the foursome end up in the same small town as Kristie. But there things start to get very weird and interesting. Strange things are happening. Explaining more would really be a spoiler. So think witch craft, supernatural, horror because I’m not really sure which category I would put this under.

However, I love Steven King novels. But I’m not sure this would initially be a book I would pick up and read but I am so glad I had the chance to. I absolutely loved it. Initially the walls bit had me I sat wondering what I was reading but I kept going and then was engrossed with the things going bump in the night. I actually chuckled loudly at a couple of the antics and conversations. But this book had me hooked from start to finish and has led to me ordering the first book to read.

I could actually see this being made into some sort of horror film. A really good read.

I’ve just finished the possession and I can’t say it was the most gripping story I’ve ever read, it was okay and it obviously follows on from other books but I found it very drawn out and not very engaging to me, so it’s not something I would rush to read the previous books but if you’ve read other books by Michael Rugger then definitely give it ago.

[REVIEW] I love a good conspiracy / unsolved mystery. Aliens, Hitler, Spanish treasure in Canada, Civil War Gold, WWII gold; you name it, I’ll probably give it some time. Michael Rutger has just added the Berkeley Mystery Walls to my list, even though, in all honesty, they’re probably mundane and functional rather than truly mysterious.

“The Possession” is really hard to review without giving too much away. If I go into details it will remove the true pleasure that comes from the creep factor. “The Possession” made me tense and jumpy because the prose draws you into the story. You’re not part of the story but there are enough points of familiarity that mean when a character reacts, you mirror it. Everyone knows what it feels like to feel they’re being watched, to have something hiding under your bed or to know that somewhere, just out of visual range, something is moving around you.

I really enjoyed this book. You don’t specifically need to have read the first to enjoy this one.

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4.5 stars
This is book two in The Anomaly Files series but, as the story is completely separate from what went on in book one - The Anomaly - there is no real need to read that one first apart from character development. Although, all that said, The Anomaly is a cracking read in itself so, why not?! I said in my review for that book that it was wonderful reconnecting with the genre I cut my teeth on when I started reading "adult" books and this sequel, continued in the same vein.
We reconnect with archaeologist Nolan Moore and his conspiracy theory online documentary cohorts as they embark on a new investigation. This time they have travelled to a quaint village in search of walls. What they find there is quite a bit more shocking than they envisaged as strange things start to happen and it all becomes a bit bonkers. I do love me a bit of bonkers though and this time, it's top notch. We also reconnect - well Nolan does - with his ex, Kristy, who is "coincidentally" also at the same place investigating the disappearance of a young girl. How these two things come together...well, that'd be telling as it's hard to say any more about the story as to try just might spoil things so I will leave it there. Suffice to say parts of it scared the heck out of me. Others made me chuckle a bit as there is a fair bit of humour to be found throughout - whether intended or not, it definitely made the book more balanced.
It was lovely to reconnect with the returning characters from book one, especially Ken and Molly, even though it was hardy mentioned, what they went through in book one has affected them both individually and as a group, so it was very interesting to see how Kristy fitted into that dynamic.
One of the key elements in this book, as it was for its predecessor, is the build up. The book definitely hits the ground but not running, it's more confusing than that. It injects strange elements right from the start. Small bizarre stuff at first but, as the story goes on, these start to escalate until, well, the run up to the ending left me exhausted. It really got under my skin along the way and had me turning lights on rather than negotiating my own home in the dark.
The spooky element was very well handled. Obviously you can expect there to be some element of possession but there is so much more going on. Occasionally it was a bit hard to differentiate real from otherwise but it forced me to slow my reading down (not an easy task when it became a bit frenetic) and this just made it all the more scary.
Weaving fact and fiction seamlessly, as well as being a cracking read, this book also had me googling and bookmarking stuff for future reading. I do love it when a book gives me over and beyond just a great story. The author has obviously done his research. Yes, OK, I had to suspend belief a little along the way, but I was well rewarded for my patience and understanding.
All in all, a cracking sequel and I really can't wait to see what the author has in store for next time. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Here we go – the second instalment of The Anomaly Files and our old chums are back. Nolan and the crew are up in Northern California investigating some rather mysterious stone walls for their YouTube channel, whilst Nolan’s ex, Kristy looks into the story of a missing girl.

Except Nolan kind of sort of didn’t tell the Scooby Gang that she’s there…

I loved the first book, The Anomaly (one of my books of 2018). It was a lot of fun as Nolan and the crew investigated weird goings-on in a mysterious cavern where lots of things went very very wrong.

The Possession is a slightly different beast – spookier (ooh, witches), more unsettling (you’ll never look at a stone wall in quite the same way, especially in a wood) but the gang’s banter is still fun even as unpleasant things unfold.

Small town weirdness. Odd characters. Great plot that’ll keep you turning the pages (with the light firmly on). Amused to see that Michael Rutger has graduated from ‘for fans of Dan Brown‘ on the cover of The Anomaly, to ‘for fans of Stephen King‘ here.

I’m happy to say that I’m a huge fan of Michael Rutger (and his alter-ego, Michael Marshall Smith), and would happily take one of his books over either Mr Brown or Mr King any day.

Highly recommended.

The Possession by Michael Rutger

First off can I just say what an utter kick it was to read a book that took place where I grew up in Northern California? There are actually walls about the region and I've hiked along some several times.

That aside, this was a thoroughly creepy read. I went into it knowing this was a horror story but when the "anomalies" actually started happening I was pretty shocked and was shaken to my core. It was a mind bending and totally unique ride. I'm still a little shaken up, but in that good way the most awesome of horror stories get under your skin.

