#GothicHorrorFIction – Rosepoint Publishing

The Stranger Diaries Book 1 of Harbinder Kaur by Elly Griffiths #AudiobookReview #GothicHorrorFiction

Editors’ pick Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Book Blurb:

Clare Cassidy is no stranger to murder. A high school English teacher specializing in the Gothic writer R. M. Holland, she teaches a course on it every year. But when one of Clare’s colleagues and closest friends is found dead, with a line from R. M. Holland’s most famous story, “The Stranger”, left by her body, Clare is horrified to see her life collide with the story lines of her favorite literature.

My Review:

Having ventured into a Ruth Galloway book, I thought I’d try another first in the series. This series, however, leads the reader into a totally different experience and, actually, as a girl, I loved gothic stories.

Not so much this one.

I don’t have a problem with multiple POVs, usually enjoy them. In this case, it changed the vibe of the book for me. Stopped what might have been an interesting flow to begin another and one not so engaging.

This novel begins a slow burn for me perhaps because I always found English classes dry and lacking connection. While we aren’t exactly talking classics here, I struggled with the academia side of the narrative, found most characters haughty and arrogant, and a couple I actively disliked. The plot centers around Clare and her teenage daughter, Georgia (Yet another snotty teen?) Clare’s best friend is murdered. Enter DS Kaur, I thought a bit too intense and forceful. My favorite character is the little dog, of course.

The author R M Holland lived in the particular old school building where he wrote his best known works. He is surrounded by myth and the story of the death of his wife. He left an extract that becomes a mantra throughout the book, and as it was an audiobook, became a bit much.

“Hell is empty, all the devils are up here.”

At first the passage jolted me as it sounded much like something my grandfather once said. But then it was repeated, over and over.

The plot becomes quite complex. The atmospheric gothic quality of the campus descriptions of the area lends a strong character quality to the Victorian storyline, building tension and adding to the “creep” factor. Lots of threads pulled up in the denouement. Sometimes though the motive for a murder feels a bit weak, but okay, everything buttons up in the end.

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts. Did you read this one?

Rosepoint Publishing: Three point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Gothic Horror Fiction, Police Procedural Fiction, Gothic Fiction
Publisher: Recorded Books
ASIN: B07MKZFRQT
Listening Length: 10 hrs 32 mins
Narrators: Andrew Wincott, Esther Wane, Sarah Feathers, Anjana Vasan
Publication Date: March 5, 2019
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)

Title Links:

Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

Elly Griffiths - author — Elly Griffiths – author

The Author: Thank you for visiting my Amazon author page! I’m the author of the Dr Ruth Galloway books, the Brighton Mysteries and four standalone titles featuring DI Harbinder Kaur. I’ve also written a middle grade mystery series, A Girl Called Justice. My new series, about time-travelling detective Ali Dawson, started in 2025 with The Frozen People.

I was born in London but moved to Brighton when I was five. I always wanted to be an author and wrote my first detective story, The Hair of the Dog, when I was 11. I studied English at King’s College London and worked in a library before joining HarperCollins as a publicity assistant, eventually becoming editorial director for children’s fiction. I wrote my first published novel, The Italian Quarter, whilst on maternity leave expecting my twins. Three other books followed, all written under my real name, Domenica de Rosa. When I wrote my first crime novel, The Crossing Places, I was advised to get a ‘crime name’. I chose Elly Griffiths, after my grandmother, and have now published 32 books under that name..

I live near Brighton with my husband, Andy. We have two grown-up children and a cat.

Have a happy Easter! — AI generated graphic compliments of Dream Lab, Canva.

The Heiress: A Novel by Rachel Hawkins #AudiobookReview #GothicHorrorFiction

Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Book Blurb:

THERE’S NOTHING AS GOOD AS THE RICH GONE BAD

When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family’s estate high in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

But in the aftermath of her death, her adopted son, Camden, wants little to do with the house or the money—and even less to do with the surviving McTavishes. Instead, he rejects his inheritance, settling into a normal life as an English teacher in Colorado and marrying Jules, a woman just as eager to escape her own messy past.

Ten years later, his uncle’s death pulls Cam and Jules back into the family fold at Ashby House. Its views are just as stunning as ever, its rooms just as elegant, but the legacy of Ruby is inescapable.

And as Ashby House tightens its grip on Jules and Camden, questions about the infamous heiress come to light. Was there any truth to the persistent rumors following her disappearance as a girl? What really happened to those four husbands, who all died under mysterious circumstances? And why did she adopt Cam in the first place? Soon, Jules and Cam realize that an inheritance can entail far more than what’s written in a will—and that the bonds of family stretch far beyond the grave.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

My Review:

I had no idea I was tackling a Gothic thriller, but I can tell you that this dysfunctional family makes you happy you aren’t rich. Good grief, with money comes treachery, woes, and misery. Or perhaps the McTavish family is unusual? I hope so.

Cam and Jules have been married for a while, solid and comfortable, childless but happy in Colorado far away from the family who adopted him and the mother who denied her birth children the home and fortune she left Cam. The siblings, who were never thrilled with him, are now left bitter and conniving after Ruby’s death.

Cam is called by his uncle to Ashby House to straighten out a financial mess. It’s Jules who convinces him he should return, reconcile with his adopted siblings.

Then it does read like a Gothic novel, describing a home of monumental proportions on a palatial estate, breathtakingly beautiful. It’s easy to veil the secrets, tension, and suspicion each family member heaps on each other. Narcissism screams with each character, whose personalities have been defined by money, power, and privilege.

The plot deepens with revelations from each of the characters, beautifully captured by multiple narrators. Adding to the tension are the little letter vignettes from Ruby, disclosing the stories of her four unfortunate husbands, all having met suspicious deaths.

I really enjoyed this psychological thriller and the trove of unreliable narrators, ramping suspense. From a slightly slow start through the twists, one last zinger at the end, and the satisfying denouement, this novel may well be enjoyed by Gothic and psychological thriller fans and it doesn’t hurt that the area descriptions become so atmospheric.

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Gothic Horror Fiction, Gothic Fiction, Psychological Thrillers
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
ASIN: B0C3NX3ZK6
Listening Length: 8 hrs 20 mins
Narrator: Dan Bittner, Eliza Foss, John Pirhalla, Patti Murin
Publication Date: January 9, 2024
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: The Heiress [Amazon-US]
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Rachel Hawkins (http://www.rachel-hawkins.com) was a high school English teacher before becoming a full-time writer. She lives with her family in Alabama, and is currently at work on the third book in the Hex Hall series. To the best of her knowledge, Rachel is not a witch, though some of her former students may disagree….