Hear Him Calling by Carly Reagon

I love this time of year when the days and the book covers grow darker. As we edge towards October, you can guarantee some new gothic or ghost tales will show up in the 'you must read this' content on one of your social media feeds.

Well, snuggle in, light a fire, add a mug of hot chocolate and snacks because once you start reading Carly Reagon's book you're going to want to keep going. Oh and make sure you keep the light on. I'd recommend it.

Here's the blurb on this book to tempt you in.

Description

'Powerful, haunting and truly terrifying' CHRIS WHITAKER, author of We Begin at the End

'Beautifully written and epically scary' ROSIE ANDREWS, author of The Leviathan

'Carly Reagon is one to watch' C. J. COOKE, author of A Haunting in the Arctic

DISCOVER THE GHOST STORY THAT WON'T LET YOU GO . . .

Kyle can barely remember his grandfather. So when they inherit his old house - a damp, secluded tower on the edge of a Welsh mountain village - Kyle and his wife, Lydia, feel they are moving into the home of a stranger.

From the start, Lydia hates the house: the disturbing paintings in the attic, the hostility of the locals, the peculiar light that pours through the kitchen window. Kyle thinks Lydia needs a break from London, from the nightmares and the panic attacks. But over the coming weeks, Lydia's sense of dread only becomes more insistent, whilst Kyle is drawn to the house in ways he cannot explain.

Yet as winter approaches, cutting them off, the house must become their refuge. For outside, on the mountain, something is calling to them.

Something that has waited decades, and wants to be let in.

My thoughts

I read the story in a couple of days and it was a good one. There's a lot more to it than I anticipated but I think where the book shines most is in the first half where some seriously weird things happen to Lydia and Kyle after they move into Kyle's grandfather's old house up a mountain in Wales. As someone who has written ghost stories, I know how hard it is to keep the momentum going. A story of 5k words is one thing, a novel of circa 80k words is way tougher.

The pace is relentless and the book is a page-turner. I definitely fell into the - just another chapter and maybe another one category of reader.

I love Wales and have read many books set there but in 'Hear Him Calling,' the setting is sinister and isolated and the sort of place you'd likely run a mile from, but the arguments to stay are convincing and believable. Right from the start I was thinking this would not be a good place to be trapped!

The book rolls out in a way that's not unexpected but no less enjoyable as a result. And if you are a ghost story fan, this will send some shivers up your spine.

It's out on October 17th in all the usual places.