Another Review at MyShelf.Com

The Bell Tower
Nell West and Michael Flint Haunted House Story - Book VI
Sarah Rayne

Severn House
30 October 2015/ ISBN 9780727885593
Fiction / Supernatural / Ghost

Reviewed by Rachel A Hyde

 

Nell West has the opportunity to extend her Oxford antiques shop, and uncovers tantalising traces of a former occupant. It appears too that the house was once the property of a small abbey in Dorset, and events soon mean that Nell, her daughter Beth and friend Michael are on their way to Rede Abbas. Here they will encounter the Bell Tower and learn the terrible fate of all those touched by the haunting Thaisa’s Song.

This is book six in the series and if, like this reviewer it is your first encounter with it then I suggest reading book one first (Property of a Lady). One of the joys of reading a series of books is catching up with the characters, and in this book we don’t learn much about them. They are not in the story all that much but serve more as a framework to hang it on. Instead the bulk of the tale is about the Eynon family and their various fates down the centuries, told in a combination of emails, diary extracts and viewpoints of the various characters. This works well enough, giving a sense of immediacy as we read about how their lives change when Thaisa’s Song is sung, although at times the language used does not invoke the period. It is not difficult to guess a lot of what is going to happen but it is still an exciting read and how scary you find it will depend entirely on the individual. There are some good descriptions of the places involved and a rather neat setup for the next in the series. Solid entry that should appeal to haunted house fans who have read the earlier books.


Reviewed 2014
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