The Haunting of Abney Heights by Cat Thomas is an atmospheric and suspenseful ghost story that keeps you intrigued, but ultimately feels like it could have gone deeper. The setting of Abney Heights, with its eerie mansion and creepy history, sets the perfect stage for a chilling tale. Thomas does a great job of creating a spooky, unsettling atmosphere that pulls the reader in, and there are some genuinely tense moments throughout the book.

The main character, while likable, sometimes felt a bit underdeveloped. Her reactions to the strange events unfolding around her could be more layered, as her emotional journey didn’t always feel as rich as the haunting itself. The supporting characters also didn’t stand out as much as they could have, and I found myself wishing for more depth in their relationships.

The plot, while interesting, follows some predictable tropes within the haunted house genre. There are some interesting twists and moments of suspense that kept me turning the pages, but overall, the story didn't quite live up to its full potential. The resolution, while satisfying, felt a little rushed compared to the build-up of tension earlier in the book.

That said, if you’re looking for a quick, spooky read, The Haunting of Abney Heights delivers a fun experience. It’s not groundbreaking, but it has enough eerie moments to make it worth checking out, especially for fans of ghost stories. With a little more character development and depth, it could have been a truly standout novel.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. For more reviews, check out my bookstagram @blondesbooknook

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

A unique and solidly written gothic mystery novel, not a horror novel. An easy read, right up my alley.

"The Haunting of Abney Heights" by Cat Thomas is a compelling gothic mystery that blends historical fiction with elements of the supernatural. Published on October 3, 2022, this novel follows Meg, a genealogist and archivist, as she investigates the mysterious deaths of two asylum patients in 1907.

Thomas skillfully weaves together dual timelines, alternating between present-day London and the Edwardian era. The story unfolds through a combination of Meg's investigation, diary entries, and historical documents, creating a layered narrative that keeps readers engaged.

The author excels at building a rich, atmospheric setting. Abney Heights, a former asylum turned luxury apartment complex, serves as a haunting backdrop that bridges past and present. Thomas's attention to historical detail brings the Edwardian world to life, exploring themes of spiritualism, early psychiatric treatments, and societal pressures of the era.

Character development is a strong point, with Meg and her "Scooby gang" of friends providing a refreshing and entertaining cast. The relationships between characters are well-crafted, adding depth to the story. However, some readers felt that certain characters could have been more fully developed.

While marketed as a horror novel, "The Haunting of Abney Heights" is more accurately described as a gothic mystery with supernatural elements. Readers expecting intense scares may be disappointed, as the focus is primarily on unraveling the historical mystery rather than delivering frights.

The pacing of the novel received mixed reviews. Some readers found it to be a slow burn, with the most significant action occurring towards the end. Others appreciated the gradual build-up of suspense and the intricate layering of clues throughout the story.

Thomas incorporates interesting elements such as steampunk spiritualism, coded documents, and radical therapies of the early 20th century. These aspects add depth to the historical setting and provide intriguing plot points for Meg to uncover.

In conclusion, "The Haunting of Abney Heights" is a solid entry in the gothic mystery genre. While it may not satisfy horror enthusiasts, it offers an engaging blend of historical intrigue, supernatural undertones, and character-driven storytelling. Readers who enjoy atmospheric mysteries with a historical twist will find much to appreciate in Cat Thomas's novel.

There’s literally nothing better than a good gothic ghost story, particularly one that takes place at an apartment complex/former asylum! Super atmospheric and creepy and I didn’t see the twist coming!

This was more of a historical mystery than a spooky thriller. It was an easy read, although some of the plot points were just a bit too convenient for my liking. I liked the exploration of women's mental health in the early 1900s and the trauma experienced by the two femail characters in that time. The modern day timeline was fine but there was too many characters in the "Scooby Gang" and some of them felt a bit irrelevant.

This is a very uniquely written book. I had a bit of a hard time getting into it but did enjoy the mystery once I sunk in. I don’t want to give too many details, because what’s the point of a mystery where you know too much, but if you are a fan of that genre of story this is definitely a potential for you!

