3.5 stars

Well, I thought this was a quick and solid read.

It's certainly quirky. But one of the things I liked most about this, apart from giving us the television producer from hell, is that it injects so much doubt into the story. Are the events real or not? That had me intrigued for the entire read. I don't want to give the reveal away here, but I was on the fence about what was going on for entire ride.

Reading this book actually felt like I was watching a reality ghost hunting episode on TV. So huge praise for making the book feel that real. I liked that the author didn't back down from thumping home the tricks used in producing some of those programs, and I enjoyed the banter between the characters when discussing the many tricks. The characters in this book are loud and very much larger than life. Even the more sedate character, such as Alistair. For me, the characters felt real. They were written very well to match who they represented in the book, and they were consistent.

If this is the first book in a series, I'm not sure I can see the clear direction for the second book, but I'm hoping there is a second book. I think there is some unfinished business and the possibility for more interesting shenanigans.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for providing a free copy of this book for an honest review. All comments are my own.

Link to video review to be added in the near future.

Take the rural Stonehaven Town Hall or “The Most Haunted Hall in England” as the locals call it, hoping for an increase in tourists. Add June and Leslie, producer and medium, of the failing reality TV show Spooky Times. And finally mix in four D list celebrities: Toby Marsh, a second rate comedian with health problems, Indira Singh, once a star chef, Diana Hunt, an actor looking for publicity and better roles, and finally Alistair Kincaid, an Anglican Bishop and frequent guest on morning TV. The plan for the show is to lock them all in the Town Hall overnight, film their stay on live TV and see who makes it through, sane and alive, to morning. Nothing goes according to the “plan”. There are surprise power outages, strange noises, missing possessions, more noises, confessions and death. Alistair and Diana stay together while trying to discover whether the killer they seek is human…or not.

Spooky Time is fun and not totally frightening. It doesn’t need to be. Talented author Simon R. Green has given us memorable characters, especially Bishop Alistair and his partner Diana, and bad behavior by both humans and spirits. While most of the group focuses on the spirit world, Alistair has other ideas. I hope this is the start of a new series. I can’t wait for what comes next. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Severn House and Simon R. Green for this ARC.

Rating: ⭐⭐
Genre: Horror + Mystery Thriller

Simon R. Green's The Holy Terrors is the first installment in a series of mysteries that focuses on a group of celebrities who are featured in a show called Spooky Time, which is a ghost-hunting program. The novel kicks off with the introduction of the five main characters: Alistair, a young bishop who is skeptical when it comes to the supernatural; Diana, an actress who is trying to reestablish her career; Leslie, who self-identifies as a medium and claims to communicate with spirits; Toby, a comedian who employs humor to conceal his fears; and Indira, a famous chef who is enamored with wealth and fame. Last but not least, there is June, the ambitious host and producer of the show, who has planned a special episode to air on Halloween night.

The town hall in Stonehaven, which is notorious for being the scene of gruesome murders and paranormal activity, serves as the setting for this episode. Cameras and microphones record the group's every move while they are confined to the hall for the duration of the night. They quickly realize that they are not alone and that there is something nefarious hiding in the shadows.

Throughout the night, they are confronted with a series of peculiar and terrifying occurrences, including screams that are so terrifying that they make their blood boil, flickering lights, and moving objects. In addition to this, they realize that one of their own team members is a traitor who is present for a wicked purpose. Overcoming the night and getting out of the hall will require the group to work together. They must also find out the killer's identity and the dark secrets of the hall's history.

This is one of those books whose summary makes it sound great. I was sure I would love this one. I really wanted to enjoy this book, but it was not at all what I thought it would be like. I think the author had good ideas, but I do not think he carried them out well. The first thing you will notice about this book is that the narration and dialogue are not balanced. The dialogue is about 95% of the book. Although that allows the characters to express themselves, it detracts from the book's atmosphere. There was a severe absence of atmosphere in this narrative. The hall itself ought to have served as a character. There was hardly anything about it. There was no description of the setting or the environment, and if there was any, it must have been nothing more than a passing mention.

The characters were the primary focus of attention most of the time. I am sorry to say that I did not find their conversation to be enjoyable to read. There were indeed some entertaining parts; however, I did not find them to be sufficient to give them a thumbs up. For some readers, these characters will be too campy. Whether you like that or not depends on your own personal taste. I still would have given this book an extra star if the ending did not seem so unbelievable.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

What started out as a promising premise of a story ended badly. I was really happy with it until the last half, then it got unbelievable and kinda boring. I do like Simon R. Green's writing style and I remember loving his Nightside Series but this book is not his best effort. Turned from horror to a classic whodunit, and not a great one at that.

