A menacing, spooky story with enough rope to guide the reader through the past and the present.

With the past coming to light gradually this lead me to wonder how this ties in up to date, no fear of it wandering off at all. This historical events of the past come uniquely up to haunt us.

The writing was exquisite, the pace very satisfying for me as a reader.

It was spooky and chilling giving me goosebumps in places like someone on the Misty hills wondering whose out there.

The character (Nanny) of past who vanished and the Nanny of present day was awesomely done.

I loved everything about this book.

This book is great to read if you are in a scary mood, there is a really eerie feel to it and the setting also creates a spooky feeling. I loved the relationship that developed between the main character Elspeth and Mary, the child she is caring for and their connection continues to grow throughout the book. The creepy sensations of the house and the presence of the ghosts made this book even more creepier which also lingers throughout, however some aspects of the novel did feel quite repetitive and there was a slow bit in the middle.
The ending brings everything together nicely with secrets and big twists revealed which I had mixed feelings about but overall it is a really spooky book which deserves to be read.

I read this with my book club for October and we split the book into 5 sections. These are our thoughts below.

Week One

This weeks section ended on a cliff hanger. A lot of us felt that the story had just got going and we were enjoying it so far. We had lots of questions particularly about Hettie and William but we really hoped there was going to be some big twist to the final section. The setting of Skelthsea certainly had an eerie atmosphere and you can tell not all was as it seemed. Greer seemed to be a big focus of our conversation, a lot of us were wondering why she didn’t like Elspeth. Was she jealous of Hettie? Like I said we had a lot of questions and couldn’t wait to start the next part.

Week Two

This is proving to be the perfect October read, I love the spookiness and eerie atmosphere! Our chat this week focused around Mary. Some of us were questioning her involvement in what happened with Hettie and William and some of us wondered if she was the key to all the answers. Elspeth is a formidable character and a lot of us commend her for sticking out the job and not running a mile! We love that she it trying to rationalise everything that is happening and refusing to believe it could be supernatural, it makes it all the more realistic for us readers. Elspeth’s history with her sister was intriguing as well. Could there be more to that than meets the eye? We were also wondering what was going on between Violet and Greer. They obviously have a connection and we’re interested to learn the backstory of Violet’s scar.

Week Three

We finally got some answers to Hettie’s disappearance and Violet’s backstory but we now have more questions! I’m starting to think that Mary is just an innocent bystander in all of this and has been scared into silence. I’m not sure by who but she has clearly decided that not speaking will keep her safe. We were saddened to see how keen Violet was to send Violet away which only makes her seem more guilty in our eyes. Greer is still a hot topic of conversation and we’re wondering if she’s being painted as an accomplice but it actually not involved at all? Some of the group feel that things are moving a little slow at the moment. We’re not sure if this is because our weekly sections are quite small but we hope that the final two weeks start to up in action and we get a satisfactory ending.

Week Four

I thought this week left us with a big cliff hanger and that made me want to read the next section asap. We finally learnt more about Greer and I can see now why she is the way she is but I’m still not convinced that she is responsible for the murders. I’m starting to cast the guilty light elsewhere and wonder if Alias is as helpful as she seems? Who knows what will happen but I have a feeling the final revelations will surprise us all. As a group the majority are enjoying this one and we love that none of us can tell where it is going. Some of us have also been terrified by the scenes in the attic and the whistle, it has certainly made our skin crawling and got the heart racing!

Week Five

Suffice to say I didn’t see that ending happening. The culprit was not who I thought it was and it was nice to be surprised. The final section built to a climatic ending and we finally had our answers to all of our questions. The most touching moment for me was how the relationship between Elspeth and Mary developed throughout the story. From her actions you could tell that Mary felt most secure with Elspeth and the final scenes only demonstrated how far they had both come. I also enjoyed the conversation between Elspeth and Greer, it was enlightening and gave some vital answers to our questions. For me this was a great read that held all the spooky, eerie vibes you’d expect from a gothic story. It’s a slow burning read with an atmosphere that quietly sneaks up on you and completely engulfs you, by the end I wasn’t sure what I did and didn’t believe.

Rebecca Netley's "The Whistling" is beautifully written, atmospheric and tense. It's the perfect read for these dark nights. Reminiscent of du Maurier's "Rebecca" in style, the creepy house, Iskar, feels like a character in itself. I particularly liked how Netley kept me guessing until the bitter end. Coming up with theories made for some interesting book group discussion!

I found the story gripping as well as eerie. Elspeth Swansome is alone in the world and takes a position as a nanny on remote Skelthsea, a remote Scottish Island. Her charge, Mary hasn't spoken since her twin brother's tragic death.

All is not well in the crumbling old house with its creaks, whistling noises and ghosts. Elspeth's employer, Miss Gillies who is Mary's aunt is distant and cold. She suffered a disfigurement in her youth.