Initially, instead of referring to "gay women," why not just call them lesbians? Furthermore, the purported gay romance is seldom present. The stories feel more like queer baiting since they feature lesbians but the relationship is flimsy. The suspense and action build gradually; a large portion of this is due to the archives and research.

I found the novel's overall plot and its themes—mental health care and the persecution of sexual orientation—to be pretty enjoyable. It was nice to see historical events presented from a contemporary viewpoint. While the storyline was intriguing, I found the writing to be a bit stilted and the story dragged at points, which made it difficult to get through certain chapters. In general, I felt that this fell more into the mystery genre than anything else because I was expecting more spooky shocks. Still, it was a pleasant read all around.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a copy of this book!

So, the plot was interesting, but difficult to enjoy as the “reveals” seemed so overplayed and obvious that I was getting frustrated by the pacing. I also found some of the characterizations odd, with the main character acting and talking like she’s 20 and then always talking about how she’s older and can’t fit in with her gentrified (former) community. This wasn’t unenjoyable, but it was not what it seemed it should have been.

It was a very interesting premise, though I did at times feel the story was slower paced than I wanted it to be, which made it harder to be engaged. However, if you are wanting a slow burn spooky book that goes back in time, this is definitely an interesting read!

This is a historical fiction murder mystery. The atmosphere is very dark. The tension builds very slowly. I enjoyed the story and will read more by this author

I don‘t read a lot of books going into this direction of genre but I liked the supernatural suspense.
One of the strong points of this book are the characters. I liked the main character, Megan, and the other characters from her group. They all have a good and refreshing dynamic.
I liked the atmosphere and the outline of the plot aswell as the themes of the novel, however, the execution of it could‘ve been better since the story was partly dull and boring and could‘ve been made more interesting. It was intriguing but nevertheless too dragged out at parts.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Cat Thomas for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for The Haunting of Abney Heights. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I really loved the short chapters and journal format of the book. The writing was good. I just felt the pace was a little too slow for me. I was expecting a little more gothic horror. It wasn’t really scary or spooky for me. I would check out other books by this author.

This dual timeline, part epistolary novel is set in a converted manor house, Abney Heights, which was formerly an asylum during the Edwardian period. The asylum is also the site of the unexplained deaths of two of its former inmates, and this mystery becomes the thing drawing main character Meghan Morgan deeper into the asylum's and her own past.

Meg is a genealogist/archivist and is contracted by a wealthy American woman, Betty Gardiner, to help her find any information on Betty's great aunt Emanuella Murray, who was a resident of the asylum in 1907. Betty has Emmanuella's diary from that time, but it's all written in code, so Meg has an additional task while going through the papers from the asylum's archives.

Meg's childhood friend Antoine lives in Abney Heights; he's a journalist, and is thrilled by the possibilities of Meg's research, seeing an opportunity to write an interesting historical piece about the asylum and the mysterious deaths.

Also staying at Abney is Uzi, an artist who has an unusual way of seeing the world, which influences her haunting paintings. (Amusingly, she also has named Antoine's cats Mulder and Scully.)

As Meg deciphers the diary, she is introduced to Dr. Wood, the psychiatrist treating Emmanuella and Lucy (the two women who died) and the partially innovative and partially kooky ideas he had for treatments. The kookier involved the use of a steampunkish box to deal with hysteria. Ella's diary also reveals that she was a lesbian and suffragette, and had been raped. Her trauma and sexual orientation were why she was at the asylum, and also revealed that she and Lucy developed a very close relationship, even though Lucy was there to deal with her issues prior to her marriage to a stodgy, respectable man.

Meg, Antoine, Uzi, Uzi's lover and Betty all discuss each new revelation from the diary in a series of texts and emails, hypothesizing what could have happened to the two women, a la Scooby Gang. Interestingly, the more time Meg spends at Abney Heights, the more she gets the sense that the place is haunted due to weirdoccurences. And Uzi's certainty there is a ghost present only adds to the tension.

