The Haunting of Blackstone Mansion

Blackstone #1

by Augustine Pierce

An abandoned mansion. A restless spirit. A terrible secret...

Seeking to escape a recent tragedy, antiques expert Katherine relocates to Blackstone, Oregon. Her new home lies within reach of the majestic Mt. Hood, and tucked away in the thick forest of those foothills looms the dark, foreboding, and abandoned Blackstone mansion.

In its shadowy, labyrinthine halls, she can see the tiniest movements, feel the deepest chills, and hear the faintest sounds.

She braves the mansion and its salons packed with antiques that she might broker to collectors when the restless spirit of a woman who died far too young reaches out to her.

Determined to help the ghost, Katherine discovers a past filled with jealousy, unrequited love, and murder.

But with the past, not everything is as it seems, and Katherine’s time is running out. Caught between powerful, deceptive forces, she must find a way to aid the spirit even if it costs her her own sanity… and life.

Start reading now!

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal, Thriller, Ghosts, Ebooks

324 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2023

Reviews

[Kristen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was bored. The writing was meh. Nothing about this book kept my attention. I only finished it because I felt like being stubborn

[Betsy Byrd · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best haunting book I have ever read!! Can't wait to start THE next one!!

[Dustin Spencer-L'Heureux · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am torn on this book. I finished it, I wanted to keep reading and I want to see where the sequel takes us; however, it was not a perfect book.
My biggest gripe was the main character. She acted entitled when it came to the mansion, then when she interacted with her landlord or the individual who owned the mansion, she made really...not smart decisions. Given her age and her career I felt that these decisions did not make sense. We did see some growth but I still felt as though the character was unlikeable.
That didn't stop me from reading though and I felt the story was good. I liked the mansion, I appreciated the twists we got, and as I mentioned before I am excited to see where the next one takes us.

[Terry and dog · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book kind of slowly sucked me in, like quicksand. I was kind of neutral on it for quite a while, not much haunting until later on. Wasn’t a huge fan of the main character, even though she did drink a lot of hot chocolate (that's a plus), but I did like the setting and I figured there would be a ghost at some point so kept reading because it wasn’t a typical person moving into a haunted house story and I was intrigued. It ended up being alright after all and I will probably read the next in the series.

[Jessyca Hickman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

Spooky vibes with some mystery in there. I can't wait to read the next one!
Definitely recommend this one for anyone looking for a good read!

[Reading With My Cats · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a little cheesy at times but I found myself enjoying it more than I expected!

[Angel · Rating 1 out of 5]

The idea itself had potential but the execution was awful. The main character Katherine was completely unlikable and not inline at all with the premise. The story was all over the place, just like the main character and the supporting characters. I almost DNF'd the book but I had to find out about the ghost. I'm not even slightly tempted to continue the series.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first 45% of this book was great. It was engrossing. It was believable that an antiques dealer was looking for a payday. Then the main character did some unbelievable things for a “professional”, and then some unbelievable things for any woman or human for that matter. There was no mention of inventorying the contents of the room she removed from Blackstone. She played a game on her phone while random (to her) men were moving valuable pieces of history. Then, after a ghostly encounter, she begins drinking at a bar and hours later mentions needed new underwear because she had been scared. What grown adult would go to a bar with soiled underwear? And why even include that? It made me want to stop reading because I no longer connected with the character or the author. I half heartedly finished, but the damage had been done to the character and story. The ghost and murder story were good, but the present day plot ruined it.

[Ron D · Rating 3 out of 5]

A New Plot on the Haunted Mansion

Most haunted mansions are tied to an unexpected inheritance. This is completely different; which I enjoyed. I wasn’t real fond of the main character. She seems scattered. The other characters come off as flat. The scene settings are a little too light for my taste. The story goes day by day, until the end, and then jumps a couple of weeks. It’s like the author rushed through it. There’s just not enough there for me to continue the series.

[Jennifer Edelmeyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Haunting of Blackstone Manor is a fun read complete with plot twists and a heroine with a few secrets of her own. There’s a solid premise: Katherine (or Kat), an antiques dealer, hears about an abandoned mansion. Her interest in raiding the Manor for antique sales overrides the locals’s warnings that the mansion is haunted. Kat isn’t even deterred after she encounters things that go bump in the Manor.

