Mysterious And Creepy!


A clever and interesting historical haunting that made this book a pleasure to read.

The storyline revolves around several central characters and flashes back and forth from the late 1800's to present day and the characters are richly developed so the story is easily followed.
A tour group company spotlighting Henderson Close and it's sad and brutal history is the foundation of this story and it is so well-written that you can't wait to find out why this place seems to have many paranormal events associated with it and why many tourists have claimed to have experienced shadows and cold spots and feelings of deja vu.

I enjoyed this story very much and I look forward to reading more books written by Catherine Cavendish. There are many twists and turns in the last quarter of the book which leads to an unexpected climax that will leave you shaking your head with your mouth open trying to find words to express your feelings about this tumultuous ending!

I want to thank the publisher Flame Tree Press and Netgally for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

I have given a rating of 4 Creepy 🌟🌟🌟🌟 stars!!

Thank you to Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for this ARC. This has not affected my rating or review.

Hannah and her colleagues are tour guides who lead their visitors along the spooky, derelict Henderson Close, thrilling them with tales of spectres and murder. For Hannah it is her dream job, but not for long. Who is the mysterious figure that disappears around a corner? What is happening in the old print shop? And who is the little girl with no face

I really loved this ghost story! The characters were really likeable, and I was sucked in from the beginning. I liked books that flick back and forth in time, and this one worked for me. The setting is in Scotland, where I have never been… a part of me doesn’t want to go since reading this, but then a bigger part of me wants to add it right to the top of my bucket list! I definitely lost two nights sleep because of this story… and the girl with no face… but then I am a bit of a wimp…

I liked the ending and the way the characters stories were brought together, I thought it was clever and I didn’t see it coming.

I really want to read more of Cavendish's work now.

4 ghoulish stars!

[Review will be posted on Reader Voracious Blog on January 29, 2019.]

"It's worse than creepy in here. Let's find what we need and get out."

What a fantastically atmospheric ghost story! I was really excited when the publisher offered me this eARC for my honest review because I love tales of the supernatural even though I am a total skeptic about it. Interestingly enough, my one unexplained ghost experience happened on a ghost tour in the Underground Vaults in Edinburgh, so I was extra excited for this one! While the character's backstories and initial conversations felt disjointed at first, the story definitely shines with building tension and crafting a truly spooky read.

For those of you that have never walked the streets and closes of Edinburgh, they definitely have a haunting atmosphere to them. Our main character is Hannah, a recent divorcee that's relocated from England to Edinburgh to as an actor and guide for haunted walking tours of Henderson Close. While Henderson Close itself is fictitious, there are countless walking tours where the guides dress up as people from the past to lead the tours and discuss ghost sightings around the city (I've been on one!).
Close is a Scots term for an alleyway. Wikipedia
The way that the book and story is written is as if the reader has knowledge of Edinburgh, Old and New Town, and the closes. While Cavendish does a good job of setting the historical scene of the squalor living conditions of those living in the tenements of the closes (so close together that you could shake hands with the person across the way), there was definitely a missed opportunity to explaining the Scots terminology to the reader. Since our main character Hannah is an outsider (a Sassenach), I feel like there was a missed opportunity for bringing the reader into the narrative more. While I personally have traveled in Edinburgh and am familiar with the terminology used, I think that some readers may be confused and it would have been easy for the main character to be like "oh a kirkyard is a graveyard".

Reading the book made me smile a lot as it really does capture the feeling of being on a Haunted Edinburgh walking tour, learning the history of Auld Reekie (a nickname for Old Town from the renowned stench due to human waste being thrown out windows into the streets... 'gardyloo!'). The atmosphere and tension builds as the supernatural events escalate, really adding to the terror for our characters.
"The old legend that Farquhars Close was some sort of gateway to hell. It was one of the first Closes to go and was sealed up very quickly."
While I absolutely adored the plot, I did struggle a bit with the characters. In the beginning the dialog seems... off. I can't really put my finger on it but it doesn't feel authentic when Hannah's talking about her past with her new coworkers. In terms of the plot and supernatural happenings, the dialog is spot on, but in terms of character development it felt a little jilted to me. The exposition about Hannah's past felt a little repetitive and inconsequential to me; I was far more interested in the supernatural mystery than her past. I can say that while I struggled at first with the dialog and character exposition, I did eventually settle into the narrative and everything does have a point in the end.

