Susan Barker’s Old Soul is a dive into the dark and chilling world of a 200-year-old predator who feeds a tyrannical force. From the first page, Barker captures the reader with an eerie, foreboding tone that grips you and refuses to let go.

The story weaves through layers of mystery, each plot shift unraveling secrets that deepen the sense of unease. The protagonist’s morally ambiguous existence creates a fascinating tension, pulling readers into their internal conflict .

Barker’s prose is hauntingly poetic, painting vivid images of shadowy landscapes and sinister forces. The pacing is deliberate but never drags, allowing the mystery to build with each chapter. The plot twists are brilliantly executed, keeping the reader guessing until the very end. And what an ending it is—completely somewhat unexpected, yet it ties the narrative together with a chilling sense of inevitability.

Old Soul is a dark, mysterious, and unforgettable tale that lingers in the mind long after the last page.

Book of two halves, over-long + repetitive. Inventive but also gratuitous + violent 2.5 rating

I read Barker’s earlier novel, The Incarnations, with some interest, reviewing it a little more positively than this. I noted that she was inclined to repeat her journeys a little too often, and had, also, a rather unfortunate tendency to the kind of overdone and unlikely gratuitous violence that smacks of something probably designed for Netflix, or B-movies. Lacks a certain subtle finesse, in other words.

But I was interested to read this new novel, as of course, writers develop and refine, and what might jar or not quite work in an earlier novel can be something the writer solves, going forwards.

Unfortunately I think these may be repeating habits in her writing, from this one.

The premise is interesting, initially, and Barker writes well, particularly in the earlier part of the book before she starts repetition without really advancing plot or narrative drive.

A young English man, missing a flight on his way back from Japan, has a chance encounter with a wealthy Japanese woman, similarly arriving too late for her flight. The woman reveals a strange and shocking story, about her estranged twin brother, who died in horrific and frankly, very peculiar circumstances.

The story is a terrible shock to the English man, as he is still, years on, mourning the death of his closest friend, someone from his very young childhood. Something incomprehensible had happened to her, and there seem to be some parallels, as a mysterious woman, possibly the same person, a photographer from Germany, was part of the story in both cases.

The young man, Jake, begins to follow a trail, building up more and more stories of similar tragic and horrible deaths, all across Europe, and into America. These are the various ‘Testaments’ the gathering of evidence.

Interspersing each ‘Testament’ story is the intercut ‘in the present’ story, in sections entitled ‘The Badlands’ We realise we are in the presence of the mysterious photographer, and it's obvious that we are following the journey of a new victim.

The ‘Badlands’ sections, are, the weakest part of the journey. Basically, it’s the action cutaways, going on and on, and we kind of know we are probably heading for some kind of impossibly chasey chasey gory action sequence. Or several. Extended. Because there are so many sections without anything new happening, merely repetitions of the somewhat ditsy, new-agey, wanna be influencer whining and naively self absorbed, and the curiously sinister photographer, oddly putrescent, focused on her strange encounters on the dark side with some demonic being, this is the very antithesis of on-the-edge-of-the-seat-page-turning.

The Testament Sections are interesting, because we meet different people, at different times. But even they go on too long and ultimately don’t add anything new, after a while

A MUCH shorter book would not have dissipated its power, as this does

Probably the most unusual book I have ever read. Totally addictive; chilling and terrifying and challenging. I will read this book a second time, quite soon I think. I can't bear that it has ended. Of course, it hasn't ended. It started with a young British man, questioning. He followed all the clues, incredible clues and traces of coincidences spanning many decades. Read the book and you'll do the same, not understanding the words at first. A terrible, terrible book. I can't recommend it highly enough.

This thriller is both disturbing and creepy, with a dark atmosphere that left me feeling uneasy throughout. The plot is twisted, full of unsettling moments that kept me on edge, unsure of what was coming next. I was impressed by how effectively it built tension and horror, a really good horror book very much reminded me of Stephen king.

I wasn't sure about this book at first. I found it disturbing but gradually the story drew me in. I like the two different perspectives and on balance would recommend it. It is not a horror story in the usual sense of the world but it is not inaccessible. Requires the reader to put a bit of effort in which I think is well worth it.

This was absolutely not at all what I expected and maybe not something I would have gone for without a strong recommendation from someone whose taste I really respect.
The opening of Jake meeting Mariko was instantly gripping and probably my favourite of all the stories. I really liked the way this was structured with the main narrative of Rosa interspersed with Jake’s research.
By the end it was no idea what I expected and reminded me a lot of Stephen King.
A weird and wonderful ride.
4 stars.

I enjoyed this book a lot. In equal parts spooky, disturbing and thrilling - keeping my attention throughout. I like the way the story is told differently from the viewpoints of the Woman and Jake, but you also get the rich detail of the 'testimonies' which fill in the history of the Woman, and her various encounters, and bring a lot of the creepiness!

