The Haunting of Beatrix Greene, a multi-authored, serialized (sort of) ghost story in the Victorian tradition, has a perfectly fine concept. It’s the execution that’s mediocre.

It’s hard for a woman to earn her living in Victorian England. That’s why Beatrix Greene works as a medium, serving as a liaison between grievers and their dearly departed. It’s all a fraud, of course, though she likes to think she gives her customers some comfort, but she knows perfectly well that ghosts aren’t real.

Or are they?

Invited by a handsome skeptic to prove her career at the haunted Ashbury Manor, site of a grisly murder-suicide many years ago, Beatrix discovers there may be more truth to her scam seances than she ever realized...

I liked the concept, and thought the serial (ish) style with multiple authors alternating chapters would be a fun twist. It didn't really make much of a difference, though I will say to these authors' credit, their styles all work well together and there's no jarring change of tone from one chapter to the next. But the story itself is just too flat and cliche-ridden, with uninteresting characters and predictable, dull revelations. A short yet plodding ghost story that doesn't live up to its potential.

Thank you to Serial Box and NetGalley for the advance review copy!

If you like Victorian ghosts,horror and fantasy,with a little.romance thrown in, then this is the book for you. It is a quick read and on a small scale, sort of a fun, different kind of read for me. It started to lose me about midway with all the horror,house energy and changes in people and everyone seeing visions. Just seemed a little much for me, but it is well written if this is your genre. The cover gives a description but not sure it encompasses the amount of fantasy horror that is portrayed. I was provided an advanced reader copy and was under no obligation to provide a review. The opinions expressed are my own. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This book was great! Beatrix Greene is a spiritual medium who practiced "fake it 'til you make it", defrauding her clientele of hard earned funds while pretending to communicate with the spirits of their deceased loved ones.

Along comes James Walker, an American determined to expose her as a fraud. James hires her - at an exorbitant fee - to go to Ashbury Manor, a notorious haunted house. He wants to prove that she is a fraud. She wants to trick him, as she has done to countless others, and take the money.

But neither the living nor the dead are as they seem, and at Ashbury Manor it all comes to a head.

I enjoyed the way the story was presented as "Season 1, episodes 1-9" and I would love to see it as a real TV series. The plot moved quickly - maybe a tiny bit too quickly, as I would have liked a bit more lingering creepiness before the serious action. The characters were vivid and fun. The payoff was excellent. No bait & switch here. Mid-way though the book something happens that makes me question was genre I was reading, but it ends up fitting nicely into the overall story.

I would definitely recommend this book to those who love gothic horror and mysteries from Victorian England. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Serial Box, for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A short novel about a Victorian medium in a haunted mansion. Some reviews I read said that it was heavy on the romance, which is not my genre, but I’m glad that I didn’t pay attention and picked it up. It is creepy, gory, atmospheric and a lot of fun. The romance will please fans of the genre, but is not distracting for mystery and horror readers. The house and all the ghosts are well portrayed and the action didn’t stop. The short chapters make for a quick read and there is plenty of graphic horror so squeamish readers beware. The characters in these kinds of books are mostly stereotypes, but here they break the mold and I ended up liking them a lot. Beatrix, a fake medium who may actually have a real gift, is strong and determined and James Walker, the hottie who hires her to untangle the mystery of Ashbury Manor is a good romantic interest. Amanda, a photographer with an attitude, was my favorite character and cameos by Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle made me smile.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Serial Box!

I really liked this book at first. And, I’ve really been into several series lately where different books are written by different authors.. But this is my first book where different chapters are written by different people. And I must say it was a bit like a set of friends telling a ghost story around the campfire where every so often you have to pass the flashlight and the next person picks up the story. The problem is that it became a bit obvious that this set of friends all have different ideas about what makes a ghost story good - it seemed Ike we had a traditional; gothic suspense fan, the classic horror movie skyrocketing hormones trope, and a gory horror fan, It didn’t quite come together for me, because you could tell as the chapters switched it seemed like the next writer was trying to steer the story in a different direction.
The first few chapters presented our heroine as a demure and conservative medium, intent on portraying a less theatric front than what was typical for the day. Then suddenly as soon as the supernatural events began, it’s like someone else took the flashlight and said, but that was just what she wanted people to think, in reality she had no qualms about exercising her passions... because suddenly her attraction for James went from “this guy might be interesting” to “I want to throw myself at him right now”. Then the supernatural Rose Red-type sinister house hauntings continued until the next person took the flashlight and turned it into a gore fest with rotting flesh and exposed muscles and innards.
The overall story itself is good, it just had some many drastic jumps and character changes that it didn’t really come together for me.

Yes! This was what I've been wanting for spooky Oct. reading and I don't care that it is Nov. now! England, seances, mediums, evil spirits and good ones too...this has it all!

This book is brilliant as an ‘introduction’ to horror fiction. It wasn’t the best book I’ve ever read but it made for good Sunday reading and it was quite interesting. Someone could easily turn it into a TV show - it has interesting characters with great back stories and some good flashback scenes. I liked the romantic sub plot and it had a really nice ending considering how horrifically had the circumstances in the middle of the book became. The Author has a lot of talent for creating a story that seemed very ‘fresh’ and I don’t ever recall reading anything similar! Very imaginative.

