3 Stars

I had very high hopes for this book, unfortunately, I found it to be a bit underwhelming. I loved the main characters Jed and Emma. Jed has the ability to communicate with the dead, which is pretty cool. The setting of the book being a creepy old mansion was amazing, as well. The first part of the book had me afraid to read my kindle with the light off.....I was waiting for something to grab my foot.

As I continued reading, without revealing too much detail, I think there may have been too many characters and their interconnected relationships were a bit much. I found myself zoning out. The action was great, as well, I just think that the "creepy' factor could have been played upon better.

A special thank you to NetGalley, Allison & Busby, and S.M. Hardy for providing me with an ARC.

A definitely must for anyone who loves good mystery with some supernatural and evil cults thrown in the mix! This book really has everything, secrets around every corner, evil cult, ghosts, and a crew of interesting characters that are not all what they may seem. Fast-paced, I never lost interest, and a satisfying ending which is always important! Just read it!

A fast-paced paranormal thriller, filled with ghosts, a spooky house, and the occult.

When Jed receives a letter from an old friend, Simon Pomeroy, who he fell out of touch with years before. Jed and his wife Emma travel to Simon's family estate, though the invitation wasn't for a holiday. Simon's brother was murdered in a very gruesome way, and Simon needs Jed's ability to communicate with the spirit world, in order to solve the crime. Family secrets are reveled throughout Jed and Emma's time at the estate and lead them a wild chase for answers.

This book kept me guessing the entire time. There were unexpected twists and turns, a LOT of family secrets, and was a great way to kick off the spooky season! The characters and plot were well developed and there were no loose-ends at the end of the book.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy of this book!

A fast paced novel. Well written taking you along with it, delving into the supernatural and mixing the old money family with the house staff and making you imagine the settings and situations to be quite real, A knowledgeable writer who makes you want to not put the book down, twisting and turning till the end.

This is the second in this series, the first being The Evil Within. For full enjoyment, although the main story is self-contained, I would recommend you read that first.
So... Jed is shocked to hear from an old friend he served with in the army. An estranged friend he hasn't thought of or heard from in ages. But Simon wants Jed's help. Needs it! Jed has a special something that Simon thinks can help him solve the brutal murder of his brother. Jed isn't sure. It's been a while and they did have reasons for the estrangement but wife Emma persuades him. It's been long enough, maybe this will be the spark that reignites their friendship. Little do they know exactly what they are getting themselves into...
I really enjoyed book one of this series and this book continues in the same vein. It's spooky and scary and stars some larger than life characters all doing some very weird and strange things. There's also a theme around family and tradition and the setting of the big old house adds to the overall cloying and claustrophobic atmosphere which really brings the story alive. All this alongside a healthy dollop of secrets and lies and all things in between.
To say I really had no idea where we were going is a bit of an understatement but, reading so many books of this genre, it's not often I am completely flummoxed and it really does make for a pleasant change.
If you like a bit of paranormal spooky in your mystery and are willing to suspend belief a tad along the way to getting a thrilling but satisfying conclusion then maybe give this a go. I did and I'm now waiting for book three. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

A spooky Paranormal mystery - Jed and his wife Emma are invited to an old colleague’s house for a stay. But things are not quite what they seem. A death in the family has Jed trying not to use his powers to find out what happened, whilst trying to keep himself and his wife safe.
Having not read the first in the series, I wasn’t sure if I would follow what was happening, but all was explained throughout the book
A gripping read.

A family from hell, literally. Gruesome murders, satanic worshippers, a haunted house and a man that can talk to the dead. A really good creepy thriller which certainly ticked all my boxes. The second book in this series, but can be read as a stand alone as the author has given the reader enough of the back story. I enjoyed this book so much I have downloaded the first as I am intrigued to find out how it all began. I can't wait to read more about Jed and his special talent.
Thanks to Allison and Busby and Netgalley for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

I would like to thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy of this book.

I went into this book knowing very little about it or the author. I absolutely love a good ghost story though and was not disappointed. This is a murder mystery/paranormal tale set in a creepy country estate. It was very well written, enjoyable to read with extremely likeable main characters. I have now discovered this is the second book to feature Jed and Emma and I will definitely go back and read the first book in the series.

A Nightmarish Catalogue Of Events....
Book two in the Dark Devon Mysteries. When Jed receives a letter from an old friend and an invitation to the family estate he cannot possibly foresee the nightmarish catalogue of events which will follow. A tense, suspenseful read with a supernatural bent. Keep those lights on!

There were a lot of elements that I loved about this book — the ominous estate setting, the increasingly mysterious clues, the suspicious cast of characters. However, it just could not hold my attention.

The writing felt noir-esque, but not committed enough to seem intentional. Despite a continuous uncovering of clues, the pacing still felt really slow. And there were too many characters introduced off the bat without much explanation (other than that they all suffered a grisly fate), so it became confusing to sort out who was who.

