OLD GHOSTS AND NEW TRAUMAS STALK STUART NEVILLE’S HOUSE OF ASHES

If these walls could talk, they would bleed. That’s what sleep-deprived housewife Sara Keane discovers on her fourth bleary morning at The Ashes, her and stern husband Damien’s seemingly idyllic Northern Ireland home that has just one odd trait: a rust-red stain on the stone floor that, no matter how hard she scrubs, won’t go away. Sara initially dismisses the recurring blemish as a quirk of her imagination, as “certainty had become a stranger to her” following a nervous breakdown that necessitated their recent move from London. How lucky, then, that her father-in-law was able to procure this gorgeous old farmhouse for them, and really she should be able to blink away possible phantom bloodstains in favor of embracing this new life.

Except that while she’s back on her knees scrubbing, an old woman starts banging on the door: tracking in fresh blood from her lacerated feet, her babbling about how this is her house indecipherable yet her conviction clear. It’s a startling opening to Stuart Neville’s (So Say the Fallen, The Final Silence) first standalone novel in nearly a decade, waking up Sara (and readers) faster than a morning coffee. The next few lightning-quick events—Damien’s raging appearance; his clear recognition of the woman, whose name is Mary; his shuffling her away before Sara can react—sit heavy and acidic like heartburn. Neville, whose past police thrillers have earned him Tana French comparisons, turns his focus to the domestic in this multigenerational study of an inviting house and the terrible secrets it hides.

Sara can’t get Mary’s distressed claims of ownership out of her head, so despite Damien’s admonishments not to, she tracks the woman down at an assisted living facility in town. As she makes small investigations into the history of the Ashes—through helpful locals like a chatty shopkeeper and the hunky electrician in possession of old newspapers—and invites Mary to share her own horrific history, Sara begins to unravel the bloody legacy of their new home, and in doing so frays Damien’s tight leash on her.

While the Northern Ireland setting is familiar to Neville’s body of work, his pivot toward the domestic, and especially the darkness lurking within a young marriage, is meant to evoke connections with Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl, Dark Places, Sharp Objects). Yet there is one damning difference: the cover copy describes Sara gathering the strength “to stand up to her abuser”; it is apparent in her first interaction with Damien that he has complete control over her life. Or rather, it is apparent to everyone but Sara herself; she tries to convince herself that it makes sense for him to monitor her phone calls and withhold the car keys, all for her own good after a suicide attempt back in England.

Because this is clear to the reader from the get-go, there is no Flynn-esque (or Paula Hawkins, for that matter) reversal in which the man’s gaslighting is revealed partway through. Instead, readers watch a woman who at the start of the story simply cannot help herself—a social worker, no less, who is adept at coaxing revelations out of others but seems unable to grasp the scope of her own domestic prison.

Perhaps that helplessness is the point: the reader is more an observer of Sara’s slow realization, aided by Mary’s confession, and how it strengthens her will to fight her way out of this situation. The same goes for Mary’s recounting of her childhood in The Ashes—the only home she has ever known, raised by a household of cowed “mommies” and cruel “daddies” locked in an inhumane pattern of ownership and abuse.

In that, The House of Ashes comes across as less horror or thriller and more akin to true crime: it lays out a hideously unimaginable situation that nonetheless is happening in front of you. There are no extra “twists”; any new revelation is something you could have guessed but desperately wished would not be the case. Instead, you can only witness these women’s degradation and their daily (hourly, even) quandary between trying to escape or staying put but surviving. “We can bloody well stay alive,” one female prisoner lectures another about their male captors, “and maybe we’ll outlive them. That’s what we can do. Just get by, just try to get through the day without making them angry. And they’re always angry. All we can do is survive, one day after another. Stay quiet, keep our heads down. You try to do anything else, and they’ll kill you.”

Neville alternates between four perspectives, splitting time between Sara in the present and a trio of voices from The Ashes’ past. While at first Sara and a young Mary alternate in telling their respective stories within those walls—from bedroom to basement—other voices join in at key points. These additional perspectives come and go as the story dictates, a keen narrative choice reflecting the many lives that inhabit this space, some for their entire lifetimes… however long that may be.

In addition to the psychological thriller framework, there is also a ghostly aspect to the story, in a clever turn from Neville: from a near-death sickness in childhood to fleeing a fire as an adult, Mary is attended by “the children.” Her reasoning for barging in on Sara that first morning is to check that the children are all right, despite no evidence of their presence. At first this could easily be written off as a senile old woman’s hallucinations… until Sara herself glimpses the most recognizable child, a girl in a white dress with scarlet ribbons. Mary never tells her who this is, but flashbacks fill in all the details and thus corroborate Sara’s sighting.

