The Haunting of Beatrix Greene is a wonderful, light ghost story about what happens when a spiritualist fraud meets what rally haunts people. Perfect entry for October reads.

Thank you NetGalley and Serial Box for the opportunity to read an advance reading copy.

I'll call this a cute little ghost story. I liked it, but it didn't really scare me. I wish there had been more character development and maybe more to the story in general, but I still liked what I read. The romantic parts did seem a bit incongruous, but the contrast was interesting. I'd recommend it for someone that wanted "light" horror.

An enjoyable ghost story that pulls you in within the first pages. Perfect for the Witching season! I look forward to the next episode.

I really enjoyed this book. It is written by three authors, but I did not notice a difference in the story. It all flowed smoothly. The characters were well developed and likeable. Beatrix is a medium in London that doesn't really talk to the dead. She is empathetic so she is able to comfort her clients. James believes that she is a real medium and asks her to determine if his ancestral family home is haunted. He also hires a photographer and a writer to help them. This is not a very long story, but it will grab you from the beginning and you won't want to put it down. The suspense builds steadily to an unexpected ending. If you like suspense with some supernatural thrown in, I would highly recommend this book.

A fun and creepy story. I'm not sure if I enjoyed the changing authors throughout the story -- it was a little jarring at times, due to the change in writing style. However, the creep factor in the story and the growing sense of unease as I read it certainly made up for it.

Beatrix Greene is a spiritual medium. Or at least that's what others believe. She's actually a fraud who knows ghosts and spirits aren't real. But when she's offered a high paying job by a Dr. James Ashbury to conduct a séance at the infamously haunted Ashbury Manor she can't say no. But James has his own secrets and motives for wanting her there.

What happens from there is literally out of a Netflix series. This story is told in one big chapter or season and episodes, 9 total, which gives it the feel of a Netflix show but in book form. The story was super fast paced and action-packed. I couldn't tell the difference between the authors or their writing styles. The writing was very atmospheric and I could very much envision myself walking through this creepy manor and hear all the creaks and groans of the floorboards. This is a really creepy, gothic haunted house story with some paranormal and romantic elements as well. The story takes place over the course of one long night. It goes from spooky to creepy to frightful all within the span of a few pages.

I would definitely recommend this if you want a spooky, paranormal gothic read! This is also displayed as season or vol. 1, so I would definitely be intrigued to pick up the next one if they came out with a follow up.

The Haunting of Beatrix Greene just in time for Halloween. This story takes you back to Englad during the Victorian Era . This was a time when so many things were changing in England and one of those changes was more and more you found Mediums who say they can talk to the other world and so many especially woman wanted to talk to their dead husbands or parents or a woman who may have lost someone before they married. This woman, Beatrix is the woman who says she has "The Gift"..This is how she makes her money!She meets James and they go to this house . James doesn't be? We will see!! In certain parts I really did get kinda spooked! Follow these two as they go through so many adventures and go with them on this discovery!! Will there be some romance with these two and the ghosts?.I don't usually read books like this I'm nut even one for Halloween but I really did enjoy this story. I like how the author as in this case authors, pull you into this very descriptive spooky story! Is there really a gift? Read for yourself and I suggest you read with the lights on..maybe in the daytime?? Received from Net Gallery and I have to say I not only enjoyed the story but all the characters.... real or not!

Oh, the perfection this book was and is! Set in Victorian London? Check.
A haunted house? Check.
Science vs True Spirits? Check.
Guest appearance by one of my favourite authors? Double-check.
I loved this book so much. I love ghost stories, especially when they're set in Victorian England and this book, this wonderful, wonderful book fulfilled every single one of my wishes, even those I didn't knew I had. I would have never expected that I could love a straight relationship-book as much as I love this one. But maybe that's because the romance in this one was very light, exactly what I need at the moment.
I was also aware from the beginning that something was off about James's friend and therefore, him turning out to be in league with the ghosts didn't come as a surprise to me. That disappointed me a bit, to be honest, but maybe I've just read too many thrillers.
Otherwise, this book was perfect. I also loved the way the authors had worked together on this book, giving the name of everyone who had written each perspective chapter which is something I have never seen before in a book.
With Halloween coming up, I can do nothing but recommend this one to each and everyone I know. It's the absolutly perfect book for the spooky season.
I received an ARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

by Rachel Hawkins, Ash Parson, and Vicky Alvear Schecter

I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

It seems like I’ve been on a horror kick lately, at least in terms of my reading habits. I came across this book while browsing the horror section on Net Galley. While I’ve haven’t read much gothic horror, the description sounded good so I decided to request an ARC.


