A House of Ghosts was thrilling, suspenseful, and full of twists and turns. A must-read and one I highly recommend.

Synopsis:
Winter 1917. As the First World War enters its most brutal phase, back home in England, everyone is seeking answers to the darkness that has seeped into their lives. At Blackwater Abbey, on an island off the Devon coast, armaments manufacturer Lord Highmount has arranged a spiritualist gathering to contact his two sons, both of whom died at the front.

Among the guests, two have been secretly dispatched from the intelligence service: Kate Cartwright, a friend of the family who lost her beloved brother at the Somme and who, in the realm of the spiritual, has her own special gift; and the mysterious Captain Donovan, recently returned from Europe. Top secret plans for weapons developed by Lord Highmount’s company have turned up in Berlin, and there is reason to believe enemy spies will be in attendance. As the guests arrive, it becomes clear that each has something they would rather keep hidden. Then, when a storm descends, they find themselves trapped on the island. Soon one of their number will die. For Blackwater Abbey is haunted in more ways than one . .

A slow burn, Agatha Christie type of mystery well represents A House of Ghosts.

I expected this to be more scary, more of a gothic type of read but it was really just an all around good mystery with interesting characters and a beautiful cover.

If you are looking for a good mystery to pick up, I would definitely pick this one up.

I rather enjoyed this book, if I'm totally honest. The mystery of if all was really well written, and I loved how it was done over different points if view.

The ending to it made my heart swell a little 😊

I'm not sure the ghosts were really needed in this story however I did love that Kate could see things not of this world, and the family mirror was also intriguing!

Although I am only giving this book a 3/5 stars due to it not having the huge WOW factor. Was a really interesting read though :)

This book has SO much in it that is creepy and exciting and intense and... wait. How does one make a book with all these spooky elements in it so boring? Historic setting, creepy house, isolation, ghosts, a winter storm, Gothic atmosphere, murder... but this was so, so boring! I felt like nothing was happening, and by halfway through the book there was still no murder. What are we waiting for? The writing was also lackluster. It felt very simple. I did not finish, and will not be writing a more detailed review than this.

Ghosts and WWII, two of my favorite subjects in one book. But this one didnt really work for me. I'll try again later. Its probably just as other reviewers really enjoyed it. So I would say give it a go.

Set in the midst of the First World War, A House of Ghosts follows a group who've been summoned by Lord Highmount to Blackwater Abbey, an old monastery turned home that sits on a lonely and treacherous island. As guests, including spiritualists, family members, and past relations, converge on the Abbey secrets rise to the surface and personal ties are put to the test. When a storm hits, the guests and Lord Highmount get more than they've bargained for.

The opening and set up for this novel is reminiscent of many other mystery and haunted house horror novels but with the added element of WWI happening simultaneously. Because many of the characters are military personnel, what happens in the house apparently affects the larger war landscape as well as vice versa. Unfortunately, sometimes that leads to it feeling like two separate books that were smushed together. At first, I was interested in the use of multiple POV writing but was ultimately let down as there seemed to be very little differentiation in voice, if at all. I wondered why the chapters were labelled when we seemed to be in everyone's heads, it just didn't end up making sense to me, and I would always be questioning who I was supposed to be reading from.

Another thing that bothered me about this book is that sometimes the author wanted to end a scene but I don't think they knew how so they would effectively say "... and then they kept talking..." which is very weak ending to a scene in my opinion. It didn't provide suspense and made most scenes fall flat.

On a weirder note, the assertion that Kate can just ALWAYS see tons of spirits is just ridiculous. Do you know how many dead people there are in England?! That is just not well thought through in my head.

Beyond what I've already mentioned, I just felt that much of the plot and the character relationships were too convenient and the whole story suffered because of that and the confusing point of views.
However, if you do enjoy all mystery novels and are just looking for a quick read that has some military stuff thrown in, I'd give this one a try.

The author has managed to combine all the things I love in one go! Really well plotted and a just a fun read with plenty of drama. I made it an NYPL staff pick and I am constantly recommending it.

A House of Ghosts by W. C. Ryan is a novel that navigates the separate genres horror, gothic haunted house, mystery, spy thriller and historical romance while creating a tale of its own.