Ella's secrets also begin pointing to a possible connection with Meg's own family, from whom Meg is estranged.

What really happened to Ella and Lucy is fascinating and sad, and it highlights how homophobia has destroyed lives for years. Author Cat Thomas skillfully uses the diary entries to create the heavy atmosphere of the asylum and Ella's fraying happiness. Meanwhile, the group texts of the Scooby Gang provide some levity in a dark story about mental illness and its dubious treatments.

Thomas' gothic manor house and its messy past are well conceived, and there's a growing sense of menace permeating Ella's recounting of her days leading up to hers and Lucy's deaths. There's a great feeling of creepiness in both timelines, and the characterization is well done, helping us sympathize with Meg's reluctance to connect with others because of her family, and with Ella, full of optimism upon her arrival at Abney, to her turmoil near her death. The author balances both the horror of the historical situations and the quirkiness of her present-day characters well; this is a dark and entertaining story.

Thank you to Netgalley and to BooksGoSocial for this ARC in exchange for my review.

This was such an interesting book! I really enjoyed this but felt like I was a bit lost at times. I feel like it could maybe use another round of editing but this was still a fun time nonetheless

Clever book. Interesting characters and well written. I got lost a bit a few times but cleared up! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher!

A mystery surrounding an old asylum and the patients that once inhabited it. A great novel with dual timeline and characters perspective which kept me wanting more. I really enjoyed this sometimes creepy, atmospheric read. Highly recommend!

There's much to parse in this British contemporary/Edwardian Ghostly mystery. The Narrator, a former academic, now a freelance genealogist, carries a trunk load of baggage from childhood and adolescence. She's currently staying in a Renovated Edwardian Asylum while working through the Asylum archives for the Development corporation. It's also the area of London in which she grew up, and the penthouse resident is her bestie while growing up.

Additionally, she is contracted by a San Francisco resident to uncover the mysteries of one of the gentlewoman inmates. There's enough Supernatural Interference to keep the cauldron boiling, which in turn creates danger and potential fatality. Caution: the unraveling of the Asylum narrative reveals some very ugly facts, disturbing to some (many) readers. The reading is not as fast-paced as I would have hoped, as discovering the truths from 1907 is spaced out through journal entries, and our Narrator is constantly involved in her own past drama.


Content warning: child abuse.

"The Haunting of Abney Heights" by Cat Thomas is a captivating journey into the shadows of the past, blending elements of a quirky Gothic tale with a multi-layered murder mystery.
As Meg returns to London, her new residence, a former asylum, becomes an unsettling backdrop for confronting both the ghosts of the building and those from her own troubled history. The narrative takes an intriguing turn as Meg delves into the mysterious deaths of asylum patients, uncovering a world of steampunk spiritualism, genteel gay romance, and radical therapies from the Edwardian era.
Cat Thomas weaves a tale that goes beyond conventional ghost stories, presenting a narrative rich in atmosphere and historical depth. The exploration of the asylum's liberal façade reveals a darker truth, raising questions about the patients' deaths and the malevolent secrets lurking within.
The novel cleverly incorporates a coded document, leading Meg on a journey that not only exposes the asylum's secrets but also unravels shocking truths about her own life. The author skillfully navigates between the present and the dark Edwardian past, creating an immersive experience for the reader.
The characters are well-crafted, and Meg's unraveling reality adds a layer of psychological suspense to the story. The author's use of British spelling and terminology enhances the authenticity of the setting.
"Fans of Laura Purcell, Diane Setterfield, Bridget Collins, and Stacey Halls" will find themselves enchanted by Cat Thomas's unique storytelling. "The Haunting of Abney Heights" is not just a ghost story but a compelling exploration of secrets, mysteries, and the lingering echoes of the past.
*I extend my gratitude to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for providing an advance copy of this hauntingly atmospheric book.*

A fascinating mystery with intriguing twists and turns throughout. While the unveiling did not entirely work for me, I was hooked until the last page.