As Autumn turns to Winter the island turns into a desolate place and Elspeth makes it her mission to find out who is singing the lullabies and where the whistling noises are coming from. Who can she trust and who is desperate that she fails.

Super creepy and spooky. A great read.

The Whistling is a chilling, often goosbump inducing story.
It's really atmospheric & in typical gothic style the house & island were characters in their own right.

The nature of the story & the build up of tension meant that it was a little bit repetitive in sections but this all aided in scene setting & by the end the creep factor was high (in fact my friend snuck up on me while I was reading it & I screamed 😱).

It had me guessing throughout & made for a great group chat each week with us all floating different theories about what was really happening & who we could trust.

A great, surprisingly quick read, perfectly pitched for these dark October nights.

A brilliantly atmospheric and eerie ghost story.

I was so incredibly excited when I got the email asking if I would like to participate in the book tour for this highly anticipated novel. I’d had my eye on it for some time, so I jumped at the chance to take part!

The novel starts out with our main character, Elspeth Swansome, arriving at the isolated island of Skelthsea (just off of Scotland) to start a new job as Nanny to a young girl called Mary.

Elspeth discovers upon her arrival that young Mary has been through a lot in recent months, firstly losing her mother, then her previous Nanny Hettie abandoned her and her brother, William, and then poor William also died under strange circumstances.

As Elspeth gets to know Mary, even though Mary is mute and they can only communicate through body language and facial expressions, Elspeth grows very fond of Mary and forms a close bond with her.

Elspeth herself has had loss in her life, after losing her younger sister Clara, whom Mary often reminds her of.

There are many tales from the residents of the island surrounding the house she is living in, and the possible ghosts that live within.

As time goes by, Elspeth starts hearing strange whistling sounds, and footsteps in empty corridors. All is not as it seems at Iskar, and Elspeth is determined to protect Mary at all costs.

This is a wonderful historic ghost story with so many creepy gothic elements that make it a perfect read for spooky season. There is also an element of whodunit, as it is not clear from the offset that the death of William was truly an accident.

I truly felt a connection to Elspeth and Mary, and I so desperately wanted them to both be okay, and for Mary to let Elspeth in so she could protect her. Their relationship was a sweet one, with a true bond between them both.

I was not expecting the twist at the end, I already had a character in mind for the ‘baddie’, but I was wrong.

It took me longer to read this book than I expected, mainly due to the fact I was reading it late at night for all the spooky vibes but ended up almost falling asleep each time!

Netley’s writing is beautiful; she creates vivid imagery of the island and its characters, and the story gives me ‘Haunting of Hill House’ vibes.

Overall, I would highly recommend this spooky tale to anyone who enjoys a slow burn spooky story.

Thanks again to Ella Watkins from Penguin Michael Joseph for allowing me to read early and participate in the tour!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher Penguin Michael Joseph, and netgalley in return for an honest review.

We read this as Tsundoku Squad’s October book, seeing as it sounded spooky and it’s Halloween soon. I gave this 4 stars each week and am quite happy with the final 4 stars from myself.

I enjoyed this story, and it freaked me out a few times, especially when reading it at 12am in the pitch black with everyone else asleep 😂 The lullaby at night in the halls of Iskar, the creepy whistle, the ever so slightly scary dolls, and a child so torn with grief she has rendered herself mute.

The Island of Skelthsea was described well and I could picture the rocky shores, whipping waves ans utter darkness. All in all it was a good story, not something I would usually read so I was happy I enjoyed it.

Thanks again to Penguin Michael Jospeh , Negalley, and of course Rebecca Netley for my e-arc.

Elspeth takes a job as a nanny on a remote Scottish island after struggling to come to terms with the loss of her sister. She immediately feels a connection to the young girl Mary who has also suffered the loss of her mother and twin brother William - the grief has affected her so badly that she hasn't spoken a word since.

Only two days after her arrival, Elspeth begins to hear an eerie whistling in the night, and this is just the first of many strange occurrences in her new home. Battling with her own sense of reason, will Elspeth be forced to open her mind to the possibility that supernatural forces are behind these creepy events or should she be more afraid of the living?

When I read the synopsis for The Whistling I thought it sounded like the perfect choice for Halloween and it certainly didn't disappoint. It is an unsettling and claustrophobic story, the island setting and limited set of characters only added to this, as Elspeth is completely isolated and has nobody to turn to for help.

I love a classic ghost story and this one hooked me from the start. I was unable to put it down as the fear and tension built gradually throughout the book, and the twists, reveals and surprising discoveries left me desperate to find out what had really happened at Iskar.

The Whistling is beautifully written, the creepier moments are balanced out by sections exploring the relationships between the characters both past and present. This does mean that the narrative is more of a slow burn, but it gives the story a subtlety which I personally prefer in horror or ghost stories.