Summary –

“…He picked up the luggage and stood there for a moment. If C had told her nothing, then there might have been a reason for that. On the other hand…

‘I can see you thinking, Mr. Donovan.’

He placed the suitcases back down.

‘Did he show you some plans? They were on his desk.’

‘For the aerial torpedo? Yes.’

‘You have some knowledge of such matters.’

‘I worked in procurement for the War Office for nine months. I wouldn’t say my knowledge is extensive.’

‘Better than mine, I expect. I may need it. The other matter is your with…’ He paused, not quite certain how to continue. ‘That is, I understand you’re able to see things other people can’t.’

Her face had turned quite pale and he had a moment’s regret.

‘The ghost thing?’ he continued…”



It is the winter of 1917 and across Europe the First World War is at it’s most brutal apex. In England, families are seeking answers to the fates of their loved ones. Men dead or missing in battle.

Lord Highmount has arranged a gathering at his estate at Blackwater Abbey, secluded on an island off the Devon Coast. Family and friends will conduct a seance in hopes of contacting their lost loved ones. But there is far more than speaking with the dead happening on the island. For there are secrets and spies and murder to be had. As the storm rages outside, the inhabitants of Blackwater Abbey are cut off from the rest of the world and then the dead begin to gather and the living are being picked off, one by one.

Review –

A House of Ghosts is a tale that suffers from the lethargy of trying to blend far too many genres into one tale. Horror, spy, historical fiction, romance, Gothic and so on and so on. It touches on all of them briefly but just does not do any of them very well.

The setting is cut out of an Agatha Christie novel with a touch of Vincent Price suspense tossed in. The characters are pretty mundane. The aristocratic English, the outsider Irishman, the have and have nots. The entitled rogue fiance and the foreigners who are the spiritualists. These characters are pretty much the same characters we have seen for some time.

If the novel had been written as a ghost story and left out all the spy thriller stuff, it probably would have been good. If it had been written as a WW1, James Bond kind of tale it probably would have been pretty good. But the blending of the two actually muted the strengths of both genres and they seem to co-exist in this novel in a state of quiet desperation.

What I found most disturbing about this tale were the ghosts. They seemed to be relegated to bystanders. Spirits that exist but only seem interested in watching what was happening around them. They could have been cats or dogs for all the input into the story they had. Which seems strange considering the title of the novel.

Overall A House of Ghosts was not bad but not particularly good. If this is a beginning of a series I may give the second tale a chance in hopes that it takes serious leaps forward in story and characters.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Skyhorse Publishing and the author, W C Ryan, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of A House of Ghosts in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I thought this book provided a good read. The storyline was well thought out and written with intriguing characters. Certainly gets your imagination going. I certainly can't wait for more from this author.
Worth a read.

This was such a good read! It reminded me of an Agatha Christie style mystery with a paranormal twist. I loved Donovan and Kate, they worked well together to discover who was behind the murders and accidents happening on the island. I was a little wary of the paranormal element at first, thinking it would come off as more hokey than anything else but the ghosts were woven so nicely into the story that they ended up enhancing the narrative rather than detracting from it.

2020 started with a great book for me. Where "A House of Ghosts" has a generic name the story contains a lot more than the name suggests. The story is about an old hall where a seance will be held. During WW1 a scary amount of people died under doubtful circumstances and many people tried to contact them. This book is all about that.

The main characters are sent to hall where a seance will be held, they are hand picked by the army for this purpose. Not because of the seance itself but because of the many agenda's the lord of the house has. He is an industrialist who made his fortune in the weapons industry and there are quite a few shady pages in his diary. On top of this the house is swarming with spiritsto spruce things up.

There is a lovely mixture of WW1 detective thriller and horror. The supernatural plays a part in the story but is never the main subject. That is the part I enjoyed most. The way the supernatural stays a sidenote through the entire book enhanced the suspense.

This is one of my favourite books recently.

I liked in this book the suspensful and scary storyline and a lot of characters build in.
The author is very talented in presenting the storyline to not only grab your attention but also engage in your imagination.

This story has mentions of ghosts and a seance. That's about as supernatural as it gets.
The plot centers around talk of war, weapons, and espionage. Going into it expecting a ghost story, I was really let down.

There are far too many characters to keep up with, and many of the characters go by multiple names. It was tiresome to try to keep them straight. Additionally, major details were repeated over and over.