A skeptical scientist gets more than he bargained for when he invites a spiritualist to spend a night at a haunted house to determine whether ghosts are for real. At heart this is a haunted house story, and in my opinion it’s one of the better books I’ve read in that sub-genre – I liked it much better than the classic Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.

I gave The Haunting of Beatrix Greene four stars on Goodreads. While I enjoyed it, I felt that some of the plot twists were telegraphed too early. While each chapter had a different author, I wasn’t able to differentiate between the writing styles of the book’s three authors.

Beatrix Greene is a single woman trying to keep her independency in Victorian-era London. Although a sceptic herself, Beatrix claims to be a spiritual medium who, with great empathy, tries to reassure those who seek her services out that the loved ones they lost love them back and are happy and safe in the other world. But when push comes to shove and Beatrix faces a scientist, James Walker, who at the same time wants to expose her and employ her services, Beatrix risks both her reputation as a medium and her heart as an independent woman.

The book is written by not one but THREE authors, yet it is rounded up nicely in terms of coherence. A classic victorian gothic plot about a haunted house that replicates a few elements from Jane Eyre (Beatrix's plainness, Walker's affluence, a haunted house and an unlikely love story from the point of view of Victorian England), Beatrix Greene is apparently a link in a chain of upcoming ghost stories. It makes for a quick read and the main character is well-rounded. In fact, Beatrix's portrayal takes precedence over all other characters, including Mr Walker himself.

However, I agree with other reviewers who pointed out that the novella was too short to allow for an equally well-rounded plot. The authors did not explore the "Haunting" enough for a memorable ghost story. Yes, there were perfectly horrifying moments, but I'm not sure the horror lived up to the first couple of pages. One character disappeared halfway through the plot only to reappear in the final chapter. The romance was shoved into unlikely moments. Another thing that did not make sense to me was dividing the chapters into POV's. I think that the story was completely cohesive without tagging it as Beatrix or James, especially that they were together most of the time.

Thank you, NetGalley and Serial Box for my eARC.

Rachel Hawkins, Ash Parsons, and Vicki Alvear Schecter have created a masterful tale with The Haunting of Beatrix Greene. The book is written using episodes and not chapters, and each episode is written by a different author. The episodes seamlessly spill into the next. You cannot tell where one author's voice ends and another begins.. This novel, is full of colorful characters, such as the American photographer, Amanda Reynolds. It was amazing to read her character as chaos exploded all around her, and yet she kept a level head about her. Beatrix Green and James Walker will pull you in the moment you meet them on the page. And then there's Harry, the lovable best friend that you want to put in bubble warp and protect at all costs. This novel is spooky and unsettling, but it's the relationships formed between the characters that really drive this novel into one of the best ghost stories that I've read.

I almost didn’t survive this... But wow! The writing was wonderful! It sunk its claws on me and wouldn’t let go. It scared me so many times. Even for a non-horror lover, this book was great. Dare I say, I’m eagerly anticipating the rest of the serials!

Beatrix’s character somehow transfixed me. I loved her character arc, how she started in the story, then everything she went through, and ultimately tapping into what was right to be able to have success. I cannot wait for more adventures by her.

--

Review can be found on @whisperingchapters "Reviews" highlight, as well as on Goodreads.

Rachel Hawkins, Ash Parsons, and Vicky Alvear Shecter have joined together to create a mix of spooks and ghosties in – what else? – an English manor, during – when else? – Victorian England, that also has some smoldering maybe enemies-to-lovers romantic flutter.

The book is written from the dual POVs of Beatrix Greene and James Walker. She is a faux spiritualist, but a hardworking woman who just wants to make ends meet and not make any waves (I did appreciate her under-charging her clientele, love me a woman with a heart of gold). He is a man of science, who debunks séances, and seems to have Beatrix as his next target. Naturally, sparks fly, flames even further stoked in the high-vertigo world of obviously haunted mansions.

James offers Beatrix a huge amount of money at the time for a seance at a manor that of course has a bloody history of murder. She accepts and things rather go crazy from there.

I really breezed through this book in a few hours and enjoyed myself, but started to feel rather unsatisfied at some point in the narrative. To use a house metaphor, the foundation and structure were all there, and quite promising at that, but the wind still seemed to be blowing through the unfinished walls.

Beatrix and James and their rapport were quite engaging, and I found quite a bit of affection for Haz, Bea’s childhood friend, and for specter photographer Amanda Richardson.

But beyond that, the book seemed thinly sketched in the mythology, plot, and thematic aspects. Some developments seem to come out of nowhere, some seem to break the convention of what the book sets up. I was quite shocked, really, that the theme of not hiding your true self and not being what others expected of you was tied in the end to class and male entitlement (which is something I completely love, I would have wanted more of that exploration). In a way, “The Haunting of Beatrix Greene” is one of those tasty restaurant meals that leaves you a bit hungry in the end.