Interesting premise, entertaining but just ok. I liked it for the most part, but not my favorite. Didn’t feel like much of a horror book but more of a whodunnit.

2/5 stars

OOOOOF. This is a prepublished ARC, so maybe it will be better once it's an official copy.

I wanted to like this. I really, really did. I loved the concept (locked-in reality show ghosthunters) but good GOLLY the writing was terrible.

Example 1: he used the word "darling" 3 times on one page. (I lost count, but it was probably around a dozen times during the first two chapters alone). I swear if I heard the word darling one more time I was going to chuck my ebook across the room.

Example 2: similarly the phrase "pig" was used on repeat (twice on one page).

This needs some serious editing.

then Example 3: the twist ended up being something out of a 20s radio show, and not in a good way.

Unless the publisher really makes an improvement.....AVOID. The concept was there, the execution wasn't.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All views expressed are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a review copy.
I wanted to love this book. My only prior experience with Simon R. Green are the Night side books, which I loved. I absolutely devoured those books. This book was so slow and it contains one of my most hated tropes. I finished it, but I'm not glad I did.

Z-list celebrities do an overnight livestream in the most haunted hall in England with veteran ghost hunters. Things mysteriously start going awry as the inevitable reality show drama unravels. A good mix of likable and unlikable characters, what you’d expect for a reality TV show. The story has solid bones with room for improvement that I hope to see as the series continues- there’s a lot of fun potential here. I would really like to see more character development and depth, there were many moments where the characters’ personal matters are revealed and could have been good opportunities for that. I enjoyed the commentary around manufacturing ghost hunting shows. This is a very slow burn and dialogue heavy book mostly consisting of arguments between the guests. There were quite a few times I felt like I was waiting a long time for anything to happen. I really liked Allistair and I hope he will be the main character for the upcoming series. There was also very little world building/descriptions which could have helped break up a lot of the dialogue.
Overall, while a bit underwhelming, I felt invested enough to finish and, while it’s not a favorite, I liked it enough that I will be keeping an eye out for the next in the series.

Gosh, writing that sort of review is something that I really, really, really don´t like. So trying to be polite and respectful let me just say four things here:
- a great idea for a horror book,
- dialogue based book is somehow a no-no, for many reasons,
- nothing happens for a long time,
- the characters are arguing with each other ALL THE TIME and are impossible to like let alone to relate to.
Ok, done. Off the chest.

"Six people locked in a haunted hall...Cameras watching their every move...And then someone dies...This first in a spine-tingling new paranormal mystery series from New York Times bestselling British fantasy author Simon R. Green will make you doubt your judgement - and believe in ghosts!

Welcome to Spooky Time, the hit TV ghost-hunting show where the horror is scripted...and the ratings are declining rapidly. What better way to up the stakes - and boost the viewership - than by locking a select group of Z-list celebrities up for the night in The Most Haunted Hall in England (TM) and live-streaming the 'terrifying' results?

Soon Alistair, a newly appointed Bishop, actress Diana, medium Leslie, comedian Toby, and celebrity chef Indira are trapped inside Stonehaven town hall, along with June, the host and producer of the show. The group tries to settle in and put on a good show, but then strange things start happening in their hall of horrors.

What is it about this place - and why is the TV crew outside not responding? Are they even on air? Logical Alistair and intuitive Diana attempt to keep the group's fears at bay and rationalize the odd events, but there are things that just can't be explained within reason...Can the pair stop a cold-blooded would-be killer - even if it's come from beyond the grave?

This locked-room mystery with a paranormal twist is classic Simon R. Green, featuring his trademark humour and imagination, irresistible characters, and thoroughly entertaining plotting."

I mean, how else but by adding a dash of the paranormal can you up the locked-room story? Bravo!

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

What worked:
- The characters were likable (or unlikable, when it mattered)
- Cool concept that made you want to keep reading, to find out what was going to happen next
- Alistair as the protagonist - I’d keep reading books he’s in. He doesn't seem too 2-dimensional and is endearing enough that you find yourself rooting for him.
- Though not a shocker of an ending, I didn’t predict it. Nor did I really feel like I knew where the story was going, so predictability wasn’t an issue.

What didn’t work:
- It wasn’t very scary. I expected far more chills and thrills throughout.
- Overall, the reading experience was somewhat underwhelming. By the end of it, I was left wanting more - maybe a sequel?

Recommendation/Final Thoughts:
I’d recommend this book to anyone who wants “lighter” horror read that keeps you engaged and curious. It had plenty of banter and interesting characters. And who doesn’t love a locked-room mystery?

A priest, a comedian and an actress walk into a haunted house. I had hopes for this at the beginning, and I will say I did finish it for some reason. However, it was far from scary and at best an attempt at comedic. Sorry, most definitely not my favorite.

