A chilling, suspense-filled ghost story from multimillion-copy bestselling author Peter James, now also a hit stage show.Ollie and Caro Harcourt are moving house with their twelve-year-old daughter Jade. Ollie is desperate to leave the city. Caro is less sure. Then they view Cold Hill House, a dilapidated rural mansion, and fall instantly in love. It’s expensive, but with its space, seclusion and … love. It’s expensive, but with its space, seclusion and huge grounds it seems like a brilliant idea.
That is, until they arrive.
It soon becomes apparent that they are not alone. A spectral woman appears on screens and walks the corridors, vanishing before she can be challenged. Strange occurrences become ever more common. Then Caro starts seeing faces, always looking out of the same upstairs window.
The room behind it could hold the key to the disturbing secret behind the house’s mysterious past. Except for the fact that the room doesn’t seem to exist…
A blood-chilling horror novel from one of the true masters of thrills, perfect for fans of Stephen King and Dean Koontz.
Praise for The House on Cold Hill
‘Impeccable’ The Sunday Times
‘Superbly creepy modern horror story’ Book of the Week, Sunday Mirror
‘James is a compelling storyteller and he ratchets up the tension in increments, so that his readers will be suitably terrified. By the time you want to scream ‘Look behind you!’, it’s already too late.’ Daily Mail
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“The House on Cold Hill” by Peter James starts with a shocking incident involving “THE” house. The storyline moves on, but the remnants of the event remain for readers. This is the tale of house flipping gone wrong, every remodeling nightmare. The Harcourt family moves into a house they be paradise for the three of them. The house needed extensive remodeling, but it had lots of potential. The Harcourts embark down a path that crosses the line between the real and the surreal. Would they have bought the house if they had known it came with a ghost?
James describes in detail the ordinary lives of ordinary people in what soon becomes an extra ordinary situation. Readers get to know the Harcourts, they become real; they become friends. They have everyday problems, slow internet, things break, relatable problems, ones everyone can understand. They have work, school, and chores; they sent text messages and use Facetime; they update all their technology. They are as relatable as folks who live next door, although after what happens, readers are certainly glad not to be living next door.
James paints a vivid picture of the house and the magnificence that it once had; the walls are ochre, not tan or brown or even mustard. The pace is slow, deliberate, and yet evokes mystery and suspense. Little events build the intensity systematically, page by page, always reminding readers of that secret, that mystery that envelops the house.
“The House on Cold Hill” takes readers on a wild ride down a long path along with the characters. There are many parameters, many options, and many possibilities with “THE” house. They should just pack up and leave, but they have been warned: “No one leaves your house. They all stay.” In the end, they all do, in one way or the other.
A creepy slow burn that took me a while to get into. As the story continued to build it held my attention and was definitely worth finishing.
The story centres around a family, Ollie and Caro and their daughter Jade, who leave the comfort and security of their mid-terrace Victorian property to move into the house on Cold Hill. They have overstretched themselves financially in order to make the move but Ollie has a vision for the house and wants to restore it. All of which, along with the eccentric people in the village, the strange rumours and the peculiar things that happen, make this a fascinating book to read.
The constant build of the sense of menace is palpable and the plot twists and turns in ways I could not have envisaged when I began the story. Add to that an ending that I definitely did not foresee and you have one of the spookiest books I have ever read. An absolutely amazing read.
Ollie and his wife and daughter move into a house that’s over 200 years old and has a dark history.
This book has all the wonderful tropes of classic Gothic literature but with cells phones and the Internet to make it contemporary.
Peter James is an awesome writer. I found myself reading very slowly. I didn’t want to miss one bit of eeriness or one clue as to what was going on. Sometimes I just didn’t want to hurl myself deeper into the oncoming scary scenes.
James captured the personality of Ollie’s 12-year-old daughter perfectly. (And scary stories are always scarier when there’s a kid.) She’s funny and dramatic and adorable.
I was really pulling for Ollie. I wanted him to be okay, and it was hard to read near the end of the book because I didn’t know if he was going to make it.
Excellent. Five spooky stars.
While I’m a tremendous fan of horror, I tend to stay away from haunted house books, as they just seem to be the same stories over and over again. In House on Cold Hill, there were a couple of aspects that stood out to me and made the book a little unique. The spirit/spirits were actively striving to affect the Ollie’s life outside the house, which, to me, was a much more effective psychological torture than the typical jump scares and no way out. The ending was a little abrupt, and, while I appreciate an open ending as much as anyone, the questions left open for the sequel were a little too numerous, making this feel like a prequel, rather than the first in the series.
Very creepy haunted house story.
Would be better if it had an actual ending. The way it is just leaves you hanging and wondering what was going on!
I really enjoyed this book.