The other reviews were so glowing that I was really excited to read this book, but ultimately I struggled to finish it.

𝕋𝕙𝕣𝕖𝕖 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝕀 𝕃𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕕
❶ The setting in this book is one of my favorites, a creepy old estate shrouded in mystery.
➋ I really liked that this was written in first person. I can't remember the last time I read a book in first person of only one charcter and knowing only the one chracter's true feelings was fun and added more suspense to the other characters.
➌ The cult is referenced early in this book and plays a part throughout. I won't tell you how major or minor but it is an interesting topic to me and one I enjoy reading about.
.
𝕋𝕙𝕣𝕖𝕖 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝔹𝕦𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕕 𝕄𝕖 𝕆𝕦𝕥
❶There were some not so believable plot points (I thought) in the book. The coordination needed to acheive some of the storyline would have been close to a miracle but I guess that's what you get in a fictional world.
➋ Even though the main charcter is known to have supernatural powers. (He can talk to people beyond the grave.) I thought this was used a little too much to the author's benefit. There are multiple points where he just knows something bad is going to happen and he knows exactly what to do to stop it, even though he doesn't know what it is.... say what?
➌ This one wasn't as twisty at the end as I was hoping. I was anticipating the ending.
.
In summary: This was a fun read! This book is part of a series by Hardy that I don't think I'll go back and read but I did enjoy the charcters and setting in this one. The storyline was a little predictible for my taste but it was a super easy read and even has a little romance mixed in.

Thank You NetGalley/Publisher & Author for this gifted E-book

Summarry
The village of Slyford St James is no stranger to supernatural happenings, as long-time residents Jed and Emma know all too well. Although Jed's spiritual connection with the dead was once a source of pride, it now fills him with dread. When he receives an invitation to the family estate of his old army friend Simon, who wants Jed to use his gift to solve the brutal murder of his elder brother, Jed is initially reluctant, but Emma encourages him to agree, hoping that this new sense of purpose might lift him out of his melancholy, despite the circumstances.

Review
This was a mystery kind of book. I wasn't really into this read like I thought I was going to be.
To be honest it didn't hold my attention, which bummed me out.
It has the haunted feeling through out the story. I enjoyed the characters. But the story I just couldn't relate to.

Rating- 3/4

This book couldn’t quite decide what it was - mystery/thriller or ghost story - but was so cleverly written that it didn’t matter. The two aspects worked well together. I enjoyed getting to know these characters and hope we will see more of them.

The lead character gives a lot of grunts. No, really. I think the term "gave a grunt" was used a dozen times, starting on page 1, plus "grunted" and, of course, "disgruntled." It struck me funny. Actually, a lot of the wording struck me funny. Some of this can be attributed to cultural differences (I'm not English), but I do read a lot of British mysteries and this was the first time I really noticed. There were sentences where I felt sure that a word was missing, some strange punctuation choices, and a lot of unusual turns of phrase. And repeating words, like "pad,""padding" and "padded" to describe walking in the span of maybe 5 pages, and then again a few pages later. It took a bit of time to get used to. But the grunting, though. It was distracting.
The tone of the writing fluctuated between sweet (lots of "you lovely man's, kissing and fawning adoration) and almost crude (lots of coarse language and the protagonist talking and acting like a, well, like a jerk). It was like two different books. The former elite MI5 agent slitting throats and wiping out a satanic cult, and the retired psychic with his doting (and noticeably underdeveloped) wife solving mysteries. It never really gelled for me.
That said, the mystery was delightfully ridiculous and over the top and I had to force myself to put the book down at 12:30AM to finish it in the morning. It was a wholly entertaining story.

Through @NetGalley, I was fortunate to read an advanced copy of Evil Never Dies by S. M. Hardy. This is a second book in a paranormal/mystery series featuring Jed Cummings, a retired Military Intelligence officer able to speak with the dead, and his wife/partner in crime, Emma. In this outing, Jed and Emma travel to the country estate of Jed’s estranged friend and former comrade in arms, Simon, after the murder of Simon’s brother. Ghosts, unsolved murders, satanic cults and an unsettled estate are all in the mix as Jed and Emma seek to aid their friend and make it home alive.

The haunted country estate was suitably creepy, the mystery compelling and the villains were truly heinous. I loved the relationship between Jed and Emma, it had a Nick and Nora Charles feel to it.

While part of a series, this could have been a standalone as the author did an excellent job of introducing the characters. I enjoyed this one a great deal and, if this tells you anything, I’ve already gone back and purchased the first book in the series.

*An ebook copy of Evil Never Dies was the only compensation received in exchange for this review.

A supernatural mystery that keeps you guessing. I highly recommend this thrilling book to anyone that loves a good ghost story.