A chilling gothic ghost tale (and a fantastic debut) which is perfect to read on a dark autumn night!

If you are planning to read The Whistling then you also need to plan to have someone feed your kids and warn your loved ones you may not shower or communicate for the duration.

The Whistling is set in 1860 and begins with Elspeth arriving by boat on the beautiful island of Skelthsea.

Elspeth has arrived on the island to by a nanny for a young girl named Mary who has recently lost her twin brother William. Elspeth sympathises with Mary as she has recently lost her much treasured sister.

Elspeth is unaware initially that her charge hasn’t spoken a word since her brother’s untimely death, and nobody likes to talk of the circumstances around it.

She soon realises that “All is not well at Iskar.” Mary sleepwalks and has endless nightmares, there are rumours about witchcraft and despite not believing in the supernatural Elspeth feels as though their may be a presence in the house.

Elspeth feels herself growing closer to Mary but like the rest of the inhabitants of the house she feels something is being hidden from her and that she knows more about the mysterious noises and sights within the house than she is letting on.

“I was a rational being. I did not believe in the supernatural and yet I was being presented with things I could not explain – the sounds, the odd glimpses of something that should not be there.”

Readers will accompany Elspeth through every twist and turn of this wonderful read.

The Whistling is an eerie gothic novel that gave of The Woman in Black vibes. I couldn’t stop myself reading it and there were definitely moments that gave me the creeps.

Haunting and atmospheric, this is a brilliant character led story for the spooky season. A true ghost story with chills along every corridor. A wonderfully descriptive setting, the house and island are part of the cast listing which add to this debut story. The ghostly goings on make you the reader start to disbelieve everything you read - who is involved? What is happening?

‘The Whistling’ is the epitome of a gothic ghost story and a perfect winter read.
The story follows Elspeth who is to start a new job as a nanny for young Mary on a secluded Scottish island. Mary has not spoken since the death of her twin brother and Elspeth feels a connection over their grief after the loss of her own sister. However Elspeth instantly senses the air of suspicion and secrecy as an outsider on the island.
The whole novel embraces the gloomy and claustrophobic atmosphere that is so innate in a great gothic story and is perfect for anyone who is a fan of ‘The woman in black’. The descriptive passages are so in depth and all consuming that you are drawn in completely and will not be able to stop wanting to find out what lurks ahead for Elspeth. It is a story steeped in loss and beautifully wrapped up in an ominous and intriguing mystery.

I'll admit that I came to this book with a healthy dose of scepticism. I'm not usually wholly sold on ghost stories - I prefer my sinister goings-on with distinctly human causes!.

However, I was won over by this beautifully written tale of eerie occurences on the remote Scottish island of Skelthsea. This truly is a cleverly-plotted and vividly-imagined story with some moments of genuine horror.

The story opens in 1860 with the arrival of a new nanny, Elspeth Swansome, who has been hired to look after Mary, a child who has lost her twin brother and who does not speak. The previous nanny has left in mysterious circumstances and the formerly grand family house is a place of shadows and secrets, of closed-off rooms patrolled by a sinister servant. An unnerving whistling noise can often be heard at night - all very creepy, even before the island is cut off from the mainland in the winter conditions.

The story follows Elspeth as she starts to unravel the secrets of Skelthsea - a mission that is fraught with danger and terror.

It was easy to warm to the character of Elspeth; she is probably the most relatable and realistic character among a cast of strange and untrustworthy people. Her isolation adds to the sense of creepiness as she seems to be alone in facing the horrors of Skelthsea and unsure who might be an ally.

The setting is evoked vividly to create a sense of natural beauty amidst the bleakness and grimness. The island is sometimes majestic, sometimes scary...and always dangerous for Elspeth as she navigates the creepy house, the graveyard and the rocky cliffs which have claimed lives in the past. The house itself is terrifying - a place of grief and empty rooms devoid of life, yet also seemingly harbouring something malicious.

It isn't often that I'm scared by a book, but there were some moments of real horror in this story - probably my fault for reading it late at night as I became compelled to find out what happened! Elspeth's nightmares were particularly vivid and often a little gruesome; this is a book in which death and the grave are never far away.

Although I did occasionally find the book a little repetitive, I would say this is a compelling and engaging read. It kept me reading compulsively and I thought that the plot strands were cleverly brought together in the end. It also had a lot more heart than I originally expected - there is a lot about grief and processing trauma - which the author has woven seamlessly into the fabric of the novel. Ultimately, this is a satisfyingly chilling novel for this time of year when the nights draw in - but with a story that will stay with you beyond Halloween season.

Thanks to NetGalley for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

The Whistling is a very enjoyable gothic mystery, dripping with atmosphere and a sense of impending danger.

I quickly warmed to the protagonist, Elspeth Swansome, and her developing connection with her young charge, Mary.