** SPOILERS **

Kat is pushy and presumptuous, as noted by other reviewers. The incident in the opening scene, where she saves an uninformed buyer from an expensive fraud, sets the tone of Kat being a “good guy,” but what was Kat's motive? Was it altruism or a desire to win a combat? Mixed motives are the most interesting to me as a reader, but I'm not clear on this point. Kat's “good guy” somewhat reappears when she helps the ghost of the woman who did wrong but was more severely wronged herself.

All in all, Kat isn't someone I'd care to meet in real life unless I have a desire to be bullied out of Granny’s heirloom earrings.

Readers will learn that Kat is running away from a tragedy in her recent past, and is in denial about the situation of her close friend Dean. (With Dean, we get the stereotypical friendship of an alpha female and her gay dude BFF. And cue the stereotypical catcalls accusing me of homophobia for mentioning this. What a world we live in today; more treacherous than haunted mansions in remote forests.)

The main haunt involved a ghost who was grotesque and in need of help to right a wrong done to her. (Your stereotypical maid boffing the lord of the manor while pulling his son's heartstrings for a marriage proposal.) Maybe she was a golddigger or maybe just a pastry chef in love.

Why didn't "Granny Gloria” make more trouble when Kat was alone in the Manor, aside from hiding the jewels? Gloria was dangerous in real life but barely reacted when the pushy antiques dealer rummaged in her jewelry box. I’m sure Gloria’s anger at her cheating husband didn’t die with her. Will Gloria and her shovel wielding / knife wielding sons appear in the next installments?

What scared me more than the ghosts was the idea of a youngish woman like Kat was so far into an isolated forest that she was without cell phone coverage, and was alone in a long-abandoned mansion. Kat was new in town; who would bother looking for her should she fail to return? That made me more nervous than the ghosts she encountered.

The book had a fair amount of snark which killed the scary mood for me. Nothing wrong with snark, but real horror doesn't get so snarky that it forgets to harrow us up about our real fears. The supernatural world is mysterious and treacherous but it, like Kat, didn’t get all that deep of a treatment. However, I respect authorial decisions even if I question them, and I don't have it in me to get a book published, so there you go.

Anyway, will books 2 and 3 reveal why Kat fled NYC for rural Oregon? Or will we learn why Granny Gloria the Gutless Ghost was passive? Maybe I'll read books 2 and 3 if they go on sale. There was never a dull moment plot-wise, though the main character and the supernatural setting weren’t all that deep. In other words, beach fiction.

Beach fiction (or rural Oregon forest fiction) is meant to be fun and easy to read and not too “deep,” and the Haunting of Blackstone Manor delivers on all counts.

Happy Reading!

eta: I'm a religious person so usually I don't go for horror, but I can't resist a good premise. So sue me, I'm human. :)

[Katy Elizabeth Life · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story, but I could only give it 4 stars.
The main character was quite annoying for quite a while & maybe it's because I'm British, but I just couldn't get into the rhythm of her way of talking.

Another thing that was quite frustrating was something that really challenged my imagination, and I HATE it when a book does that to me.
The description of the mansion - the layout of it & the weird square metal plaque fixed in the corner six feet above the floor thingy!! WHAT?? What was this thing? And why wouldn't my brain compute the description?
I have such a vivid imagination & when an author gives a description about something, 9 times out of 10, I can picture it. I may not get it exactly the way the author wanted me to, but still, it allows me to continue reading, satisfied that I got it! You know what I mean?
But this description & the description of the buildings layout of all the halls and doors would not let me move on. I had to keep going back & and re-reading, but I still didn't get it! It left an icky feeling in me, and as much as I did enjoy the story, I don't feel like the author and I had really gelled. I didn't like that feeling as I wanted to move on to the next installment but if I don't understand the layout of the mansion how can I understand where Kat is in the gaff while she's in there ghostbusting??
You know what would've been really helpful? A diagram at the beginning of the book! I've seen that done in so many novels... diagrams of villages, towns, cities, etc, so one of this really confusing house would have been fantastic!! I think even Kat herself might have found that helpful!

