Uncover the Mystery of a Haunted House in A House of Ghosts: A Gripping Murder Mystery

Kevin: I have read all of William Ryan's books, and I have really enjoyed them all. I'm not a huge fan of supernatural or ghost stories, and I had avoided this book for a while, despite having read his subsequent novel.

I absolutely devoured it, Ryan, not unlike another Irish author John Banville, paints such a rich atmospheric picture in his books you feel immersed in them. I can tell that a lot of research has gone into creating getting the detail and facts to create this rich world that the reader gets drawn into. Fabulous, can't wait for his next novel. Hope we see Donovan and Kate again.

United Kingdom on Nov 19, 2023

Paul Dow: I initially bought this book thinking it was a scary supernatural story but I was wrong.

Yes it does have ghosts, but it’s more of a murder mystery / who done it with some ghosts added in. In the end I found it a pretty good story.

Australia on Oct 22, 2023

Ana G: I loved it. Just the right balance of ghosts, intrigue and the human element. I loved the setting and the time period and I liked the characters. This was a lot of fun.

United States on Oct 07, 2023

Amazon Customer: Kept my guessing until the end. Love the insight into life the way it was back then. Looking forward to reading the next book. Thanks

Canada on Mar 13, 2023

Katherine Y: This story includes many mystery, spy, and paranormal elements. The tale is about a British man and woman in 1917 who collaborate to protect an important man in the military effort and discover who is leaking secrets to the enemy. Kate is a code breaker for Naval Intelligence and is summoned by “C,” the head of the Secret Intelligence Service, to a meeting where she meets Donovan, an intelligence operative. Donovan’s mission is to protect a man vital to the military, Lord Highmount, and Kate is to assist him, but they are not to act like they know each other. The Highmounts are having a séance at their mansion on a small island that is only accessible by ferry. Kate has never worked on an assignment like this, but she is the perfect person for the job because her parents are friends of Lord Highmount, and well, Kate can see ghosts. Kate can determine if the psychics running the séance are engaging in trickery.
WWI has already claimed many lives, including the two sons of Lord and Lady HIghmount. One of their sons was Kate’s previous fiancé. The purpose of the séance is to summon the spirits of the Highmounts’ two dead sons. Kate’s parents, two psychics, the...

United States on Nov 02, 2022

Gloria Lesher: Reading this novel was a kind of enchantment. I found myself so absorbed I could hardly put the book down to accomplish my daily chores, and when I did, I couldn’t wait to pick it up again. The characters and their environment grew vividly real to me, which is surprising, given that the novel takes place during World War I in England—a time and place totally foreign to me.

Wartime spies, ghosts, seances and murder all combine to create an intoxicating reading experience. The story is told via several different points of view, but primarily those of Kate and Donovan, who are sent to an island off the Devon coast on a mysterious mission by “C,” a British intelligence big shot. A winter storm complicates everything and isolates the characters in a creepy old mansion long enough for foul play to occur. As the plot unfolds, you find yourself (along with the characters) questioning the reality of the supernatural events that transpire. Not everything has a rational explanation, and that is part of the novel’s charm.

Kate can see ghosts and has no fear of them; and thus, neither does the reader. Besides that, snippets of the future appear to her in a magic mirror....

United States on Jul 08, 2021

Kindle Customer: As a teenager, I loved reading Gothic suspense novels. I couldn't get enough of the creepy old houses, atmospheric settings, and (often) searches for treasure. W.C. Ryan's A House of Ghosts fits into the Gothic suspense genre beautifully. Blackwater Abbey is hundreds of years old, the site of an ancient monastery, and it is absolutely filled with secret doors, rooms, and passageways. I wish the place were real so I could wander around it myself. The atmosphere was tense, and when the storm descended, it added to the frayed nerves of the people in the house: "It seemed as though the house and the wind were having a conversation" (and it wasn't a good one).

The two main characters, Kate Cartwright and Captain Donovan, were strong, intelligent people who were quick thinkers in dangerous situations-- even when sparks flew between them. Kate, like many of the women in her family, could see ghosts. Just see them, not talk with them, and she also had the FitzAubrey glass, an ancient mirror that women in her family could use to glimpse the future.

One of the elements of A House of Ghosts that really ratcheted up the suspense was the presence of ghosts. Around the pier on the...

United States on Dec 09, 2019

Jacob Collins: A House of Ghosts by W.C. Ryan is the perfect read for this time of year. If you enjoy reading in the winter nights and as the weather begins to turn, then this book is for you.

W.C. Ryan takes us to a remote island where one of our lead characters, Kate, is travelling home to after the death of her brother during the First World War. The war has ravaged the county, and everyone has a connection to someone who is affected by the war.

Now there is a supernatural element to W.C. Ryan’s work which gives it a really spooky atmosphere. Kate’s parents, Lord and Lady Highmount, are planning a séance for their guests at their home, Blackwater Abbey, and they have gathered together people who have some ability to connect with the spirit world. They are great believers in mediums and fortune-tellers. Lady Highmount is desperate to hear from her departed son, but as the séance takes place and when a storm renders them trapped, dark secrets about the guests begin to emerge, and this soon leads to violence.

Kate is the character who I engaged with most throughout this book. Kate is a natural but unwilling medium and uses a mirror to see spirits. She senses the...

United Kingdom on Oct 09, 2019

Loarn Paterson: ‘A House of Ghosts’ crosses genre boundaries to create an original story that I found both touching and exciting. Set in 1917, the cataclysmic losses families and communities across Britain suffered during WW1 are presented sensitively in the context of a strong plot that involves crime and espionage. I do not think it is helpful to seek comparisons with Christie or Buchan. In order to fully appreciate this book it is essential to forget stereotypes, suspend disbelief and go with the flow.

Kate, the protagonist, has inherited the power to see the future in an antique mirror passed down in her family. This is an ideal superpower for a girl whose day job is secret agent, and it proves invaluable as she forms a team with upwardly mobile army officer Donovan to find out what is going on in the cellars where the skeletons of long-dead monks line the walls. Kate is presented to the reader as being brave and pragmatic, which is a refreshing take on heroines who too often come across as passive shadows of their male associates.

The aristocratic Highmounts invite their circle of friends to an island off the English coast. There, they take part in seances in the hope of...

United Kingdom on Feb 05, 2019