What I did like:
This was a clean mystery with just a hint of romance.
The setting and characters reminded me of Downton Abbey.

An isolated island, a manor house built from an ancient abbey, and a cast of suspicious characters makes for a perfect read on a dark and stormy night.

The Highmount family has gathered their closest friends to Blackwater Abbey for a séance to make contact with their sons who have been lost to WW1. But there’s more than meets the eye to this gathering; someone has leaked Lord Highmount’s weapon designs to the Germans, and all of the people invited had an opportunity to do so. Code breaker Kate Cartwright and British spy Donavan are sent to Blackwater Abbey to determine who leaked the documents, but find themselves in the middle of something even more sinister…

Overall I found this to be a satisfying mystery. The clues that were slowly being revealed kept me guessing at the culprit, I enjoyed the blossoming relationship between Kate and Donovan, and the setting of Blackwater Abbey felt like a character in itself. But besides Kate and Donovan, the other characters didn’t feel fully fleshed out. Sometimes it just felt like the boardgame Clue had come to life. There was also this whole paranormal subplot that I wished played a bigger part in the story, but it never felt like it reached its full potential. Despite this, I did have a good time reading this book and I think this would be a great quick read during a winter snowstorm.

A House of Ghosts is a paranormal murder mystery set during WWI. Originally released in 2018, this reformat was released 1st Oct 2019 by Skyhorse on their Arcade Crimewise imprint. It's 371 pages and available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats.

This atmospheric and very twisty country house (set on an island!) mystery has a large number of disparate threads including espionage, counter-espionage, combat fatigue (PTSD), murder, and a group of spirits betrayed to their deaths and bent on revenge which coalesce into a surprising but satisfying denouement.

The book, though written in 3rd person, follows several of the characters viewpoints in alternating chapters. It's not difficult to keep track of (the chapters are labeled clearly). The dialogue has a definite period vibe, and the different characters' accents are acceptably well done without generally being overpowering or annoying.

I absolutely love golden age country house mysteries and didn't find the plotting or tension too slow. For readers who prefer a faster pace, I can certainly understand how this one might drag a bit.

Well written and with more than a little golden age vibe.

Four stars.

Although I did enjoy this story for the most part, overall I felt like it was just a smidgen to long. There were parts where it dragged and others where it didn't. For me it felt like there was just way to much tossed into this story. I think that some of the aspects of it could have been taken out and put into a book two. I think this one would be great for people that don't get overwhelmed with different parts of a story that has many moving parts.

Honestly, I was sure I was going to love this book.
I love the setting: WWI Europe. I loved the idea of a ghost story set in a secluded house, isolated on an island during a storm and with a sanse schedule for the night (I mean, how can you not love it?) and a mystery. Everything right up my ally.
I really loved the first chapters of the story. The characters were so relatable. Kate and Donovan appeared to be clever, witty and sympathetic. And I liked that the fantasy element of the book didn’t interfere with the historical setting.
I was sure I was going to love it.

But then, halfway through, the story just fell apart.
The mystery was always unclear to me, and not in an intriguing way. The characters went around without never truly find clues or string them together and so deducing the mystery. The ghost element mingled with the historical setting, but I’m not sure why. Ghosts weren’t essential to the story at all, they seemed to be there just for colour. The ending seemed to be chosen because it was the most unexpected – but to me it was also unlikely. I’m not sure what the mystery was, why those people were killed and what exactly was the plot even now.

I’m so, so disappointed.
It could have been so much better.

A twisting, turning atmospheric mystery. A story which seems to have a bit of everything - not a terrifying tale by any means but more an historical mystery with several threads, almost verging on the gothic. Well written and engrossing. It's an enjoyable read for a cold Winter's night.

I really enjoyed reading this novel! It had a very good pace and the characters are interesting enough to keep you fully engaged into the story. There were plenty of ghosts and twists to keep you guessing until the very end. The big reveal was a bit of a let down for me, I didn't really understand the logic behind it. Overall, it's a very entertaining read.

This was such an amazing read that I couldn’t put it down. It went everywhere with me. To the doctors office, the dentist, the eye doctor. IT WENT ABSOLUTELY EVERYWHERE. I was so sad when it ended that I immediately went and bought more books from this author!