The first of what seems to be a new series is a stand alone locked room mystery. It's a little different than your standard SRG entry but the bones are there so, while this might appeal as an introduction to his work, it doesn't leave current fans wondering what the heck happened. A mix of guests is locked in overnight in the most haunted building in England for a standard ghost hunting show when guests suddenly start dropping dead. Are there homicidal spirits afoot? Or is one of them a murderer? Enjoy the mystery but don't get too attached to the guests!

This review is based on an advance copy that I received for free.

Simon r green delivers a new series in his signature style. The novel has a cast of distinct characters, some the reader will love and some they will absolutely loathe. Almost like a detective story the mystery behind this haunted place unravels.

There is a constant dread, the anxiety of the characters is felt through their actions and moments of panic.

It’s an atmospheric supernatural story that will appeal to readers of his previous series.

Let me start off by saying that I am a big fan of Simon R. Green. Particularly, I really enjoyed the Nightside books, but equally impressive were the Secret Histories, as well as the early Ishmael Jones books. Some of his other series that inhabit the same world, Ghost Finders or Gideon Sable, can be hit or miss, but still usually entertaining. Lately, it seems that Mr. Green is trying his hand on establishing some new series, such as “Jekyll & Hyde Inc.”, “For Love of Magic”, and now “The Holy Terrors”. Only time will tell if any of these will be turned into a successful series, but unfortunately these haven’t been that captivating.

“The Holy Terror” starts off with an interesting premise, fully tied to today’s world: reality TV. Six people locked in “The Most Haunted Hall in England”, a building with a long history of mysterious deaths, hidden cameras everywhere (yes, even in the disgusting bathroom), will the “celebrities” survive the night? We have an actress who is getting long in the tooth, a comedian who’s not pulling in the big crowds, a cooking show winner who’s trying to make another run at fame, and a bishop who seems to be quite TV friendly, according to his church anyway. Joining them is the host and producer June as well as the resident psychic Leslie.

It starts out quiet enough, but soon unexplained events start happening, from ghostly footsteps to flickering lights to growing shadows. Once the first death happens, everything changes, the threat becomes a lot realer. Will our celebrities figure out the killer before he strikes again? Or is it a supernatural being that’s beyond their abilities? And why isn’t anyone on the crew responding?

An interesting premise, but unfortunately the story that follows isn’t that paranormal, or fearful, or unexplainable, or even interesting… no wonder the show in the story is losing viewership! The dialog is typically snarky, comedic, and down-to-earth as we have seen in other stories from this author, but unfortunately the dialog is all we have in this story, and it gets old very quickly. The characters are pretty one-note, there’s not any action, and the big reveal is predictable and not very revealing. This seems like a setup for a series featuring Alistair and Diana, the bishop and the actress, hopefully the next chapter may provide some more suspense.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Severn House via NetGalley. Thank you!

An enjoyable, though a bit predictable, story. From the start I strongly expected the deaths in the story, and shortly after the first was sure who the killer was. However, the story is written well e ought that even though I found it a bit predictable I enjoyed most of the story.

A night of "is it or isn't it haunted" with a group of minor celebrities locked in a building, all filmed for a reality tv show.

A typical gung-ho setting and story - there's a murder, of course - from Simon Green. He has his usual cast of characters ranging from knowing, bonkers to annoying - all a fab mix to keep the funny dialogue going! Love the trade mark humour and having read him before, I didn't expect to solve the mystery, I was just along for the enjoyable ride!

Good to see he's starting a new series, although I do hope he finished Ishmael Jones off in the style I've come to expect! (Locked room mysteries solved by an alien pretending to be a human really hit the spot)

A fun if wacky read.

This was a major disappointment to me. I love horror stories but this is more of a farce with over the top unreal characters. The plot is unlikely and the ending is poor. Spine-tingling, it is not.

Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House for this amazing opportunity to read rate and review this arc which will be available February 6,2024.

It’s a locked room mystery with a paranormal twist. It was a snooze fest with predictable jump scare moments and flat dialogue. However! This would make a wicked awesome movie.

The build up at the start of this book was great. A few spooky sounds and a lot of doubt that any of it was real because June wanted to make such a good show to regain her audience. Once the characters start to drop dead and it's noted that there's just one small drop of blood on each of there shirts it becomes obvious someone is up to no good. You are drawn to the hosts as the suspects immediately until one of them drops dead.
I did enjoy this book but I was left wanting more. I so badly wanted there to be a non human presence in that hall. I wanted there to be a demon that was ruining the murder's plans. I wanted to feel more scared and on the edge of my seat.