The supernatural occurrences in Henderson's Close escalate as the plot progresses, getting more and more creepy. Something evil walks the Close, but only some people experience it. I do feel like there were some loose ends that could have been explained a bit better, but with ghost stories we don't get all the answers so it's unrealistic for me to expect everything to be spelled out at the end. I had some theories about connections that I would have like to see debunked though!

Overall, I really enjoyed this plot-driven and spooky book and highly recommend it to fans of horror and ghost stories! I don't often find myself scared while reading horror but this one definitely spooked me on more than one occasion, and while the character development was a little lacking, the strong plot more than makes up for it!

Many thanks to Flame Tree Press for sending me an advanced reader copy of this book at no charge via NetGalley for my honest review. All opinions are my own. Quotes are taken from an uncorrected proof and are subject to change upon publication.

I liked that this story went back and forth in history while offering a good amount of mystery and suspense throughout. The ending did a good job of tying up loose ends. Thanks for the ARC, Net Galley

I enjoyed this book. I liked the way they set up the main character and explained her back story with the stalker. It made her r actions more believable. However, Imdid find her somewhat annoying at times because she was so nervous. I do love haunted house stories and this was one of the better ones.

Catherine Cavendish did a great job telling this spooky horror tale about a murder that took place in 1891 Scotland, that reverberates back to today. The atmosphere was well done. I could picture myself back in that time with her vivid details. However, I was left a bit confused with the ending.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Agh how I was needing to read a horror story! And The Haunting of Henderson Close was just what I wanted right now.

This book has Hannah as its main character, this amazing woman that is trying to find her place in the world after her daughter goes away to work and she goes through a divorce, that's how she finds herself working as a tour guide on Henderson Close. I loved her and her personality, she was funny, smart and above all, adorable as a friend. I think I'd be able to read about her for quite a while without getting bored or tired.

Then we have other interesting characters that I got to connect immediately with and I was so thrilled to find out about their unique stories. Of course, we didn't get to know them deeply because that was part of the mystery but I did truly enjoyed the facts that we got to know. The only one I didn't care about at all was the male friend in the group (I've already forgotten his name, that's a clear sign of how much attention I paid him), he was really plain and I didn't know why he was there on the first place. For me, he had nothing in common with my girls.

However, the most enjoyable thing about this book is its creepiness. From the start, this book gave me the chills and I actually jumped a couple of times when someone around me made a loud noise while I was reading. The downside though, was that it got less and less scary as the story went on in my opinion, it was hard to picture the things described as something dark.

A super interesting thing I found unique on this story was that it used a lot of Scottish slang because it's set there and even though I had to look up quite a few words on the dictionary, I loved doing it and it made the story feel much more real. I could imagine it was me there in Scottland talking to all these different people and I loved it.

Regarding the ending, I didn't like who was to blame. I felt like it didn't make a lot of sense and it came out of nowhere which was a bit dissapointing.

To sum up, The Haunting of Henderson Close has amazing characters, it makes you feel like you're inside it and it has some really creepy scenes. However, if you're looking for a truly scary book, saddly I wouldn't recommend the second half of this one which was a huge let down for me since that was what I was looking for.

Catherine Cavendish has brought my love of horror back to the fore with this thrilling ghost story.
Set in old Edinburgh recently divorced Hannah takes a job as a tour guide round the haunted ruins of the old tenements. She befriends co-workers Mairhead and George and between them strange things start happening during their tours.
One day Mairhead doesn't turn up for work and then the fun really begins.
No spoilers but suffice to say I thoroughly enjoyed the thrill well worth a read.

1891 prologue; Henderson Close seems to be in Edinburgh but the character whose viewpoint we're in reallly doesn't seem to want to be here.
Well, she definitely (the author) gets the historical details right....
The violence against women is, um, not pleasant...