I found this so compelling to read and loved the gradual progression to the modern day experience of Jake, who is behind pulling at the testimonies together. The final few chapters are exciting as everything comes to a head, with more shocks provided as well. The author has a lovely writing style, bringing everything to life for the reader and the experience was very visual for me. Highly recommended.

3.75 ⭐️

I’m rating this one relatively highly because, simply put, i had a very enjoyable time reading it. I was sucked in by the mystery, the plot held together relatively well, and I couldn’t put it down.
I do think that it does itself a disservice by jumping from backstory to backstory, it never really gave me much time to settle in with the characters, and the ‘snapshot’ writing style has never been something I’m fond of, but all in all I think this was still pretty successful.

A very addictive but at the same time unsettling story about the perennial battle between good and evil. Jake is haunted by the death of his long time friend Lena and the circumstances surrounding it. After a chance meeting with a woman in Osaka with a similar unsettling event in her life he sets out to locate others with the same experiences. Documenting his interviews with the various people he meets Jake starts to get closer to the understanding he craves . This is a dark and somewhat supernatural tale which grabbed me but at the same time was difficult to read for long periods and after finishing it I am still unsure how’s I feel about it.
A book I am glad I read but would not read again.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

When you are really enjoying a book and are engrossed and/or engaged, you normally don't want to put it down. I was surprised at how long it took me to read this book. I did enjoy it but I suppose I was not fully engaged with it.. It is a good concept and it is mysterious enough that you don't immediately know what exactly is going on with Eva.

I wouldnt class it as horror, more of a mystery/thriller. The problem might be that of course, each encore Eva has is quite samey and they all end the same way too so that takes some of the suspense out of it, especially as the book goes on. I am unclear about why the Venusian was called The Tyrant or indeed what he actually wanted. If he has the power to reward Eva with new life, what does he lack that the humans provide?

i did like the actual ending , but I was not as satisfied with the epilogue.

This is a chilling and creepy story about how far someone will go to extend life and essentially live forever. When Jake misses his flight from Osaka airport he finds Mariko also at the gate demanding to be allowed to board. They are both turned away but meet later in the evening whilst buying food. Although they apparently have nothing in common, after some drinks and a lot discussion it seems that Mariko's brother died in strange circumstances and in a similar way to an old school friend of Jake's. In the days before each of them died Hiroki and Lena each was befriended by a dark haired stranger who posed as a photographer.
Searching for answers and the woman sets Jake off on a long journey, uncovering more and more strange stories of people dying in a similar way and each time having mingled with this Eastern European woman.
On the plus side this story was a great mystery and I had no idea how it would pan out. I was completely hooked and invested in Jake as he searched for information. The story ploughs ahead full steam bringing the reader along with it as it reaches the climax.
On the negative side I hated that there were no speech marks in the text - making it in my opinion difficult to read. There was also many shifts in time and place and although they are clearly marked at the chapter beginnings, it jerked the story around a bit. I also found the ending a bit of a let down. I can't explain why or what would have been better but somehow, right until the very last page I was expecting a bit more.
Having said that I found it an enjoyable read and it will haunt me for days as it is a very creepy premise. Would make a good film!
With thanks to Netgalley and Penguin General UK - Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking, Penguin Life, Penguin Business for an arc copy in return for an honest review.

Old Soul was a disturbing read, an ancient legend and an entity’s thirst for survival spanning over hundreds of years. It took me a while to get used to the skipping forward and back in the woman’s timeline, but it had just the right amount of lure to keep me reading. The characters were great, some are fleeting as they are used, their friendships with the woman being short lived, others have a long history with her and these enable you to get to understand what the woman is doing and who she might be. I enjoyed the read and had no idea how the story would pan out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin UK for this ARC. Old Soul is a supremely creepy and unsettling gothic novel which begs the question of how far someone might go to live forever. When Jake and Mariko both miss their flight in Osaka airport, they go for a drink and discover they have something very disturbing in common. Both of them have loved ones who died suddenly and in uncanny and eerily similar ways. In the days before their deaths, they seemed to be going mad and autopsies later revealed that all of their organs had flipped to the opposite side of their bodies. Even more strangely, in the days before their deaths both became close with a mysterious and alluring photographer who completely disappeared in the aftermath of their demises. Surely this can’t be a coincidence? Who is this woman and how is she connected to these deaths? This is what drives Jake to go down a rabbit hole of rumour and legend to unfurl a story that spans across continents and has been centuries in the making. This novel is twisty, spooky and has an absolutely mind-melting ending – a perfect read as the nights get longer.

There is something so gradual about this. Even though it’s not a particularly long book, it took me a while to finish.

First of all, the lack of quotation marks. I really hate that this is becoming a common thing because it makes it harder to read and understand who is speaking and what parts are spoken or not. This was likely the main reason why it took me longer to finish this book.