Well, I've got the 2nd book. She's going back into that house & I'm gonna be confused all over again!

If anyone can be bothered to read my review then can be bothered to explain it to me in layman's terms I would be so grateful cause I really want to enjoy these books & can move on feeling that got it!

[danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love a good spooky haunted house, and was really intrigued by this book with it's high reviews and beautiful cover imagery. Imagine my surprise when our MC only encounters a specter exactly twice, and we spend more time cataloguing the people she meets and snacks she eats in this supposedly far removed town in the PNW, despite being home to a literal billionaire family. This title left me with many questions (wtf was Eileen buried in??? Who put her there???), and while I do intend to read the series in order to get those answers, and it did not project the spooky, supernatural atmosphere I was expecting. The MC, Kat, was not likeable, and while that's not a deal breaker for me (hi, Nesta fan here obvi), she is very entitled and self-motivated, and clearly had no respect for the antiques she's dealing in, just sees them as blank checks. This author has a habit of telling rather than showing, and I don't think third person narrative works for this style of writing. Kat speaking out loud to herself is very clunky and unbelievable. All in all, the novel's concept is intruging, so I'm hoping for improvement on the MC's motivations, the author's writing, and loose ends to be tied up.

[Christine Rains · Rating 3 out of 5]

Katherine is an antiques dealer looking for a fresh start in Blackstone, Oregon. Something traumatic has happened in her life and she's attempting to flee it, but where she hopes to find a peaceful tiny mountain town, she discovers a haunted mansion with an unsolved mystery. Kat is gung-ho about selling the antiques in the mansion and fights to get the owner to agree. All the while, the shadow of the past haunts her. Blackstone's and her own.

This is the first book in the paranormal mystery series, Dark Realm. I like that Kat isn't a believer, and it takes a lot to convince her there's a haunting going on. When it finally sinks in, she's as determined to solve the mystery and help the ghost as she is to sell the antiques. Calling Kat determined is an understatement. She focuses in and doesn't let anything stand in her way. She's not the most likable of protagonists, but the story carries her along. I would have liked to see her more vulnerable and open about her emotions.

[DianaKay Abraham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts with an interesting hook

... While this started really well and is somebody that grew up in Oregon State and has moved away it was kind of nice to get that feel of the forest. it was described very well, to the point that I could almost smell the trees.

The FMC falls flat Midway through the book. That's really my only gripe is it was a lot of repetition and really for a good hundred pages I almost dnf'd and then he drops the twist which was actually quite interesting.

I like that there was a small mystery resolved by the end and though I probably will not continue on with this series I can see why some people would really enjoy it.

[Josette Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kat suffers a terrible tragedy and flees New York to find some peace. She really does seem lost. She ambles around the small town, finally coming across the Blackstone Mansion. As an antiques dealer, she sees dollar signs, the mansion holds many pieces that could bring in a small fortune. Kat is definitely suffering and the reader fights out why. Meanwhile the house is rumored to be haunted and Kat believe she is being contacted by an anguished spirit. The ghost even helps her to locate her burial place. This book was what I like in the haunted sub-genre of horror.

[Emma AM · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Svag/Weak 2/5

Åter en bok som gör mig besviken med att de mixar thriller och skräck. När de blir som mest spännande så kommer twisten att de är ett snällt spöke med tragisk bakgrund med en mystisk död som hon måste lösa. Knappt någon riktig skräck känsla.


Once again a book that makes me disappointed with the fact that they mix thriller and horror. When it's at its most interesting point the twist comes that it's just a nice ghost with a tragic background with a mysterious death that she needs to Solve. Almost no real horror feeling/feeling of fear.

[Clownmama · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good, quick read

A lovely, well-paced novel. I'll admit, the characters could use some background and development, but otherwise they are likable enough. I enjoyed the twist with Dean. The interaction with Drew, her landlord, was always creepy and off-putting, which i suppose was the point, but kinda seems like he was unnecessary altogether. I like that this story did wrap up, but left use with room to build more stories.

