I'm always on the lookout for a good haunted house book. The Haunting of Crimshaw Manor hits the mark. It's creepy and unnerving as a haunting should be. The story behind Elizabeth and the disappearance of her husband and son in 1868 is a very interesting story. All in all, a great book for those who enjoy a haunted house.

Stephen has just become a professor of Paranormal Studies at Strathmore University. When he was younger he experienced some encounters with the paranormal and it has been following him all his life.

Now he will be asked to assist student Evelyn to investigate the Crimshaw Manor, a place supposed to be haunted for centuries.

We will get to explore the place at night while our group of students and Stephen are trying to collect proof of ghost encounters.

One of my favorite things about this book was to discover the story behind Crimshaw Manor and what happened there in 1868.

This reads however a bit more like a found footage/paranormal activity film. The problem is that it did not always translate so well as a novel because there are many explanations about the equipment, how it is set and even though it is great to know the tools we have and how they work, they made the creepy parts have less of an impact.

The chapters were short and this is a book you can binge in one sitting.

Perfect for: People that love paranormal investigations and want to follow the crew exploring a haunted house.

I'm a sucker for a good scary book so I requested this one as soon as I saw it. I skimmed some reviews before I started reading and expected to be disappointed, but I wasn't disappointed at all. The Haunting of Crimshaw Manor delivered the scary edge of your seat read I have been craving. Yeah, parts of the story didn't exactly flow all that well but I was able to overlook that and enjoy the book nonetheless.
Thank you to NetGalley and BHC Press for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book seriously reminded me of the Ghost Hunters show. If you like that then you'll probably like the book! I love a good super creepy ghost story but this wasn't scary enough for me personally.  However, not everyone loves really spooky books so don't write this one off!

The character development was lacking but I think that's to be expected in a ghost story or maybe that's just me.

𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘧
👻 you are new to ghost stories and want to see what am the fuss is about
👻 you get scared easily but want a slightly spooky book
👻 you like ghost hunters show but want it in book format
👻 you want a little relationship between characters

Sometimes a book lands on my Kindle and it's the type of story I need to read right there and then. That's what happened with The Legend of Crimshaw Manor. I was in the mood for a chilling horror tale and I stumbled upon Crimshaw Manor - the timing was perfect so I dipped straight in and before I knew it I was over 30% of the way through the book. The whole story was read over three days but only because I was having a busy weekend so didn't get as much reading time I had hoped.


Stephen Davenport is the lead character in this creepy tale. He has an ability to see ghosts and is brought to Strathmore University to take on a professor role overseeing Paranormal Studies. Stephen comes to Strathmore and finds himself offered the opportunity to supplement his income by overseeing the management of a new nightclub which is being built/renovated in one of the old abandoned buildings in town. His friend knows Stephen can't run a bar but would like him to be around on the property to oversee things while the construction is ongoing. Needless to say the old building where Stephen will be sleeping houses a few ghosts and it's clear Stephen is going to be encountering more than a few spirits in this story.


Stephen's department get the opportunity to investigate an old house on the edge of town - Crimshaw Manor. The house is famed locally as being haunted and the story of its former residents is disturbing and tragic. A couple and their young son moved to the house many decades ago. They were not used to the area and were unaware of the need to adequately prepare for winter. The snows came early and the family were cut off from the rest of the town. They had little food and no means to contact the outside world for help. The family didn't survive but exactly what happened to them while they were snowed in to their home is not clear.


Now Stephen and two of his students are at Crimshaw Manor and they are brining all their best scientific gear to the old property to see if they can record the presence of ghosts. Suffice to say their weekend is going to be eventful.


I will confess to being a fan of a good haunted house story and there were more than a few chilling chapters in this book which kept me well entertained. Not all threats which the team encounter are supernatural and there are some good action sequences thrown in too. Combine these with flashbacks into Stephen's past and there's a lot of creepy action to enjoy here. One minor quibble, the scenes between those chilling moments didn't hold me quite the same way - I wanted back to the spooky stuff - and one of the support characters brought slightly too much comedy when I didn't always feel it was needed. Minor, as I say - the chills really outweighed the niggles.

I enjoyed this haunting tale, I appreciate a good spook in a book! It's a slow build, introducing the characters and giving you their backstory before the spooks start. This was my first book by this author and I am definitely interested in checking out his other books!

I unfortunately couldn't get into this book. Which can be a given for me. Horror stories are always a big hit or a miss. I'm the world's pickiest horror reader.