The final reveal was neatly thought out, with a few surprise twists.

I’m looking forward to reading more from Rebecca Netley.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Random House UK for the advanced reading copy of The Whistling. And to Rebecca Netley who wrote a book that actually made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

Rebecca Netleys writing is incredibly descriptive, which is perfect for a book of this nature. The descriptions allow you to feel like you're actually there and sets the atmosphere. I could almost feel the cold rain on my face and fierce wind blowing through my bones.

Our main character Elspeth has has a traumatic time and needs to get away from the hustle and bustle of Edinburgh. She takes a job to be a nanny in Skelthsea, a tiny island in Scotland. When the boat arrives at Skelthsea, Elspeth gets the first glimpse of what is to be her new home. Iskar is the largest house on the island and has been in the family for many years. It's old creaky floor boards, thread bare carpet and dimly lit rooms were not quite what Elspeth had expected. But she is eager to meet Mary, the little girl who she will be spending most of her time at Iskar taking care of. But it soon becomes clear that all is not well with Mary. After losing her twin brother the girl is understandably grieving but is that all that haunts her?!? They soon become close but can Mary be trusted. Or is there someone else that Elspeth should be worried about....

I read this in 2 sittings, wrapped up under a blanket, with just a candle for light. It really is the perfect read for this time of year, it has all you want in an autumn read, especially on the lead up to Halloween. I loved the dark, gothic vibes of the old house and the island itself. And the character building is fantastic, you really get to know them and become fond of (most) of them, even if you are unsure who is good and who is bad. It's hard to believe that this is Rebecca Netleys debut novel, I will be patiently anticipating her next release. I think we can expect more great things to come.

A spooky story set in the nineteenth century on a remote Scottish island. A young nanny takes a job looking after a disturbed girl who lost her twin brother and previous nanny and nobody seems keen to explain exactly what happened. These events rendered her mute and distant and the new nanny tries to break through to her.

The location of the story lends itself to the atmosphere of ghost stories, with the crashing sea and many shadows. It is full of gothic symbols such as the huge lonely house, strange noises, faceless dolls, premonitions and hints of a doomed romance. Not forgetting the weird silent child and moody staff with their unspeakable secrets .

Written in the first person perspective of the nanny, there is a feel of Victorian language and superstition. Some of the phrases, like someone 'passed' instead of 'passed away' for example, and a few other modern attitudes jar a little, but not enough to spoil the narrative. Indeed, the seed is planted that there are no such things ghosts or anything supernatural. The story is slow in places without building tension with some repetition and maybe would benefit if a few pages were edited out.

Nevertheless, The Whistling is a haunting novel and the descriptions make the story alive. I can visualise this very well. Should be a film...

The Whistling

A ghostly, gothic family saga.

When I started this book and realised it was set in 1860, I freaked out a little. I like modern settings and rarely read anything set in the 1800's!

But I really loved this book and the historical setting was perfect to create a spooky atmosphere! Elspeth wandering around creepy old Iskar house by candlelight. An isolated, misty island with stormy weather. No smart phones or internet! I loved it!

Elspeth takes a nanny job on a remote Scottish Island called Skelthsea. Her charge, Mary, is mute. Her twin William is dead, along with their previous nanny Hettie. What was Elspeth thinking about accepting this job!?

I loved the atmospheric writing and the mystery and intrigue of the story. Whilst I didn't find it particularly scary it definitely does have a bit of a chill factor and is quite unsettling. It's a little bit haunting and a little bit witchy and really quite an addictive read!

This is the perfect cosy, creepy autumn book and I definitely recommend it.

This was our book club October read and I enjoyed it but didn’t LOVE it! It was a little slow in places for me and I tend to struggle with getting ‘scared’ by books…

It’s a character driven, eery story based against the perfect backdrop. It was haunting and chilling places but it did start to wear thin around half way through for me.

If you like a spooky ghost story, this ones for you.

This gothic horror ghost story is perfect for fans of the slow-burn Victorian ghost story like The Woman in White and The Woman in Black.

This book is described as a horror. Sorry but I wouldn't class it as such. Maybe spooky though.

A mysterious household with some mysterious characters.

"On the remote Scottish island of Skelthsea, Elspeth Swansome takes on a position as a nanny.

Her charge, Mary, hasn't uttered a word since the sudden death of her twin, William - just days after their former nanny disappeared. But no one will speak of what happened to William.

Just as no one can explain the lullabies sung in empty corridors.
Nor the strange dolls that appear in abandoned rooms.
Nor the faint whistling that comes in the night . . .

As winter draws in, Elspeth finds herself increasingly trapped.

But is this house haunted by the ghosts of the past?"

As you read through this you follow Elspeth as she Pieces together what really happened and help everyone move on from the stigma of the house.

Interesting