Overall? I probably wouldn’t recommend it if you’re expecting it to be Steven King-ish. It’s probably better suited for teenagers and young adults to read. Some of the scenes were disgustingly graphic but a little bit too silly as it went from being haunted by ghosts and seances to fighting off demons with magical powers (as if the author didn’t quite know how to finish the story). If you’re a fan of the genre then it’s quite a good book but I got through it in a few hours and didn’t feel like I’d ‘achieved’ anything by finishing it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Beatrix Greene is a medium who has her clients believing she can communicate with their dead loved ones. She is good at what she does and is challenged by scientist James Walker to prove her abilities at Ashbury Manor, his family home. What happens there will have them both questioning if Beatirx's abilities are real? And what is James hiding when he challenges her? This is a nice story for Halloween and easy to read. I finished it in one afternoon and found it very enjoyable. Thank you to NetGalley and Serial Box for the advance copy in exchange for a fair review.

The Haunting of Beatrix Greene was not what I expected. The paranormal elements were great, and I loved the cohesion between the house, ancestry, and other elements (do not want to spoil!). I was not a huge of the body horror; however, this is a personal opinion that effected my enjoyment- for others this may be a plus! It was a quick, fast-paced thriller that had me at the edge of my seat throughout.

Good ghost story with interesting characters—not too much “horror”
Advanced reader copy courtesy of the publishers at NetGalley for review.

This was such an interesting read, I quite liked the haunted house and unfolding of family histories and tragedies. There was a bit of gore but mostly just a creepy ghost story. I thought Beatrix was an interesting character and liked the way she carried herself. I would definitely be interested in reading more and would recommend to anyone looking for a quick and intriguing ghost story.

Now this is what I call a scary ghost story. As an added bonus there is a bit of romance blended into the story.

Yes! It's been a while since I've read anything by Serial Box but this was AMAZING! It's creepy, romantic and wonderfully gothic! What more could I ask for?

Will go live on the blog: 11/18/2020

Beatrix Greene is a well known psychic in Victorian era England. When she hears of a scientist named James Walker, who has come to the area and exposed several frauds in the psychic industry, Beatrix fears her livelihood is at risk as she too is a fraud. However, Mr. Walker instead offers her a job she can't refuse - to go to the infamous haunted Ashbury Manor. When they arrive, it's clear that the manor has a dark history and it quickly becomes apparent that everyone's lives are at risk. Beatrix and James are running out of time to figure out the mystery surrounded the haunted property and escape.

I thought this book did a good job of keeping a spooky atmosphere. The house, the characters and the history were well laid out. The only thing I didn't like was the resolution to the story. It seemed way too convenient, if not kind of cheesy. With the resolution and how the story ended- it was lackluster. It was too happy of an ending after everything that just went down. No emotional trauma? No heartbreaking sacrifices? Just Super Beatrix to save the day? I did like the majority of the book, but the ending left me wanting more.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read The Haunting of Beatrix Greene as a part of my Spooktober TBR and oh boy, it didn't disappoint. As a lover of gothic horror and any good ol' haunted house tales, I had pretty high expectations for this book. I'm glad that I ended up really enjoying it and I'd recommend it to anyone who's looking for a great, spooky read.

This novella is classic horror. A little cheesy, with a good scare mixed in.
I found the first half a lot more creepy and enjoyable than the second half. It somehow became a love story instead of what I was hoping to read around Halloween.

I have my serious doubts after I picked it. I wanted a Halloween reading but I wasn’t prepare to find out it was an edit of a serial novel published online.
I have mixed feelings because, for instance, every serial ends with a big cliffhanger to kept you going. (Which is good)
It was like reading some old penny dreadful of gothic terror. The first part was narrated by Rachel Hawkins (Which is why I picked it) I loved her trilogy, Hex hall at the end and wanted to see how se was writing for older audiences.
The first serial is very introductive but is so freaking good! It has these vibes from The show Penny Dreadful and the movie The Crimson Peak that it was a really satisfactory reading for Halloween.
The victorian medium, in a creepy house full of ghost really pay out but it was not so out of the ordinary. I guess I can feel the differences between the episodes written by every author. Thou they try to keep it very well edited, is like a show when sometimes, the first few chapters are good and then in the middle it drag some parts…like a dead weight (pun intended).
For me is three stars. (I would say 3.5 Victorian gothic stars but goodreads is all or nothing.)
Love the red dress cover better than the one with the frame on it.

In this novel, Hawkins creates a creepy atmospheric novel with ghosts, possession, a séance, and a little bit of a twist. There are some moments of romance and I feel like that was a surprise for me since I was just looking for a novel that would be perfect for Halloween. So, I was a little caught off guard when the romance snuck in. I felt like that was slightly out of place.

The Haunting of Beatrix Greene provides the reader with a nice little ghost story full of intrigue, mystery, and a little bit of gory details. Great for someone who isn't put off by a bit of romance. I would suggest this book to friends who are in search of quick read.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I'll be posting my review on Goodreads and Amazon

The Haunting of Beatrix Greene is a perfect spooky fall read. I'm glad I added this to my list of books to read in October. It's a quick read, but one filled with all the tension needed to keep you turning the pages. Beatrix Greene is a well known spiritual medium who holds a big secret, she's a fraud. One day she is approached by a man, James Walker, who offers her the job of going to Ashbury Manor to perform a séace hoping to put the evil spirits, said to haunt that estate, to rest for good. Beatrix accepts with hopes of pulling off her biggest scheme yet. However, during the séance, Beatrix finds out who she truly is. Her gift comes alive as a vengeful spirit takes over her body. After they end the seance, she decides to abandon the job and leave the estate. The spirits refuse to let this happen and lock her and all the guests inside, holding them captive. From that point on, they must find a way to escape the manor before the ghost strike, or else they might not make it out alive.

I thought the book was well written. However, I was unfamiliar with the serial box story. I did some research to find out this is a way for the author to deliver an ongoing story done in short installments. I think this is a great idea and would have enjoyed listening to this book read in short segments. It keeps the reading coming back for more, especially when a story builds and the tension grows as this one did. If you don't come back you'll never know how it ends!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book.