Then we switch to the present, 2018:
Protagonist is Hannah; she seems to be getting a tour of where some dude used to live... or no wait, she's a re-creation actor. She's one of those people who work at historic buildings and pretend to be from their most famous era

There are flashbacks that affect the overall narrative from the late 1970s as well. I think the author did a good job of integrating all the different eras, and showing the reader their significance. A tightly-paced thriller, "The Haunting of Henderson Close" will delight Gothic horror fans in particular.

Ghouls and ghosts and things that go bump in the night. These are stories that I love. The Haunting of Henderson Close from Catherine Cavendish has all of these elements rolled into an atmospheric story of Henderson Close, a area of Edinburgh long sine abandoned but full of history. Hannah and her friends are tour guides of the area, telling tourists tales of murder and the hard lives that lived there.

Before long, things start happening to not only Hannah, but her friend Mairead and visitors as well. Dark shadows, a child with no face and a print shop that opens and closes without explanation.

There are some rather thrilling moments in this book, but the end felt a little rushed and I wanted MORE. I wanted to know why? and how? and what?! Still, this is a good quick read to scare yourself with at night.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A truly spooky tale with a jaw-dropping plot twist. Cavendish "dishes" the right horror story--a true gothic tale perfect for the 21st century.

Sorry, have always liked Cat Cavendish's books in the past, but could finish this one. I'm not sure why, but aft after forcing myself to read 33%, I just couldn't continue.

Thank you to Flame Tree Press & Netgalley for providing me with a copy of The Haunting of Henderson Close in exchange for an honest review.

Edinburgh? CHECK. Time travel? CHECK. Seances & Ouija boards? CHECK.
Creepy little girl who’s missing a face & carries around a ragged doll? CHECK. CHECK. CHECK.

This paranormal experience takes us to Edinburgh & into the lives of the tour guides at Henderson Close. What started off as a dream job for Hannah, soon becomes a nightmare for her & her two colleagues, Mairead & George. Soon after starting her employment, Hannah finds herself face-to-face with spirits, residents of the past, and demons, oh my!

There are so many times in The Haunting of Henderson Close, that I had to pause and ask myself — what the actual heck is going on here?! The story jumps from 2018 to 1881 multiple times, in flashbacks & actual time slips. Characters from the present find themselves meeting members of the town from generations before; characters’ memories are completely wiped from their mind & it’s honestly just a hot mess, but not in a bad-reading-experience way? Oh no. I had a lot of fun reading The Haunting of Henderson Close.

The time slips really did sew themselves in seamlessly & it was very important, in terms of building the stories and piecing everything together. & although, I did not find myself attached to any of the characters, I did find myself rooting them all on in their mission & escape the evil, especially Hannah. For me, being able to cheer on the character is really important, otherwise there is no actual point in reading the story.

The entirety of The Haunting of Henderson Close reads as a ghost story. No shit, huh? What I mean though is, THERE’S NO FILLER — AGAIN, HASHTAG BLESSED. This entire book has the heebies & the jeebies. No extra, pointless content at all.

There’s also a scene in The Haunting of Henderson Close, that I imagined while reading & it actually scared me. This, my friends, doesn’t happen often. Oh! & there’s also this one disturbing murder scene that was extremely gruesome & I’m still Shook.

I definitely recommend The Haunting of Henderson Close to those who need a chilling read & enjoy ghost stories!

I am going to give this book 4 stars. I didn't finish it, because well I couldn't....
I was scared to death by the portion of the book that I read.
So that is why I am granting this book 4 stars... so scary!

For me, I was struggling a bit with this one. The idea and setting were good, but I felt there was a fair bit of repetition in the scenes. Also, at the beginning, descriptions seemed to read like a list, pulled straight from the internet. Maybe it was just me.
Saying that, it was mostly well written, and being from Edinburgh myself, I could relate to the story in that sense.
I still think this is worthy a three star as it is above average and I can't bring myself to give it a 2 or a 2.5. That just wouldn't be fair.
Didn't love it. Didn't hate it.
Three out of five seems right.

