I'm reviewing the House on Cold Hill ...

... by Peter James.  A brilliant story with a supernatural edge ...

I've been reading Peter James' stories for quite a while.  I first discovered him through my village Book Club when one of his Roy Grace novels came up for discussion.  Those books are his police procedurals, and each one has the word 'dead' somewhere in the title.  I enjoyed that book so much that I went back and read all the Grace stories in order.  Having done so, I checked what else he had written and found The House on Cold Hill.  

This book is far from a police procedural, and as October fast approaches, along with Hallowe'en, it would make an apt and perfect read for the end of next month.

The story centres around a family, Ollie and Caro and their daughter Jade, who leave the comfort and security of their mid-terrace Victorian property to move into the house on Cold Hill.  They have overstretched themselves financially in order to make the move, but Ollie has a vision for the house and wants to restore it.  All of which, along with the eccentric people in the village, the strange rumours and the peculiar things that happen, make this a fascinating book to read.

I liked the constant buildup of tension, and the sense of creeping menace was palpable as I turned the pages.  The plot twists and turns in ways I could not have envisaged when I began the story.  Add to that an ending that I definitely did not foresee, and you have one of the spookiest books I have read in a long time.

 
I thought the characters were well drawn and engaging.  The narrative voice is easy to read and does not detract from the action of the book.  Overall, an amazing read that has left me wondering why it has sat on my bookshelf for so long.  Which probably means I need to do something about my extensive and ever-growing TBR pile!