I hadn't read the previous installment in the series, but I didn't feel too much at a loss for not having been introduced to these characters before. I can't say I formed any attachments to them other than Ken (he was hilarious), but I think that's probably due to me coming to the story later than other readers. I'm going to go back and read the first book, though, and will keep an eye out for future ones because it's a fantastic premise, one that's highly relevant to this day and digital age.

Full, more detailed review to come on my blog closer to the publication date.

I was such a huge fan of The Anomaly and if anything The Posession is so much more..creepier, more addictive for sure.

I genuinely stayed up until 3am finishing it then regretted it because I couldn’t sleep, kept hearing things and seeing shadowy figures on the landing so in the end I didn’t bother and put every light in the house on then drank tea huddled in a blanket until dawn. Then I went to work. Everyone loved me that day as you can imagine…

ANYWAY my point being, this is absolutely beautifully done from the opening page to the final reckoning, so don’t start it until you have a chunk of time and preferably hours of daylight ahead, then sink into it and be afraid. Gorgeously afraid.

Descriptively this author has it all, the sense of what is going on around the characters is palpable, real in the moment and utterly gripping. It gets you by the throat and won’t let go, but added to that the writing is pure heaven, a delight of a page turner with layered characters you bond with all the way.

Then of course it terrifies the life out of you and you feel like you don’t even want to blink just in case. It’s a fantastic pay off because I love those books. Also if I ever see a random wall out in the country I’m hot footing it back to the city and taking no chances.

Perfection. They don’t come much better than this.

Highly Recommended.

The Anomaly Files is back! The gang – Nolan, Ken, Molly and Pierre – are looking for their next big show, and they find it in a little town where a teenage girl has gone missing. This town is plagued with inexplicable occurrences that increase in menace, leaving the team with one agenda: getting out alive.

This was a weird one for me. I enjoyed it, but I was also disappointed with it too. I was really into the story, and then toward the end at about 70%, it went pear shaped and felt rather anticlimactic.

The Possession went out of its way to mention very little of the events in The Anomaly – literally, between the characters, its only mentioned in a couple of throwaway sentences, here and there. So, if you’re wanting to read this as a standalone, it will probably work, bearing in mind the odd detail from the first book. Unfortunately… this approach didn’t work for me having read the first book. It removed that comradery and shared trauma sentiment between the characters and the reader, like we’d been in it together and we just don’t talk about almost life ending drama.

But like The Anomaly, the characters are at the heart of the book. Ken is one of the funniest characters I've read - I love his rugged sense of humour. As soon as his first dialogue came up, I was smiling. I felt like I was reunited with a friend I'd not seen in a while. All of the character interactions (but especially Ken’s) brought the same mirth and entertainment delivered in the first book.

The other big issue was I felt too much of the story focused on a philosophical debate on science vs. supernatural. Ultimately, yes, it tied into the overall story, but it was a chore to read with the amount of emphasis given to it, when the ultimate answer was clear before the story even began. The "Anomaly" Files either implied or guaranteed that.

Due to this, the plot unravelled with a veil of vagueness, that unfortunately for me, let this down. I found myself repeatedly reading pages whereby the end of the chapters, I was saying to myself, "wait, what’re you trying to say here?"
The story is complex because it's narrated through a lense of "science answers all", but the story that's attempting to be pulled off wants to say "no it doesn't, at least not yet!"… I found the back and forth narrative style muddled the impact of the storytelling.

And in saying all this… I still enjoyed it. Granted, not as much as The Anomaly, but it definitely delivered a puzzling but likeable plot that engaged my mind for the majority of the story. Reading both of Rutger’s books is like trying to fathom the unfathomable – which is interesting and fun. I was fully invested in seeing where everything that happened was going… and of course, rooting for all the characters. I genuinely can’t make my mind up between rating this 3 or 4 stars, so I’ll round it up for fairness’ sake. I would like the series to continue and I’ll definitely keep an eye out for what’s coming next.
Thank you kindly to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an e-copy of this, in exchange for this honest review.

Nolan decides to take his Anomaly Files show to a small town in Northern California, where his ex wife is investigating a missing girl. He is there to do an episode about mysterious walls in the area, that seem to appear all over the world.

With 2 main POVs (and some secondary but not insignificant ones) this time, we have 2 mysteries being solved at the same time. The dry humor of Nolan's POV is prominent in this installment too. You just feel that these 2 mysteries will come together as little weird things start to happen.

In parts it is whiplash-y, jumping from one subject to another, or like there are sentences missing, so you might get confused. It is quite descriptive though, setting the appropriate tone for a spooky atmosphere.

Definitely a slow burner, but that is needed here as to heighten the suspense. Then suddenly, there are a lot of things happening at once. Unexplainable things, piquing your curiosity and the weird factor. Like being caught up in an unpleasant dream/nightmare. A fun house in your head.

And as any well intentioned conspiracy theory/X-file like mystery, it is explained and not explained at the same time.

This isn’t my usual genre but I thought it sounded interesting, more like a movie I’d watch rather than a book I’d read. I’m glad I did give it a try because I really enjoyed the story. I didn’t realise it was a sequel either until I googled later, didn’t affect the story at all.

Nolan and his team make YouTube videos about myths and mystery’s so they travel to a place to investigate strange walls, and while there they run into Nolan’s ex wife who is looking into a
Young girls disappearance. They team up. Accusations of witchcraft and other supernatural occurrences soon follow. Are the walls and the girls disappearance connected? And will they find her?

Well written, quirky and interesting this book is sure to draw you in quickly.