For a horror genre book, it took quite a long time to reach anything resembling horror. While an interesting plot line, I had trouble staying interested long enough to hear a resolution to the story and it felt anticlimactic. The narrators female voice imitation was cringeworthy. I’d like to avoid any narrations of his in the future.

Ouuu this was a wild book! So eerie and thrilling the whole was through! The first section of the book was very heartbreaking and I could really feel for the family. Fenton house was the ultimate escape/new start for the family and I had that gut feeling that it would be a bad decision. Very creepy story and i really enjoyed it! This is my first Cheetham novel but very interested in reading more.
Loved this and loved the suspense and wonder at the end!

4 stars

Well, this one was something else. Full disclosure, I came very close to leaving this one as a DNF in the first chapter because of a nauseatingly-descriptive scene of the death of a child. That’s not really a spoiler since it’s mentioned in the blurb/overview of the novel, but I wasn’t expecting it to be on-page like that, or at least in such a graphic way. I did push through, though. That scene aside, I wouldn’t categorize most of this book as a horror story; it didn’t really get creepy or scary until the last third or so as the first two-thirds was focused on building suspense and creating the background for the ending. Additionally, while it wasn’t awful or anything, I wasn’t a huge fan of some of the female characterization, there was a scene that almost felt out of place (it was darkly comedic, in a sense, and didn’t quite fit with the rest of the story at that point), and there were a few plot questions left unanswered at the end (although that was likely intentional- series setup?). All of that being said, I largely enjoyed the story. Somehow, even amidst all my critiques, I liked it quite a bit and kind of flew through it. I wasn’t expecting to feel this way, but I think I’ll keep an eye (albeit a cautious one) on the writer’s future books.

Enjoyment: 4
Total rating: 4.21

After losing one of their twins, Adam and Ella are falling apart. When they hear about a competition that grants the winner the opportunity to live, free of charge, in a beautiful (*cough* but hunted *cough*) Mansion on the Cornish Lizard Peninsula. They not only enter the competition but come out victorious. Their new house will award them a chance to rebuild their family and for Adam to get back into his writing.

I really enjoyed Ralph Lister's narrative. He picked up on the nuances between natural and supernatural, and his pacing followed the flow of the story perfectly.

Since reading this book, I have found out that this is the first book in The Fenton House series, and I will be looking for the sequels. It is perfectly creepy, slow-paced at the beginning, the kind of atmospheric book that makes you check under your bed and turn your back to the wall while reading, just in case.


Disclaimer: In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for providing a copy of Don't Look Back.

I was in the mood for a creepy haunted house book! This scratched that itch!

After young Henry’s twin dies Adam gets the deal of a lifetime. He moves his son Henry & wife Ella to a supposedly haunted house to write his book. The family is still recovering from the recent death.

Everyone in town is interested in what happened to the previous family who lived there as they disappeared without warning. There’s plenty of gossip about ghosts, the Devil , etc. And people who will do anything to be invited in to ghost hunt or not.

There are a number of side characters that help move the story along & an underlying question that permeates the book … is Henry …..

I was on the edge of my seat for last part of the book.

I really enjoyed the book, thank you NetGalley & Dreamscape Media LLC.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the audio version. I was very excited to read this book. I thought the writing was all in all good. But honestly nothing really happens... I was hoping something more scary or suspenseful etc but nothing happens for almost 10 hours of audio. The ending was interesting but I wish the author would have involved the living son more. I had the impression that there would be ghost and also scary scenes... Absolutely nothing like that.

4.0 stars.
Don't Look Back follows a family Adam, Ella, Henry and Jacob, who experience a tragedy together in the Summer. Henry and Jacob are twins and while playing around they get into a terrible situation that resulted in one of their demise.
Feeling the loss and guilt, Adam convinces Ella to move their remaining family to a haunted mansion. While there, the family is tested beyond their limits and they start to take the burden out on each other.
I liked this book for its eeriness and slow burn and that Narrator was fantastic when it came to depictions of each character.
The story felt like I was watching Pet Semetary, meets The Others, meets Amityville horror .
Although I wouldn't classify this book as a typical horror, to me, it felt more like a phycological thriller.
I am looking forward to the next book, in fact I am going to purchase it today because the ending made me wanting more.
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to listen to this Audiobook for a honest review .