I understand that this is also a Serial Box audio story and while I haven’t listened to it, I think that bringing a well-thought-out sound design to this might enrichen it in spooks and charms! As it stands, I’m definitely interested in volume 2, but I’ll be expecting more from it.

I received an eArc of this book in return for an honest review.

The Haunting of Beatrix Green feels very much like a novella or short story as opposed to a novel. It's told in a series of episodes in which the writers switch off. It almost works to make the story a compilation of a serial from the 19th century. The story followed spirit medium Beatrix Green as she is recruited by Dr. John Walker to investigate Ashbury Manor. The manor is known in the area of being a place of suffering and dread and most recently was the scene of a double homicide. Beatrix finds herself as part of a small team brought together for the investigation and spooky things being happening before she even arrives at the manor.

Overall the plot follows the basic formula for a haunted house story and is specifically very similar to The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. I felt throughout the quick read that the story fell short in terms of scares and the investigation of the haunting itself. The story could have been longer. A longer narrative would have allowed more time for both the haunting and the characters to develop and breathe. The relationships between the characters did not seem believable when they appeared and the haunting's true nature wasn't explored.

I did enjoy the character of Beatrix Greene up until the relationships started, then it seemed she fell into a tropes of a Victorian woman seen in many of ghost stories. Also, while her powers are implied early on, it would have been nice if they developed in a more believable manner, instead of coming out of what felt like left field.

This is a quick semi-spooky read that is perfect for those looking a hit a Halloween in their lives.
I would not say this is good read for those who read a lot of horror.
3/5 stars.

<b>My Rating- 3 Haunting Stars</b>

<i>I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions and expressed here are my own.</i>


Growing up, James had enough nightmares for a lifetime about the Ashbury Manor. His mom and brother haunt him all the time in his dreams. His mother had killed her brother and herself when he was young. He wants to seek answers from the past and so seeks Beatrix's help.

Ashbury Manor is haunted for centuries. No one lives in it, and the fanfare for the place is humongous. So when James Walker discovers that Beatrice is one of the best mediums of his time, he tries to convince her to perform a séance in that place. Little does he know that Beatrice is a fake medium, and she has no clue about what awaits one in the afterlife. She predicted everything based on her intuition. So, after accepting Mr. Walker's invitation to Ashbury Manor, she has nothing to worry about ghosts since she has no way to contact them. No matter how fake her talent is-- to speak to the spirits--she is visited by a ghost Mr. Roger Latham, warning her to not go to the manor.

She dismisses this intrusion and goes ahead with her plans. Once when she arrives with the team-- which includes a photographer, Walker's friend Stanhope, and her friend Harry--to perform the séance; she can feel a foreboding doom awaiting them once they enter the manor.
She pretends to be the medium and contacts Walker's mother; she is shocked to find that she can reach the deceased person and that she is an actual medium. What she and the others unravel in the manor is a history filled with blood and darkness.

Will they come out of this manor unscathed by the ghosts that have haunted it for centuries?


I was quite excited to read this story. This book was written like a script for a TV show. Even though the title mentions Episode 1, it is a complete story that entails 9 episodes. I didn't know if it is going to be a reality show, but I would love to see it adopted on-screen.

When I saw that Mr. Doyle was a character in the book, I was curious to read the story since a famous author is actively present as a character. However, I was disappointed that he appears briefly in the book and doesn't have much role to play in it.

The story was easy to grasp, and you are taken back to the Victorian Era. Once you start reading, you keep wondering what the shadows of the manor behold. I was on edge all the time and was praying that nothing horrifying to take place. The book was actually not that scary, but there were chapters where you are holding your breath just like the characters.

Overall, this book is a perfect Halloween read. The darker themes and the Gothic tinge to the book are enough to keep the pages turning. If you are craving to read a historical-horror-fiction, then I can't recommend this book enough.

The Haunting of Beatrix Greene is a perfect Gothic horror story for the Halloween season. Drawing on the Spiritualism movement of the 19th century, the three authors seamlessly tell a creepy & supernatural tale of Victorian England and though it is brief, it packs a punch. The characters are well developed (a famous author even makes a brief appearance) and the setting, Ashbury Manor, is the most intriguing character of them all. A perfect easy ready for a dark autumn night

Many thanks to Serial Box & Netgalley for the ARC.

The Haunting of Beatrix Greene is a fun, quick-paced mystery novella, with some ghosts and a little bit of romance. Which was exactly what I needed to read today lol.

