The Next Room

by Sarah Harrison

A brand new atmospheric novel from one of Britain's best-loved storytellers. Still haunted by her parents' destructive marriage, Fee is determined to make a fresh start with her headstrong young daughter, independent in their new home. Then the mysterious events begin.

188 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2005

Reviews

[Robert Beveridge · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sarah Harrison, The Next Room (Severn House, 2005)

Generic, under-plotted mystery that's long on Lifetime Original Movie material and short on thrills. Fiona (mum) and Hannah (daughter) are finally letting go of Fiona's failed relationship with Hannah's father and getting a new place. New place, however, seems as if it may be haunted by the ghost of a child Fiona keeps seeing in various places. It is true that the red herrings here work, but only because the solution is so ludicrous you can't really imagine anyone but Tori Spelling playing Fiona when the Lifetime Original Movie version comes out (which is almost inevitable). Some decent characters, but pretty much everything else about this one says avoid. **

[Paula R C R. C. Readman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very strange book. I have read others by Sarah Harrison years ago before the age of Goodreads, so I know her books are normally family type saga. This book was steps outside her normal range.
It's an interesting read, but it doesn't really get going and is a bit of a let down at the end. A strange element is set up in the story and you feel it is building up to something outstanding as the plot takes you on a journey to uncover the truth, but by the time you reach the end of the book it's as though the author has forgotten her plot and had rethought her idea coming up with something unimaginative, which was a real shame.