As The House of Ashes asserts, the greatest strength that one woman can offer another is to believe her. If one woman sees it or thinks it, it’s a hallucination or a pipe dream—but if two women can see the same thing, it’s a chance to live.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sara, a newlywed, and her husband are gifted a house. The house comes with baggage, and Sara brings very heavy baggage of her own. Through her discoveries about the house's past, Sara helps both herself and a former resident.

I didn't finish this one. It was actually just a little too sad for me. The author is so good at conveying the feelings of the characters! I couldn't carry on. BUT, I think this will be a great book for fans of other popular authors like Tana French or Gillian Flynn.

This is a dual time line story, which tends to be something I really enjoy. And I really did! I loved following both the stories of Sara (current) and Mary (the past).

This was not a mystery in the sense of “who done it” - rather a twisted tale of pasts, ghosts and horror. This was a HARD book to read because (trigger warning) there is SO MUCH ABUSE in this book. In both story lines. Mental, physical, sexual. The amount of abuse the ladies in this book went through and the twisted story line were hard to read (thus 3 stars from me). Even though these ladies went through so much, I still had a hard time connecting to them and caring much. You go through so much of the book not even completely knowing who many of them are so I had a hard time with my feelings towards them.

It was just okay for me! I tend to prefer mysteries where I have something to solve and definitely less abuse for my own tastes. But, parts still captivated me.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for the chance to read and provide my opinion!

Stuart Neville's noir mystery, House of Ashes, is set in Northern Ireland, where Sara Keane has accompanied her husband Damien from England.

They move into an old house Damien's father acquired it for a song (rebuilt after a fire).

The story moves back and forth in time, revealing the horrific abuse in the house in the past, and Sara's abuse by her controlling husband in the present.

Fortunately, she does eventually fight back.

The House of Ashes holds many agonizing secrets of the past and the present which are revealed as the reader travels back to 60 years ago and learns of previous human abuse while reveling in present spousal abuse at the hands of the powerful.. The suffering and neglect were difficult to read about and I was cheering for the underdogs

Neville told the story from the main characters point of view as we see physically and abused characters tell their story from the house. Well told! We learn to love the characters as we put ourselves in their shoes and really want to learn how their story ended. So many parallels in the life of Damien compared to George and Tam. I recommend reading it, you won't want to put it down!

A compelling, gothic story about abuse and murder, The House of Ashes is told from different points of view, and through two different timelines that converge in a house called The Ashes, in Northern Island.
This very old house hides a painful past. When Sara and his husband Damien decide to move from Bath to Northern Island, that past will reemerge, and with it, the suffering and torment of the people that lived in the house, as well as their tragic ending.
On their first night in the newly remodeled house, an old lady, covered in blood, comes to Sara's door insisting that the house is hers. She is Mary, who lived there 50 years ago and is now living in a care home.

Natural and supernatural elements coexist and act together to bring back that hidden past to bring some justice.
The book is also about strong female bonds and the possibility to start a new life, regardless of age and social position.
I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it if you are in the mood for an atmospheric reading that will set your mind for spookier books this Halloween season.

Fascinating writing and characters development.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an early read! I have never read Stuart Neville before. He typically writes hardboiled crime novels, which are not usually my thing. But The House of Ashes is a standalone, about two women, so I thought I would give it a try. Sara and her husband Damian have just moved into The Ashes, a house literally raised from the ashes of a recent fire. On their first night there, they are awakened by an old woman named Mary at the door, convinced that the house is hers. Damian takes her back to her care home, but Sara is curious and starts wondering about the house. She visits Mary at the care home to learn more. Their meeting is a catalyst for both women. Sara begins to accept the truth- that she is in an abusive relationship, and Damian has brought her here to isolate her further from everything that is familiar. Mary begins to remember the past – she grew up in that house, her, Mummy Joy and Mummy Noreen were prisoners of the three men who owned the house. Something terrible happened there and each woman will have a reckoning with that truth. It’s a ghost story, it’s a mystery, and I will say that is is a dark tale. It’s a story filled with violence and with resilience. I can’t compare it to his other work, but Neville has done a good job of bringing these women to life, capturing their anger, despair, and eventually hope. If you like Benjamin Black or Fiona Berry, then give this one by Stuart Neville a try.

The House of Ashes is a mysterious story of abuse, isolation and emotional ghosts. The storyline was dark and disturbing than I thought it would be but the uncomplicated writing made it easy to read through the chapters. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for these women. Although fiction, the stuff they went through was significantly painful to read. The haunting ghostly parts with underlying meaning were brilliantly written. This sure is one of a kind story, that crime and dark thriller lovers will enjoy.

