Review: An entertaining old-fashioned ghost story.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 13, 2013
It's been a while since I've read a good ghost story. So when the invitation to dive into one was presented, I jumped at it. I'm happy to report that Moorehead Manor by David McMullen-Sullivan fits the bill. It serves up quite a few chills within its pages while having some depth to counter the horror, something few contemporary ghost stories manage. I'm especially fond of the fact that the story takes as long as it takes to tell its tale and not a minute longer. This is definitely the work of a craftsman.The story begins with a trio of teenagers Jimmy and siblings, Adam and Emily, who through some adolescent tomfoolery manage to stumble their way into a haunted house. The house itself is what you'd expect for this kind of story: dark, dreary, old, and full of the antiquities associated with your traditional haunted fare. However, the house is just the setting for the intriguing, and blood-chilling events that play out where our heroes must face the supernatural threat within.The characters in the book are likeable and I found myself wanting desperately for them to escape the horror of the manor. The book predictably has a few a-ha moments, but without them, the story would lose some of its steam. No ghost story would be worth its salt without a little gore. There was one scene in particular where I was thankful I wasn't munching on anything while reading the book.Overall, Moorehead Manor is a fantastic book and a well-composed tale. It's tightly written and edited with no typos or grammatical mistakes to mention. It's a delight to read a book by an author who cares about his presentation, something worth mentioning considering the poor job many independently produced books have in the editing department.Due to the subject matter of some parts of the book, I wouldn't recommend this book for younger readers. However, for everyone anyone else who likes a good, old-fashioned ghost story, there are plenty of hair-raising moments to encounter within the pages of Moorehead Manor.4.5 Stars.Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest, non-reciprocal, review.