This had all the elements of a great read. We just didn't click.

This book consumed all of my attention while reading. The manor was so well described, I felt like I was there with the team. Each team member brought something different while they researched the home. I found the description of how Evelynn could “dream” about the spirits life to be completely fascinating. When she witnessed what happened to Johnathon, I could feel her sorrow and distress. This book is the kind of book that is great to read and discuss with others. At the end of the book there is a link to the authors website which has lots of backstory to the house and other extras for those whom enjoy the paranormal. Please read this book to find out what happens and I look forward to other books in this series…….thank you NetGalley for the early copy
- [ ] They drown our daughters
Part myth, part curse this book was an incredible read. Every mother, after Regina, felt the call of the ocean. They were warned to stay out of the water and told their daughters to stay out of the water. Every generation blamed the disappearances of mothers on the curse. Meredith was the only one to finally have the courage to find out what the specter in the water wanted. Once she figured the solution out she was able to end the curse that plagued their family.

I went for this title purely for the title and the cover. I’ve been looking for more paranormal investigation stories and I’m glad I found it. I will be honest, it took a few chapters to really get the story going and what the plot is actually about. I would usually complain about that, but I found myself really intrigued in Evelynn and Stephens backstory. I honestly wanted more of there story and forgot about what was actually going on.
If you like traditional haunted house like stories with great characters, this is it. I look forward to picking up a physical copy of this as well as looking forward to what Mark Drotos does in the future.

I wish I could have gone to college for paranormal studies like Stephen did.

I was looking forward to a gothic, haunted house story. It had all the elements:

A creepy gothic manor - check
Things that go bump in the night - check
Doors opening and closing by themselves - check
A creepy, cold basement - check
A ghostly woman - check
A freakish monster - check.

The story was basically about a Professor of paranormal studies and 3 students who spend a couple of nights in a haunted house trying to find evidence of paranormal activity. But it just didn’t come together for me.

The story telling was somehow flat and the dialogue stilted. The characters were not well developed and there was little suspense. There was more ‘telling’ than ‘showing’ and it was kind of boring. Which is a real shame as the story had potential but it needed something to lift it and a thorough edit. Unfortunately I can’t give this more than 2 stars. Many thanks to Netgalley and BHC Press for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

I enjoyed reading this book! It combines a creepy haunted house story with paranormal investigation and historical mystery. Stephen returns to his alma mater as a professor of paranormal studies and becomes involved in investigating a local “haunted house” mystery with his students. There are some genuinely creepy moments and overall an entertaining read.

I was very excited to read this book. I love a good ghost story. Sadly this was not it.

I appreciate the effort by Drotos and I apologize that I just could not get into this book. I know how hard it is and how dedicated you have to be to write a novel.

This book needs a good editor to read though the dialog. The conversations between the characters are not realistic. People in real life do not talk like that. It read like a first draft.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author and publisher for the ARC of this book! I am so glad I found this on Netgalley and don't think it is advertised such that it can be found easily on the site.

Well, this book contains all of my favorite topics to read about- haunted houses, Ouija board usage, characters with psychic abilities, ghosts, explanation of paranormal phenomena. It also has a small romance subplot, which I thought could have been fleshed out more. This book had a lot going on, which could lend itself to the book maybe becoming a series. I would love to read more about the funeral home/nightclub where the professor lived and any hauntings there. There were a number of elements to this story which could be expanded into another book or more, I feel.

The Haunting of Crimshaw Manor finds newly appointed adjunct professor Stephen and a group of students conducting an investigation at a vacant manor once owned by Elizabeth Crimshaw and her family who went missing after Elizabeth was found dead. Rumors float throughout the town that people can hear a woman’s scream coming from the home.
With each chapter, the story unfolded and began it’s subtle creepiness and paranormal events. This was a slow burn story. Readers who enjoy a story that builds up as it progresses will definitely enjoy this read. There is also a backstory with Stephen and his nickname of “Stephen Strange” that I found interesting. The paranormal events had just enough terror without over kill.
This was a 3.8 * read, rounding up to 4! This was also my first paranormal story and look forward to exploring more by this author in the future. Thank you to BHC Press and NetGalley for the EArc and the chance to review it!

An interesting tale of a haunted estate. There were several creepy scenes;
Stephen’s childhood experience in the funeral home send shivers running down my spine. Reading it in the dark, I had to stop and turn the light on…. Just in case.

At times the writing between characters is a bit dry and forced; especially between Ted & Stephen. The descriptions of the characters interacting with the paranormal and the environment are enough to still draw you into the moment.

