The Girl with a Porcelain Face

by Steve McElhenny

A hellacious thunderstorm rages overhead of the small southern English tin mining town of Bleddington, waking teenager, Willard Jennings, from his sleep.Through the fleeting flashes of lightning, he sees a broken and twisted figure of what appears to be a young girl with a porcelain mask embedded onto her face. With each new lightning flash, he sees the spirit one step closer to his bed, before vanishing, as mysteriously as she appeared.In the days that follow, Willard, accompanied by an unlikely ally, who has shared a similar vision, begins to uncover clues about the true identity of the girl and learns that her vengeful spirit may have been the cause of many premature deaths for the townsfolk of Bleddington.The unexplained deaths within the town recommence and Willard finds each new fatality is getting closer to the Victorian home overlooking the town in which his father and he reside.In a race against time, he must find out who the girl is, how she died, and what she wants.Set against the backdrop of 1985, The Girl with a Porcelain Face mixes traditional ghost story elements with mystery, intrigue, and a (blood) splattering of wit.

187 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 1, 2023

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF at 24%. This was just not a good fit for my personal preferences. The writing was fine, the story was good, and it, honestly, had a decent flow. Despite considering 1985 as the best year in history (I was born after all!), even all the 80s references and fun banter between Tommy, Drake, and Willard could not keep my interest. However, what the author promised as a traditional haunting story with some modern tidbits is exactly what this was. Unfortunately, it wasn't for me, but I see many other fans of the paranormal and supernatural horror subgenres having a much better experience.

[Calum Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my third book by Steve, and it's safe to say I enjoyed it as much as the others I've read! This was a great, more classic, horror kind of story that was incredibly dark, unsettling, and creepy!

The unexplained deaths and reasons why, as well as Willard and his friends trying to piece together what happened, add a great bit of mystery as to why this ghost is terrorising the village, which added a bit of depth to the story in general.

Though not a fault of the book itself, the audiobook narrator trying to do every characters voice did have me chuckling which probably shouldn't happen in a horror book, especially in this one, so I can't rate it too highly, however I enjoyed this one as much as Steve's other books so I've bared that in mind!

Rating: 7.5/10 (rounded up!)

LISTENED TO AS AN AUDIOBOOK

[si]

Another amazing story!!!

Absolutely loved this book. Don't think there is a bad word to say about it. Loved it was set in a small remote mining town and there was already reasons for the town to dislike the main characters family centred around that. It gave you the feeling of creeping dread because you never knew if the girl with the porcelain face was going to do something to who she's shown herself to or is just there knowing that her presence alone is torment.
Would highly recommend this book.
First started reading Steve's work with the headphones so if your reading this review then get the headphones it's phenomenal!!

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Girl with a Porcelain Face

By: Steve Mcelhenny
Narrated by: Brychan Llyr Jones

Perfect in Every Way!

Overall: 5 of 5 stars Performance: 5 of 5 stars Story: 5 of 5 stars
Reviewed: 10-08-23

Twelve hours ago … I sat with tears streaming down MY face as the last dynamically narrated words of “The Girl with a Porcelain Face” faded away. My husband glanced over puzzled and said “weren’t you listening to a horror story?” Unable to speak, I just nodded, but truly, THIS multi-layered story is so much more! I’m not going to get into plot details, I don’t want to give away anything that might spoil this truly powerful and PERFECT story of a horrific deed, and the prices paid, for future listeners. The story flows beautifully, the timeline clearly identified, and well defined for easy following. The characters, with all their humanizing flaws, are brilliantly detailed and fully described! I was able to get an extremely clear “mind picture” of each varied and distinct character BOTH in appearance and personality! The full spectrum of good and not so much is represented, with redemption for some (no spoilers) along the way! The dialogue they speak is brilliantly written, and beautifully descriptive, not only moving the story forward, but providing many a perfectly timed, perfectly placed, humorous tension breaker! The authentic narration is magnificent, truly adding to the “feel” of this horrifying and at the same time to me, beautiful five star story. I loved it, I loved it ALL!

[Joan Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you, Steve McElhenny

This Victorian Ghost Story is full of mystery and intrigue. It was a very slow burn. The Narrator was middle of the road to me. He neither enhanced or helped move the story along. I was drawn to this book cause of the cover art. Its really Creepy. I gave the story a 4 star cause I enjoyed how everything came together at the end. Many of my questions were answered. I recommend this story. I look forward to reading more from this author.


Whodunit
Urban Legend
Graphic

[Ali O · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Girl With a Porcelain Face
by Steve McElhenny
🌟🌟🌟🌟
This is an interesting and creepy ghost story.
Willard wakes up to a wild thunderstorm and begins to see a creepy girl with a mask on. Willard wants to find out who this mysterious girl is and what she wants. Is she evil?
There were a few parts in the middle that I was confused with, but most everything came together in the end.
The story has great imagery and descriptions and the book is well written.
I listened to the audio version and the narrator did a good job!
** This book is out now!!** 👻👧🏼🎭

[Georgia Tumbleweed McNabb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very well written story that is both haunting and sad. A ghost story built around a terrible death that is covered up many years previously. This is a prime example of Karma of doing wrong things. Narrator does a Great job with the various characters voices and the entire storyline, My only complaint is between chapters is a Very, very long pause which caused Me to think recording shut off.

[fred jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. A classic, tragic, chilling vengeful ghost story. Really well written with excellent characters. I really like Steve McElhenny 's work and this is one of his best. Vivid, atmospheric and gruesome story I could not put down and the fact I was reading it in a rain storm probably helped.. I cannot praise this one enough. Highly recommended

[Deedra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good.I got a bit confused, but I enjoyed it.Narration by Brychan Llyr Jones was very well done. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

[Kelly M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant read from a fantastic and talented author. I was gripped from start to finish and look forward to his next book!