Thank you Soho Crime via Netgalley for the arc.

Stuart Neville's first novel in five years, a stand-alone, is set in rural Northern Ireland, and, like his early novels, is populated by the ghosts of old, suppressed, and violent acts. These ghosts do not arise from the Troubles, that decades long struggle to re-unite the two Irelands in which more non-combatants died than armed participants. The ghosts in THE HOUSE OF ASHES are the shades of children who died of neglect, abuse, or murder over a period of years. They haunt the house in which some sixty years ago they were both born and died, an isolated farmhouse in rural Northern Ireland.
Sixty years ago there were six adults and a child living in that house. The three women were there against their will, locked in a cellar except when the three men who confined them demanded their domestic or sexual services. With them lived a child, the daughter of one of the men. Now that house is inhabited by a married couple, a local man and his English wife, a woman who has been systematically reduced to a state of fear by her husband's psychological abuse. Alternating chapters tell the story of what happened sixty years earlier and what is happening in the present day.

Although THE HOUSE OF ASHES is a novel that should come festooned with trigger warnings of various sorts, it is nonetheless an absorbing read, one that is difficult to put down and hard to forget.

Neville has always been a novelist of great promise. Now he has delivered on that promise with a book that is wrenching but in the end does not exploit either our sympathies or our fears.

The full review appears on Reviewing the Evidence::
http://www.reviewingtheevidence.com/review.html?id=11601

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The House of Ashes is a dual timeline narrative of two women who are victims of abuse, both with ties to the house that Sara Keane now lives in with her husband Damian who moved them out to the country after Sara suffered a nervous breakdown.

Sara's marriage to Damian follows the typical arc of an abusive relationship which unfolds against the backdrop of Mary Jackson's life of imprisonment and torment at the hands of a father and his two sons who have held Mary and two other women captive for decades, keeping them as house slaves and means of sexual gratification. While the writing itself was compelling, it was difficult to connect to Sara and her story as it didn't feel developed in the same way that Mary Jackson's was. The house itself played a much larger part in Mary's narrative so when Sara makes a grisly discovery in the house, it feels very much like something was lost or missed between the two narratives.

Overall it was an enjoyable read but certainly not as captivating as I had hoped.

This book is really hard to read. It's extremely well written and compelling but in the end way too dark for me. I had to skim read large parts of it because it was just too depressing. I think this will be a fantastic book for some people, but I am not that person.

Sarah and her husband Damien have recently moved to Ireland from England. When we first meet Sarah she seems so isolated from family and friends. When the book opens Sarah finds an intruder in her house. A woman who claimed that this was her house. Sarah starts to question her husband and on her own researches the history of this house.

As Sarah starts to uncover the history of the house, she might have just opened Pandora’s Box involving her husbands family and the people of this town.

There are trigger warnings for domestic violence in this book. Neville does a pretty good job of peeling back the layers of this story. There is much to unpack throughout. My one complaint is that it felt a little rushed at the end. For such a good story, that kind of ruined it for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Soho Press for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

*** 3.5 Stars ***

Brief Synopsis: Sara and her husband Damien are looking for a fresh start. They have relocated to an isolated countryside home in Northern Ireland and are working to remodel it and make it their own. Unfortunately this move did not resolve their past issues with physical and emotional abuse. The previous tenant of their home, Mary, has a harsh story of her own. One that is also full of physical and emotional abuse. When Sara and Mary’s paths cross, Sara becomes committed to uncovering the secrets and history of her new home. A history her husband is trying to keep buried.

Thoughts: The narrative consists of two storylines and is told through the POVs of Sara in the present day and Mary 60 years prior. I felt sorry for Sara, but my heart literally ached for Mary. Those emotions stemmed from me feeling like Mary was truly stuck in her situation, whereas Sara seemed to have more control of hers.
The writing style was fluid, mostly believable, and easy to follow. I could feel the isolation, hopelessness, grief and overall chilling vibes through the text. At times the dialect in Mary’s storyline was hard for me to decipher. That said, it made complete sense as to why it was written that way and fit her narrative well.
Though others have felt this book contained paranormal elements, I perceived those scenes as being psychological in nature and manifestations due to trauma (especially in Mary’s storyline). The ending was cute. Genuinely sweet… but I did think it left aspects of Sara’s story unresolved.

Thank you to Stuart Neville, Soho Press, and NetGalley for a copy of this book. It was a good mystery/thriller containing murder, violence, and resilience.