If you enjoy ghostly encounters, paranormal research, a bit of romance, and solving a hundred year old mystery, this one’s for you!

Thank you to Net Galley, BHC Press, & Mark E. Drotos for an ARC of this book

I'm sorry, this just was not for me, at all!

The dialogue was very basic and offputting, the actions taken by the characters downright silly and the overall feel of the book was very .. how shall I put it? .. like written by a teenager?

I just did not like it at all and really struggle to find anything positive to say about this book overall.

"Every town has a mystery. The Crimshaw family were once the caretakers of the prestigious Strathmore Estate. After the great blizzard of 1868, the townspeople found Elizabeth Crimshaw's body hanging from the banister. Her young son and husband were declared missing and never found. Every town has a legend.The locals say they have seen Elizabeth's ghost and that the manor is haunted. Others claim to have heard a woman's scream and have witnessed strange lights and shadow people.Some mysteries are better left unsolved.What really happened to the promising Crimshaw family? Are the rumors surrounding the family true? Intent on investigating these claims, Stephen Davenport, adjunct professor of Paranormal Studies at Strathmore University, along with students from the school's paranormal investigations club begin a weekend investigation.What they find confirms their beliefs in the paranormal-and challenges them to simply stay alive."

I love paranormal investigations that go really really wrong.

Due to currently undertaking a course in parapsychology, I was really excited to read "The Haunting of Crimshaw Manor", especially given the author's personal experience as a paranormal investigator.

What I Liked:

• The overall plot was intriguing and I was curious to see how the story would end.

• The accuracy regarding paranormal investigation equipment and procedures.


What I Didn't Like:

• The writing often feels like it is lacking in sophistication and the frequent abscence of contractions along with unusual phrasing choices made a lot of the dialogue feel stilted and overly formal.

• There's a character called 'Asian John' who is "sensitive about his Asain background" and "hates stereotypes" that's double majoring in computer science and mathematics and yet still has EMF explained to them. <_<

• The male protagonist refers to his injured leg as 'gimpy'.

• This entire, completely unnecessary, sequence: "He sat in a beach chair with a cold beer in his hand as he looked toward the two figures coming out of the water. They were exquisite. The first was Ariana Grande wearing a hot pink thong and nothing else. Water droplets covered her body, and she squeezed the water from her long ponytail as she walked next to the other figure......“The water is so warm. You should join us, John,” Ariana said, toweling off her nearly naked body......“Ariana’s right, John. The water is perfect,” Evelynn said, turning her back to him and undoing her top. She removed it and tossed it aside as she lay upon a towel on her stomach.
“Ariana, can you put some lotion on my back? I would hate to burn,” Evelynn said.
“Sure,” Ariana said, getting up and moving over to Evelynn. John watched as Ariana applied lotion to Evelynn’s back, rubbing it in and moving down toward her perfect buttock."

• The team's complete lack of concern about the 'skunk man' despite the danger it imposed.


Despite its short-comings, there was enough here to keep me interested until the end and I'm inclined to read the sequel as I believe this is the author's first novel and I expect that they will improve with experience.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Stephen has just become an adjunct professor of Paranormal Studies at his alma mater, Strathmore University, located in his hometown of the same name. As a youngster, he was given the nickname “Stephen Strange” due to bizarre events that would crop up when he was around, and people saying that “An aura of death surrounded him.” He has the gift of seeing and interacting with dead people, and through his study of the paranormal, he is searching for answers.

Evelynn is a student at the university. She experiences dreams that involve her in events of the past, and portend what may happen in the future. She is starting a paranormal club at the school in which Stephen—whom she has dated in the past—is the academic advisor. Along with two other students from the group, they investigate Crimshaw Manor: the empty estate of a once prominent family.

This was a fun book to read. I thought the story development of the main characters and settings was well done. The book moves along quickly with sections shifting between the perspectives of the different characters. This builds up the tension, and allows us to view the interactions of the characters. I also found the interactions between characters to be natural, spiked with humor and familiarity. Please check out his website for additional materials that “add to the experience of the story”: MEDrotos.com

It appears this might be the first of a series. I look forward to seeing more from this author.

I would like to thank NetGalley and BHC Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Whoa! What a ride. It was very fast-paced. The writing style kept me hooked and I didn't find myself losing any interest. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and how real the story felt. The author did a great job painting the setting, so it was easy for me to visualize the scene played out before me. I recommend giving this one a chance!