Ishmael Jones investigates a haunted house . . . but is haunted by his own past in the latest of this quirky paranormal mystery series. “That house is a bad place. Bad things happen there . . .” Set high on top of Widows Hill, Harrow House has remained empty for years. Now, on behalf of an anonymous prospective buyer, Ishmael and Penny are spending a night there in order to investigate the … night there in order to investigate the rumours of strange lights, mysterious voices, unexplained disappearances, and establish whether the house is really haunted.
What really happened at Harrow House all those years ago? Joined by a celebrity psychic, a professional ghost-hunter, a local historian and a newspaper reporter, it becomes clear that each member of ‘Team Ghost’ has their own pet theory as to the cause of the alleged haunting. But when one of the group suddenly drops dead with no obvious cause, Ishmael realizes that if he can find out how and why the victim died, he will have the key to solving the mystery.
more
There are very few people I would recommend Green’s work to. There’s something about the worlds he writes that got me to read all of the books in 4 of his series (no Deathstalker or Forest Kingdom), but they are a bit tough to sludge through and they are pretty similar. The Ishmael and Polly definitely remind me of Edwin and Molly (hmmm Molly and Polly (coincidence?!?).
I like the Jones books because they tend to be under 200 pages, but that can hurt them in plot development as id definitely the case here. There are two plot lines, the house and the death. I knew what happened with the death right from the start. The house is pretty hard for anyone to truthfully know based on what’s given in the story. Ishmael solves it as only Ishmael can. So, it’s kind of a cheat like any mystery a dedicated reader can’t solve by paying attention and tracking the clues. This is also not the first or even the second creepy house story in this 9 (so far) book series. Green needs to shake it up and maybe have the next book take place on a sunny beach or on the Brighton board walk in full (non-COVID) summer.
So, I enjoyed it enough to finish, but definitely agree with reviewers that found fault.
I’ve been a big fan of this author for years, but I have to admit this series I’ve been mostly on the fence. There has been some I’ve really liked, and there have been some that I liked but with caveats. To be honest, this book started as the latter, but it worked its way up to being maybe the best so far. I really can’t say much as I don’t want to spoil this book, but I thought that the book was going to progress much the same as the other ones. But, no, there were a couple of things that were completely different than usual. This was the usual fast-action, well-written book but with a couple of twists. Give it a try, but you really need to start from the beginning to get the full effect. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.
192 pages
4 stars
Ishmael Jones and Penny Belcourt are asked to investigate a “haunted” house. Someone wants to buy it but first they want the rumors investigated. It seems simple enough for neither believes in ghosts and while Penny is more open to the possibility, Ishmael is sure it is all just a story to scare people. The hitch is that they won’t be alone. There are four amateur “experts” who will join them. They are a psychic, a ghostbuster, a white witch and a reporter.
As they approach the house and meet their new colleagues, they get a creepy feeling. They enter the house and begin to search it. Arthur, a member of the family who owns the house and a reporter, says that the floors upstairs are rotten and suggests that no one goes up there. So the group stays downstairs. Soon, odd things begin to happen. Terrifying things.
The “psychic” suggests a séance. Someone dies. Ishmael and Penny suspect the person was murdered. It’s up to Ishmael and Penny to discover who murdered the person.
This is a delightful haunted house story with an unusual twist – and some surprises! It is well and intelligently written. It reads very quickly and the plotting makes logical sense. This is a great little book and I am so glad I read it. I liked Ishmael and Penny. Although the rest of the “team” was a little odd, they were certainly entertaining. Oddly enough, this is my first Simon R. Green novel, but it won’t be my last. I need to learn more about Ishmael and his past.
I want to thank NetGalley and Severn House Publishers for forwarding to me a copy of this very good book for me to read, enjoy and review.