I saw this on Netgalley and it captured my attention immediately. A huge fan of horror/fantasy I always feel a certain “frisson” when I start books of this genre. 
I didn’t actually realise it was a sequel until after I’d finished. But saying that, this was so easy to read as a stand-alone, it takes nothing away from the readers enjoyment.
This is an extremely well written novel, the characters have been thought through and written in a way that gives them depth and unique personalities. 
This novel has a lot to offer, some horror, fantasy, mystery.......there’s something that will appeal to almost everyone here. I’d definitely recommend it. (Also, I’m now going to go back and read The anomaly ). 
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for my arc. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.
#ThePossession #Netgalley

This is the 2nd in the series with Nolan Moore, amateur archaeologist and host of "The Anomaly Files" and his team producer and best friend, Ken, Molly (the group's "Girl Friday") and cameraman Pierre investigating another paranormal mystery for their YouTube series. 
This time they travel to Northern California to investigate mysterious stone walls. Similar walls actually exist all over the planet - even under the sea - and yet very little is known about them.
What Nolan hasn't told his colleagues is that his ex-wife Kristy is already in the area, at the small town of Birchlake, checking out the disappearance of a teenage girl, Alaina Hixon. Kristy became intrigued with the case when an online photo of the missing girl produced several comments with the single word "Witch".
When Nolan arrives , he meets up with Kristy and soon they find Alaina wandering down the town's main street muttering that she was dead but has now returned. 
Weird things start to happen in Birchlake as the story of the mysterious walls and Alaina's disappearance begin to converge. And then it gets really spooky. 
On the plus side, I especially enjoy the dark humour in the banter between Nolan and his world-weary and cynical sidekick, Ken. And author Michael Rutger really knows how to ratchet up the tension. However, I felt that the story slowed and became confusing in places, particularly when one of the townspeople explains why everyone is experiencing strange feelings and seeing ghostly figures in and around the town. Despite the latter, Rutger's writing demands that you keep on reading. Many of Birchlake's residents have secrets but there are even darker secrets stretching back half a century which are slowly and scarily being revealed.
Although part of a series, this book can be read on its own.
As with the first book, this strange mix of archaeological and historical facts and fiction blends into a horror story that will make you think about what's real and what's imagined. For reasons that will become clear, don't read it just before you go to bed!
My thanks to the publisher Zaffre and to NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for an unbiased review.

am not usually a fan of horror as I need to sleep at night. I have too active an imagination at times but there’s something about Michael Rutger that I really love and am slightly addicted to and I’m not sure what it is.

The Anomaly was scary and creepy and although  a little unbelievable at times I was still enthralled. This novel is weird and quirky and the sequel to The Anomaly so I was always going to have to unsettle myself again.

There was a puzzle, a legend , some sci-fi and genuine horror moments again and we, this was just really fascinating and entertaining. A lot of fun to work out and to go on the journey with the characters. Amateur sleuth hunters going to explore a real life mystery and conspiracy theory mixed up with some fun science facts too? So not usually my cup of tea, but there was something unsettling about this I couldn't not read. You got to love a science fiction based horror story!

The problem with the book however is that I can’t anything else without giving things away and this HAS to be a book to discover. What are the mysterious stone walls? Did you know there are such things around the world? Under water? Stone walls which once housed communities of various types, walls acting as markers on the earth’s surface… 

Tales of witches and oh that title…….why oh why do I subject myself to such things in novels? This is quite the read. A total chill fest….and then you google certain things and realise you won’t sleep for a month. At least.

Michael Rutger is back, and so is his group of Anomaly investigators. The first few chapters threw me as the reader is thrown from one third person perspective to the familiar first person from Rutger’s debut book. It’s no bad thing, the unsettled feeling adds to the atmosphere of the narrative, it gets its hooks in and won’t let go.
It’s as chilling as The Anomaly, but I’m so very glad this wasn’t what we started with. The pace is much faster and we don’t get as much time with the investigators as I would have liked.
It’s fun to be back in Rutger’s world and I can’t wait to read whatever offering he has next; its a book anyone who loved Point Horror would love now they’re grown.

A week ago I started a book with much mystery surrounding it and that was The Anomaly, the first instalment in The Anomaly Files series. I got hooked and read it in a couple of days and was ecstatic when learning a sequel was coming out - and I got even luckier as I found it on NetGalley and got approved to read it early. However, I found myself disappointed by this sequel (is it really a sequel though, as you could read it without having read the first one?)