Initially I was annoyed at the constantly shifting perspectives but actually each time I got sucked in to a new person’s story. This does mean that you’re having to mentally reset each time for new characters and settings despite their stories being repetitive in nature - this also meant I was taking a break after each story, so progress felt slow.

The concept here was great - I thought the characters were all really well established in their sections (ironically, Eddy and Jake probably the least so) and I was invested in them all.

Where this was let down was in the final 1/4. I think we deserved a better ending than that. I won’t go into details so as not to spoil it but it felt unsatisfying.

The epilogue…I dunno I didn’t get it.

This was so close to being a 5 star read for me but I just didn’t get along with that ending.

This would make an awesome TV series.

This is my second book by the author, and I’m loving the consistency of quality her works exhude. While Old Soul is perhaps a little less straightforward than the previous one I read (The Incarnations), the fantastical elements and horrific situations were up to par with my expectations.

Barker uses again the multiple points of view to chain together different stories, perfect strangers linked by the presence of a woman fleeting through their lives and somehow wreaking havoc and leaving no trace behind her.

Her characters are flawed and perverse and violent and I loved reading about them.

I would like to read more of her books both because I enjoyed reading them, but also because I want to check whether she keeps relying on the same literary devices to write her stories.

Access to the ARC acquired thanks to NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Why no quotation marks through out the book? It really made it difficult to read in places.

Your concentration must be on full alert for this book otherwise you totally loose the plot. Different people that come at you thick and fast in the beginning then tend to fade a little. Pity the editing was not better.

I really wanted to immerse into this book. The plot sounded great and I loved the creepy premise. I just can't stay in the narrative because of the lack of speech punctuation. Because there are different stories and characters it requires a lot of concentration I couldn't give this book. It is generally well written just not for me.

A fresh approach.

This story is unlike any other. It gathers speed with interest. A crashing ending.

A running story from main characters and testimonies to give depth.

How does this "woman" live her live and take others. There are love stories here too.

Would highly recommend to like-minded readers

This is a great read in a similar style to Stephen King, with just a small dash of horror which could easily exist alongside a normal world if you managed not to get drawn in.
A mysterious and charismatic woman seems to be avoiding aging and death while those near her suffer premature death often by their own hand. Are the two connected? You bet!
Really enjoyed reading this book and loved the ending.

This book is simultaneously the story of a nameless woman who is somehow involved in a series of mysterious deaths spanning decades, and Jake, who starts to put the jigsaw pieces together when he happens across a relative of one of the victims. Unfortunately, though, it really wasn’t for me.

Trigger warning: no quotation marks (doesn’t impact my assessment, but see my opinion about this weird habit at the bottom of this review).

The storytelling has the feeling of gothic horror, and verges on literary fiction - the writing style is lyrical in places, which is an interesting counterpoint to the creepiness of the story.

The narrative alternates between Jake’s investigations of past incidents (‘testimonies’ from people who knew various victims), and the slowly unfolding current day events that are inevitably leading up to the woman’s next intended victim. As a storytelling device, this is very effective, as you can see how the two threads come together as Jake learns more about the woman.

For me, though, I found it a bit of a slog to get through: each testimony is essentially a short story of its own, with new characters and locations, so I had to do a complete mental “story reset” for each of these, which I find tiring, and was giving me a reason to put the book down between chapters rather than read on. This would be forgivable if each of the testimonies offered meaningful new insight into the characters and events, but I found them quite repetitive - they largely served as several very similar examples that establish the way the woman traps her victims.

If you’re a fan of the creepy gothic horror feel, then perhaps this would be satisfying enough. But I’m not especially (and the book wasn’t marketed to me as such), so I was looking for something else to grab and keep my attention - like some deeper insight into the motivation and background of the woman, or some interesting depth to the fantasy elements that formed the foundation of her situation. And this is where I was disappointed. Those elements, and the relatively arbitrary set of rules that govern how the woman sets her victims on their deadly trajectory, are largely left vague and unexplained.

However, despite the repetitive testimonies, and this lack of explanation of the foundations of the story, I was still interested in how the story unfolded. The ending is satisfying enough, if lacking in subtlety. And the epilogue gave me a small taste of the lore that I was missing in the rest of the story.

But overall this book wasn’t really for me, so my rating is probably low compared to fans of the genre.

And the lack of quotation marks. Why? Quotation marks like all other punctuation are there for a reason they help communicate the authors intention to the reader they remove friction from the reading experience the act of reading really shouldnt involve this much effort on behalf of the reader unless theres some specific purpose like deliberately creating a sense of distance or vagueness instead I just found it difficult and confusing sometimes it wasnt clear whether a sentence was direct speech or first person narrative so authors please stop doing this.

Thank you #NetGalley and Penguin Fig Tree for the free review copy of #OldSoul in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.