I really like this creepy ghost story.
It was full of twist and turns, fast paced and I couldn't put it down.
The setting was well described and realistic, the cast of characters well written and likeable.
I loved how the creepy factor keeps growing and get chillier with every page you read.
It was the first book I read by this author and it won't be the last.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC

The Haunting of Henderson Close is a well-plotted, time-traveling novel that takes a bit of patience from the reader to wait for the inner blossom of mystery to unfold. Those who have read many such genre novels may recognize a sense of deja-vu, but by the time Hannah, the protagonist, discovers more about the place she is working at and her co-worker goes missing, readers will want to stay. #TheHauntingOfHendersonClose #NetGalley

Release date 10 Jan. 2019

Catherine Cavendish is noted for her ability to delineate characters and pull readers into their lives, making us feel with them. That's very true in her newest novel, THE HAUNTING OF HENDERSON CLOSE. Set in Edinburgh's underground, and in that area when it was still a teeming, if not thriving, metropolis, crammed with human populace, rats, and offal (and crime). Ms. Cavendish skillfully weave time-slips, ghosts, and implacable evil into the equation. In 2018 contemporary Edinburgh, Hannah, George, and Mairead are ghost tour docents, leading tours of the underground former community. Imprisoned not far from Henderson Close is an ancient evil, which reconstruction releases. The trio will discover that the evil is much closer than they had any reason to believe, as they are tasked by a ghost to solve the 1891 murder of a kind-hearted, generous, upper-class lady from the New Town, who daily toiled in the slums to bring temporary relief of kindness, clothes, and food, to the abjectly poor.

A fantastic setting for a chilling ghost story. As someone who has been on the underground tours of Edinburgh's closes, I had a vivid image of the setting described in the novel.

The protagonists were likable and realistic, the antagonists horrible and the twist relatively unpredictable so it ticked all the boxes in those departments.
Setting and characters were what made this book enjoyable for me.

There was quite a lot going on and toward the end I found it a little bit difficult to follow. I still have some questions. But all in all it was enjoyable and I would consider giving Cavendish another read if they setting seemed equally as fun.

There’s always been sporadic supernatural activity during the tours of Henderson Close. Occasionally visitors have experienced cold spots or seen shadowy figures, but when Hannah begins her new job as a tour guide the mysterious phenomena escalates. Hannah and her fellow tour guides, Mairead and George, are soon caught up in a series of events that they can’t explain. If anyone ever needed help from the Ghostbusters it’s this trio.

Oftentimes I’ll pick up a book that promises spectral encounters and I’ll eagerly anticipate the promised ghost, only to be disappointed that they show up right at the end. This book does not have that problem. Ghosts really did show up again and again. While I wasn’t scared I did look forward to each time something ‘spooky’ happened, including time slips and a little girl who would probably be really cute, if only she had a face.

I loved the way that historical Edinburgh came alive for me. As scenes in the 19th century were explained I could see them unfold around me, right down to the stench of the Old Town streets. I wanted to solve the mystery of who murdered Miss Carmichael and learn more about the girl with no face.

While I enjoyed finding out about the lives of the people who once lived in Henderson Close and its surrounds, I didn’t become emotionally attached to any of the characters, past or present. No matter what happened to the characters I felt like I was a passive observer, which appeared to diminish the impact of the horror they were experiencing. I appreciated the onslaught on supernatural activity but wonder if I would have cared more about what happened to our trio if more time was spent fleshing out their personalities.

I’m still not entirely clear about the sequence of events surrounding Mairead’s life and felt that the connections the characters had to Henderson Close were a bit flimsy overall. The ending seemed rushed and I’m left with unanswered questions. I would have preferred for a couple of Hannah’s family background scenes to have been deleted, especially the letter Hannah received from her ex (which I didn’t think added anything to the story). Instead I wish there’d been additional explanations as to why the story ended the way it did.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for the opportunity to read this book. I’d be interested in reading more books by this author. I am rounding up from 3.5 stars.