[Laurie's 5th Fire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast read

Kat decided she needed a change of scenery and moved to small town Blackstone, Or. She breaks into an old abandoned mansion and realizes she could sell the antiques from the house. After hiring Kirk and his friends to move some items from the house to her apartment. Kat gets into trouble with her landlord.
She contacts the mansion owner, Jordan, to get his permission to get the remaining antiques out to sell.

[Pete Ffrench · Rating 5 out of 5]

How did Kat become an antique dealer' she's more like a burglar/slut with an imaginary friend? She throws herself at men and breaks into private properties taking items away . If she was a bloke she would have been locked up. The story is alright with some detective work and ghost but mostly it's about Kat with her promiscuity and drink problem. Luckily she is proven to be right about the Mansion haunting and Eileen is laid to rest.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good plot, It definitely kept my interest piqued. Everything flowed nicely from one point to the next. I do feel that the characters, especially Kat, could really use more development however. As likeable as she is, she seems to be a little flaky, unreliable, and a bit self serving and dismissive of the other characters feelings, like Drew's - her former landlord. Still - a good read, and I've already started book 2.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fairly quick read and the story had enough going to to keep me reading. As others have said, the main character was pretty annoying. Other characters weren’t really developed, and just a little nitpick, but I really don’t need a description of each one’s hair color, style, and clothes. More into who they are would’ve been good. It was written well otherwise but I honestly don’t think this will draw me into the series.

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main character was so unlikable that I started rooting for the ghosts. But then the ghosts were revealed as messy and problematic so… The book did have one really good twist with respect to her past which gave it the extra star. This book honestly could have been so much shorter without losing a thing. The suspense, mystery, and horror of it all was very minimal and it was instead mostly made up of pointless filler that added nothing to the plot.

[Ian (RebelGeek) Seal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why is the AI narrator British? The main character seems to be American & the book takes place in Oregon. The voice was tolerable, but didn’t do the story any favors. I’ll probably continue listening out of curiosity about the story, but I hope Audible takes more care when selecting the voice/accent in the future if they’re going to use AI for narration. I prefer human narrators so far & don’t expect that to change soon.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for Spooky Season

I rarely do the paranormal genre, but I’m glad I read this one. It kept me engaged and I enjoyed the story line. The main character makes some strange choices, but then again so do some real life people, so that’s fine. And there was one detail I could have done without… 💩 But overall, great book. I also very rarely read books in a series, but I just might make an exception and read the next one because I liked this one so much.

[Alice Mollett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haunting of Blackstone

I truly enjoyed this book!!! Could not put it down until I finished. Great read and really well written. Made me feel like I was actually there with Kat! Can't wait to get the next book to read and the last book in the series. I strongly recommend this book and the rest of the seies.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Look before you leap.

Takes some time to get the foundation where the book is going. Flaws to main character development was first evident with the mansion wall encounter and never improved. Support to understand issues going on was vague and confusing at times. Die hard ghost enthusiasts should enjoy the plot twists.

[Tina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just don't. This one had such a good premise. I love a good haunted house story with an eccentric wealthy family history. This was not good. The dialogue was pointless in a lot of places. I just didn't need it. And I didn't like spending time with any of the characters. I was hoping for so much more. 😔

[Ashly Dees · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a fan of this book. I wanted to DNF it, but wanted to know what happened. It feel like the haunting part was not the main focus. Also I didn’t like this writing style. Not sure it felt like the author didn’t trust the reader to read between the lines. So everything was explained. The most interesting part was the mystery of the murder and the house. Neither got enough time in the book.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

It took me a few days to finish this because it wasn’t great. The story started off promising, but about halfway through, it started to become boring and rushed (yes, at the same time). I don’t even think it worked as a ghost story, which is what I wanted when I started it. Will not be reading the subsequent books. Disappointing.

[Krista Messer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Look, I’m all for checking out haunted houses, but breaking in and deciding it’s a great idea to try to sell the antiques in said house, and pushing the owner (who was a super annoying wanna be frat boy) into allowing that. Eh. The writing was good, but I was just annoyed by the characters the whole time