The Possession has most of what I loved in The Anomaly: the suspense, the tense atmosphere, the need to know what the heck is happening and our set of original MCs - Nolan and his team. But, unfortunately, I found the core story of The Possession a bit boring at times and very slow. Moreover, the explanation of what is happening and why left me unconvinced - it felt a bit far-fetched and confusing. 

The writing is still good and gripping. The characters are really nice to follow around although I do wish we had seen more of Molly and Pierre - Ken is still definitely my favourite.

To conclude I can say that I enjoy The Possession to a certain extend and would recommend it if you’re looking for a paranormal story that is different from what is already out there

A mysterious thriller, the first half of the book was great then I lost myself in the book slightly. But got a little disjointed in the second half.

Now the blurb for The Possession doesn't give you much to work on. A missing girl. Mysterious stone walls that defy explanation. Someone or something's clearly getting possessed. That's it. And if that's all you want to know, don't read any further than this paragraph. I'm not about to spoil anything, but there might be a few more hints hidden in my words than the book's teaser of a description. What I will say here is that this book is scary as hell and even funnier than that. If you have a chance to request it for review, go for it! It's proper entertainment.

So, for those that want to know more let me say that it's kinda like The Craft vs The Mist, with an ending reminiscent of a horror version of Inception. Everything about this seemed written specifically to scare me personally. In fact, the first half freaked me out so badly that I had to stay up past midnight to finish. Hoping, as is so often the case, that once I knew what was going on, it wouldn't be as scary. Well, that mostly worked. The first part is all about the rising tension and threatening atmosphere, with an additional splash of jump scare. The second is full on batshit crazy. Both sections worked for me, but the earlier bits are exceptional, quickly provoking a genuine fear of shadows and a serious aversion to looking in the bathroom mirror. 

But what really makes the book is the team. Nolan, Ken, and the rest of the crew are back to investigate another 'mysterious' case for their YouTube series, cue Twilight Zone music. As you can imagine, everything gets a little out of hand. I said in my review of The Anomaly that Michael Rutger gets the tone and the humour exactly right, and that holds true here. It's so perfectly balanced, heart and horror, laugh out loud moments in the midst of terror. It's snarky and true and it makes everything feel possible..... The author doesn't get lost in the theatricals. It's not full of big pronouncements and gung-ho melodrama. Instead, this is a bunch of normal people dealing with a really shit situation. Again. It could be me and my friends. It could be you...

And that's precisely why it's the kind of book that makes you legitimately consider sleeping with the lights on. 

If you want to feel like your heart is stuck in a vice and that there's probably something creeping in the shadows about to leap out and devour you at ANY TIME, this is the book for you. 

If you want to belly laugh and chuckle uneasily and grimace a little and grit your teeth, then this is the book for you. 

If you never want to leave the safe haven of your house and investigate mysteries because they're stupid and dangerous and people die, this is the book for you. 

If you want to understand why Nolan Moore should never be your friend, family, or work colleague, this book is for you....

Most of all, if you want to find an author who plays on your darkest fears to give you an electrifyingly fear filled read, then this is the book for you. 

I can't wait to see what trouble they get into next. It can't be any worse than this, right? RIGHT?

ARC via Netgalley

It was a good read although I thought it would be a very spooky read since on the cover it said 'for fans of Stephen King'...

** spoiler alert ** This one fell to the curse of liking the first half far more than the second.
The set up was intriguing,the mystery of the walls got me wondering.
The interaction of the characters was excellent,with only the subtlest hint there was a previous story,making this a good stand alone book.
And then things that go bump in the night...

When it all got a bit much for me was with the reality and non reality idea. I didn't feel scared,or even a bit creeped out ,and I think I felt like I MUST be missing something.

I'll be back though,because I rather took a shine to the characters.

Firstly I want to comment on the blurb, it’s perfect! If I hadn’t been approved for this title I’d have bought it since that blurb makes me want to know everything about this story!

According to Goodreads this is the second book in a series, I haven’t read the first and thought The Possession worked well as a stand alone so don’t worry if you haven’t read the first one!

Now onto the storyline....well it’s bloody creepy! That’s all I’m giving you, it’s creepy and it’s fantastic and you’d be daft not to read it!