Beatrix works pretending to talk to ghosts, and James hires her to actually talk to a ghost. She's like "yeah sure I'll just lie to this loser and get money", but of course we have some insta-love/lust? (there's nothing explicit, which in my opinion was good because anything more than what the book had would be out of place), learning about new powers, learning about ~dark pasts~ and all that. Oh, and some danger and actual gore (I was not expecting something so explicit there!).

The plot was very interesting and, coming from someone who has only read like two ghost-books ever, creepy enough to get me anxious for more, but not enough to get scared or anything like that. It was a good balance, I think, with the romance, that gave a bit of lightness to the serious topics the book dealt with. (Now I want to read more horror books w/ romance in them. Please.)

While the ghost part was really cool, I think the romance could've been better developed if this was a longer book, or even if the story actually took place in... well, more than a single day/night. I'd understand and accept without questions some attraction and care, but the level of intimacy the protagonists displayed was really hm surprising, I'd say, not very believable. But what do I know, I've never been trapped inside a haunting house with death coming for me lol maybe it happens.

Anyway, I had fun reading this and that's what matters! 4 stars, it was good.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and Serial Box for this ARC*

Wow! This gave me all the spooky feels that I could want in October. I liked the characters, pacing, plot, and the world building. The details were enough to creep me out and keep me curious to see what would happen. The story almost reminds of the Stalking Jack the Ripper series of books by Maniscalco, but with a little more detail in the gore department.

This book definitely has original characters.. I felt the plot of the story was spot on, and you begin to fall in love with the characters and their human faults.. It is a unique book and I felt it has a lot to offer. I love the title and the book cover.

This book is an historical fiction set in Victorian London and follows spiritual medium Beatrix Greene. She knows ghosts aren't real but she enjoys giving peace of mind to loved ones of the dead. She runs into James Walker, someone who has been publicly discrediting other fake mediums, and he offers her a job for a single night in the reportedly haunted Ashbury Manor to either prove or disprove the manor's haunting rumors. Beatrix accepts the job and during a séance, her true gift is awakened as is something else inside the manor. Beatrix, James, and a small group of others must try to discover the truth behind the past events at Ashbury Manor while struggling to stay alive.

First off, I loved the way this book was written. I don't love historical fiction and I find the writing in many of them to be somewhat stuffy or pretentious. However, since this was a horror/thriller historical fiction, I found the writing style to be a bit more modern and not so stuck-up. The narration felt very modern while the dialogue was more old fashioned - which worked surprisingly well and even highlighted the difference between what people were thinking/feeling to themselves and what they were able to tell others (all that Victorian propriety, you know). I thought the description of the séance scenes as well as one particularly gruesome death scene was spectacular. I'm not one to shy away from gory stuff, but the descriptions were so gory that I was both enthralled and grossed out. There were numerous times where the atmosphere in the manor changed based on the events taking place (a warm calming energy, a sinister cold energy, an angry firey energy) and the description and general narration really reflected the changes and the different energies that the characters were experiencing. It was a very atmospheric read and I heavily applaud the authors for their success in this area. I also couldn't tell that this was written by 3 different people, it was a very cohesive story.

I really liked the plot, but found it a bit predictable. I don't read much horror (although I do watch a lot of horror TV and movies), I lean more toward the thriller side of things, so I'm not sure if these just so happen to be common tropes that come up in the horror media I do consume or if the story was overall predictable. I found myself a lot going "that's a bad person for sure" or "well obviously that's where all the bad energy is coming from" and all of my assumptions turned out to be true. But regardless of that, it was still a very enjoyable read. I think the individual elements, while predictable, did fit together really nicely as an overall plot. I felt like this book was a perfect blend of The Shining plus Poltergeist plus Penny Dreadful. It was a pretty standard haunted house plot but was a fun read overall.

One of my least favorite parts (and a part that a lot of people were pointing out in their reviews on GoodReads) is the romance. It felt very forced in the book and didn't have enough lead up. When it first started, I thought it was the manor that was making the two characters act on their attractions. It almost seemed like the characters were in a daze of sorts when they were first romantically interacting. There is an event that happens later in the book as a direct result of the romance so I thought my initial feeling was correct that the characters were supernaturally affected by the house. However, by the end, that didn't seem to be the case as at least one of the characters did seem to still be romantically attracted to the other. If the romance wasn't caused by the house, then the whole thing seemed to develop incredibly fast (especially considering the times) and there was little chemistry built up between the characters prior to them becoming involved. So overall, the romance was the weakest part of the plot and I choose to believe it was the house the whole time and the one character then caught a case of the feelings which lingered after the fact.

The entire cast of characters I found were well developed and interesting. Each of them had their purpose and they all were necessary to propel the story forward. It was a small cast of only 5 characters but since it was a very small setting (just the manor) and a short time-span (just one night), I thought it was impressive that each character was so well implemented into the plot.