A family that had just suffered the loss of a child gets the opportunity to live in a beautiful old mansion for free. The dad feels like a fresh start is what his wife and surviving son also need. There is a lot of odd rules to stay there that they don’t question enough. Isn’t there always a catch? Strange things start happening from the moment they move in. Is it someone messing with them or is it something else?

I listened to the audio book and really enjoyed the narrator and the atmospheric story. I was soothed and creeped out all in one. The book starts off slow but it sets the tone for later so it’s worth the wait. I recommend this audio book for lying in bed at night and getting a good chill!

I would describe this more as a suspense than a horror novel. Unfortunately, I found it rather predictable. Though sometimes that's OK I found that there was not enough going on in the story to feel thrilled about. I think park was I was expecting good haunted house story and it feel flat for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an advanced audiobook for review.

First off, I read this as an audiobook. The narrator, Ralph Lister, has the voice of Jason Statham and John Cleese combined. At times I thought he was super sexy, and then grandfatherly. The range of emotion and change in his voice was great. I think I could listen to him do a Scottish accent all day. He was the perfect pick for narrator of this book.
Don’t Look Back is supposed to be a Horror novel, but I don’t think it was at all. It felt more like a Suspense or Supernatural Thriller. There is a ghostly vibe through the whole book, with intense backstory to build it up. I kept waiting for ghosts to pop out of the secret passageways and murder the whole family in a bloody frenzy. No spoilers, but this didn’t happen. Hence, the reason I’m not feeling Horror is the best genre.
I did really like the story though. It starts off quite optimistic and exciting, a new start. But this new start is in a rumored to be haunted mansion, with a super creepy old lady who oversees it from her cottage. I was loving the path the book seemed to be going. I almost got an Amityville vibe at one point. Actually, put the Amityville house on a seaside cliff in England, and it would have been terrifying! I wanted the ghosts and evil spirits to jump out and scare me. I was begging for it. I loved the suspense the story was giving.
Read this if you want a super atmospheric thriller with a spooky haunted house vibe. It was really well written, and apparently is book number one of what will become a series. I’ll be looking for number two.

DON'T LOOK BACK is Book 1 of Ben Cheetham's FENTON HOUSE Series (Book 2 is HOUSE OF MIRRORS, into which I immediately dove as I turned the last page of DON'T LOOK BACK). The title DON'T LOOK BACK is also Thematic of the Series, as it seems to this Reader that almost every character spends most of their waking (and dreaming) time "looking backwards." Maybe "what if" and "if only" are human nature; certainly Historians and writers of Alternate History practice both activities.


Adam, Ella, Henry, and Jacob are a (presumably) happy family of four living in overcrowded modern London. Then a horrific tragedy strikes, and the "looking back" immediately goes into play. A mere nine months later (significantly), Ella stumbles upon an online notice that surely must be either a hoax, a prank, or "too good to be true." But oh to manage a change of venue, away from the House of Sorrow, out of London to the rural seaside of Cornwall, to fresh air and country quiet!


What is "too good to be true" might be "true" but the opposite of "good." The somewhat lovely long-empty Fenton House, atop the cliffs with a view to the sea, cannot be repaired or renovated, under the terms of the tenancy. But that's the least of the problems for the new tenants, for Fenton House (and its absentee owner, the odd, eccentric, ancient Rozen) has a bad history, bad blood, and a plethora of ugly secrets, which unfold sometimes subtly, sometimes aggressively, but always scary. The moral is: Get Out While You Can. But Fenton House has an extremely long reach.

Adam and Ella have suffered the ultimate loss in the death of their son, Adam. When they get a chance to live rent free in a mansion on the coast of Cornwall, they leap at the chance to escape their London home, which is full of memories of their lost child. They pack up and take remaining son, Henry, to their new home. There’s only one catch – the house is reputed to be haunted. At the very least, it has a disturbing past, with the original owner committing suicide in the house and another family living there simply disappearing. This story is a slow burn, no startling revelations or gory stunts, just a good old fashioned ghost story