This one is dark, oh so dark! Set in Northern Ireland, if there is a genre for Irish noir, I would place this book there. Featuring dual storylines, ghosts, and a mystery, this one was a compelling read.

The modern-day storyline features Sara and Damien, recently moved to Damien’s homeland of Northern Ireland for a fresh start and clean slate after her mental health issues. We get glimpses into Sara’s past when she was a happier woman with friends from college and a job. This was before Damien came into her life and took those things slowly away.

The storyline from the past features Mary and several other women who used to live in the house that Sara and Damien are remodeling. Mary’s early life was a violent and terrible one and these passages were extremely difficult to read.

These two storylines show that many women have a rough road in life and there are men who are dominating and violent.

While this one was very dark, it was compelling, and I had to keep reading to find out what would happen. The ending definitely leaves some things unresolved, and this reader hopes for the best for all involved, especially Sara and Mary! They deserve some happiness and peace.

The House of Ashes by Stuart Neville

9781616957414

305 Pages:
Publisher: Soho Press / Soho Crime
Release Date: September 7, 2021

Fiction (Adult), Mystery, Thriller, Domestic Violence, Kidnapping, Ghosts

Could a house be evil or is it just the people that live there? There are two stories happening within the book. Mary Jackson grew up in this house without knowing the outside world. When a fire happens, she is deemed incapable of caring for herself and is moved to a care home. Francie Keane bought his son, Damien, and daughter-in-law, Sara, a house - Mary's house.One morning, Sara is in the kitchen when an old woman bangs on the window and starts yelling at her. Mary believes it is still her home and wants Sara to leave. Damien hears the fuss and takes Mary back to the care home. This experience upsets Sara and makes her question everything.

They had moved to the house in Northern Ireland from England after she had a mental breakdown, quit her job as a social worker, and left her family and friends. Damien is her husband, or should I say keeper. He has a strong emotional hold over her and she feels helpless until she meets Mary.

This book is disturbing but I could not stop reading it. Some people do not realize that domestic violence does not have to be physical as in Sara’s case. Mary’s story about growing up in the house is horrific to say the least but I am sure this type of thing happens all the time. The book is written in third person point of view from multiple perspectives. The characters are very developed, and the story is fast paced. I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys mysteries and survivor stories.

The themes of rape, abuse, along with the high level of graphic violence and constantly changing points of view made this a miss for me.

Thanks for the opportunity to read this novel. I appreciate the writing and story development. Most readers will appreciate this more than I did.

Suspense at its best. Told in alternating voices the reader learns about the secrets hidden in the history of a young wife's new home and the "crazy" lady who shows up the day the young couple moves in. Although I sometimes found it difficult to read on, I still couldn't put this book down. As the abuse and terror is revealed, the tension builds page after page. There are several twists and turns, but the emotional toll on the characters (and the reader) is really the pull of the story. Loved it!

The House of Ashes by Stuart Neville is a highly recommended ominous, malevolent novel of psychological suspense.

After her nervous breakdown, Sara Keane's husband Damien moved them from England to Northern Ireland into a house called the Ashes that his father bought for them. Damien has been isolating Sara from her friends since the beginning and this move makes that separation complete. Damien is emotionally abusive and threatening to Sara and this has increased over the years. When Mary Jackson, an old woman, pounds on the door one morning claiming that the Ashes is her home and talks about the children, she is taken back to the care facility where she was sent, leaving Sara wondering about the history of the house. Damien dismisses her concerns, but Sara defies him and begins to uncover Mary's past imprisonment at the house as a child and the terrible history of the Ashes.

The writing is excellent in this novel, although the actual subject matter of abuse makes it difficult to read. The dual narrative tells two stories set at the Ashes, that of present day Sara and Mary's story from sixty years ago. Sara is experiencing abuse currently, but the abuse Mary experienced and lived through is chilling, horrific, and evil. Tied into both narrative threads are ghostly apparitions. While the abuse Sara is currently experiencing is awful, Mary's story of abuse is the more terrifying, frightening, and nefarious - so much so that at times it is difficult to read. The

Both Sara and Mary (as a child) are well developed characters and the dual narratives unfold through their individual points-of-view. Sara's a wounded adult experiencing gaslighting and being manipulated, and controlled by her husband. Mary's story is mainly told through the eyes of a child which in many ways makes it so much more powerful and awful because she literally has no way to escape. The outcomes of both dark narratives are violent but necessary to reach the final denouement. The House of Ashes is an exceptional novel but all the violence and wicked behavior also makes it emotionally draining. 4.5 rounded down.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Soho Press/ Penguin Random House.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, and Amazon.