The Fall of Whitehall Manor

The Towry Family #3

by L.V. Pires

Anne Towry finds herself locked in an asylum fighting to prove her sanity and desperate to return to her newborn child and Whitehall Manor. With a new and unexpected relative coming to her rescue, will Anne finally find peace or will she be yet another victim of the Towry curse? Find out what happens next in Book 3, The Fall of Whitehall Manor.

264 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2023

About the author

With several books in the top 100 U.S. Horror Fiction and Horror Classics categories, award-winning novelist and short-story writer, L.V. Pires is the author of terrifying tales that are sure to keep readers up late into the night. Mystery and suspense climax into total terror in this author's latest releases, including THE WAITING MORTUARY, VIGIL BLACK, and DEATH WATCH.

For more information about this author or to join the mailing list, go to www.lisavpires.com

Reviews

[Rosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a Nutshell: The third and final book of the Towry Family series. I never thought I would be left so impressed by a horror book that is absolutely NOT in my comfort zone. Has some minor flaws, but on the whole, I enjoyed this entertainer. An excellent adieu to the series.

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(This review contains spoilers from the first two books.)

Story Synopsis:

After the events of Book Two, Anne finds herself in a psychiatric asylum. Her desperate attempts to attest her sanity prove counterproductive. She knows that she has to save her baby son Christopher from the curse still lingering at Whitehall Manor, but how can she do it while locked away?
Meanwhile, Brooks and his wife Evie, Anne’s sole surviving relatives though they have never even met Anne, are contacted to take guardianship of Christopher until Anne’s release. As their financial situation in South Carolina isn’t too great, they decide to shift to Whitehall Manor and care for Christopher in his own house.
If you know what’s happened in the series so far, you will agree that this is the stupidest decision they could have taken. But as Brooks and Evie aren’t locals, they don’t know what awaits them in their new house.
The story comes to us in the alternating 3rd person perspectives of Anne and Evie.

This is the third book in the Towry Family series, and to me, the best of the three. However, as the books build up the plot in sequence, it is best to read the books in the right order and not as standalones.


Bookish Yays:
👻 I loved the two women characters whose voices bring this story to us. Both Anne and Evie are strong women caught in horrid circumstances, and their courage as well as their vulnerabilities make them excellent choices to carry the plot on their shoulders.

👻 Evie is a devout Christian, so for the first time in this series, we see the battle of faith vs supernatural. (Thankfully, not a Hollywood-kind of battle; no exorcisms using the crucifix as a weapon.) Her faith also helps in understanding why she sticks by Brooks despite his self-centred behaviour.

👻 Right from the start, the book keeps its accelerator pressed on high. There is not much breathing space for the readers as the action is almost continual, even when the horror sequences aren’t going on.

👻 The psychiatric asylum scenes – Good Lord!

👻 The marigold garden sequences – Creepily wow!!!

👻 There were some experimental sequences involving the metaphysical, that continue from a similar thread in the second book. While there were some tiny bumps in the smoothness of the execution, they were still interesting to read.

👻 The ending was just brilliant! I felt sorry for many of the characters but I admire the author for doing right by the plot rather than forcing in a happy ending to satisfy readers. The finish was bittersweet, but exactly as befitted such a story.


Bookish Nay-For-Me-Possible-Yay-For-Others:
👀 The gore content was way, way, way, way above my comfort level. It has the highest carnage of the three books in this series. An avid horror reader will surely not have a problem with this, but I had to zoom through those sections so as to not gross myself out. This is certainly not a shortcoming of the book, but I am not a fan of gory paranormal stories, and this kind of content is exactly why I don’t pick up this genre often.


Bookish Nays:
☠ As is common in horror books (and horror movies), there are some really questionable decisions taken by the characters that will make you wanna whack them on their head. And there are some frustrating communication issues that will make you wanna shake the characters hard.

☠ I hate the fact that Anne is still so blind to her father’s faults, all of which were major ones. I wish that during her alone time in the asylum, she had finally come to terms with her parents’ actual personality and realigned her loyalties.

☠ This is a really silly thing to complain about in a paranormal work, but I wanted some logical explanation for how a certain someone was STILL at Whitehall and still as powerful without the you-know-what that was damaged in the second book. I simply didn’t understand how that was possible. (Or it could just be that I was so focussed on rushing to the end that I missed out on the backstory, if provided. Oh well!)


All in all, though the content was absolutely not my cup of tea, I enjoyed this book (except for the yucky bits.) It wasn’t the perfectly written novel, but it was a highly entertaining one.

This indie work offers a fitting finale to the Towry Family series. Of the three books, this one worked the best for me as it was gripping from the start and maintained its momentum throughout. Rarely does a last book of the series not only match up to but also exceed the first book in terms of impact.

I am relieved that the series ends here. At least I hope it does, because there’s one plot development that could result in a fourth book. But I have read enough gruesome horror through these three Towry Family books to last me a lifetime, so my journey with this series will end here.

4.25 stars. (I was stuck on 4 for the most part, but that apt ending makes me shift upwards on the scale.)


I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author through StoryOrigin. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

This book is currently available free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers.




If you are considering this series, here are my reviews on the first two books to help you decide.
Book One: The Haunting of Whitehall Manor - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Book Two: The Curse of Whitehall Manor - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...




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[Bethany C Hoffman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absurd

The first book in the series was ok, the second was ok but pretty silly, this one was just preposterous. All three desperately need editing and a ton of punctuation. Can't really recommend.

[Jordynn Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨Arc Review✨

This book gives Amityville Horror/Insidious vibes!! This could easily make an amazing thriller/horror movie!!

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

More than in the previous books, the story felt like being set a hundred years earlier not at current days. The state of the asylum especially.

But most annoying for me was that I couldn't understand how social services simply give her son to a suddenly found relative who on top moves into Whitehall manor and out of financial difficulties even sets up a business there. They also don't visit their beneficiary or are curious about her. And why couldn't Anne with lots of money pay for a nicer institution?
These exact questions get a little later challenged by a character but I was already disappointed.

The main problem I had with this book was that the author needed it to have a certain setting but to get there it didn't make much sense.
There needed to be
- A new Towry so a half brother was found (that's actually the most plausible one)
- it needed to play at Whitehall manor
- They were given Christopher
- They had to invite people as guests to the house
- Anne needed to be far away in a horrible institution

There were some inconsistencies, especially amusing: even Gordon Ramsay wouldn't be able to create a pasta sauce for 9 from 1 tin of tomatoes, and 1 tin of peaches won't be enough for 9 desserts either.
The end had a bit of "Overlook hotel" feeling. But again, I wondered that the police didn't set foot on the property for several days.

The only good thing was that I read this book around Halloween, which fit perfectly.
But in the end, I didn't really care for any of the characters, so unfortunately, I'll give this book only 2.5 stars.

[Elisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a good trilogy, but it would have been a better stand alone of the first book. I don’t really understand having Anne break the family trauma cycle only to re-introduce the curse and have it be an actual curse filled with actual spirits. It almost seemed like two different series to me.

[Lori Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received as an audio review copy from Story Origin, this is an honest review. Beautifully performed by Zoe Bowman, we reached the darkest turn in this series about the Towry family and Whitehall Manor itself. Anne Towry kept within a crumbling, dark asylum that's run by a staff that is as cold as winter itself is behind desperate to get back to her song gets herself entwined into a harrowing journey of survival that extends far behind her prison walls. Whitehall Manor has already borne witness to a many of disturbing experiences but as couple of Evie and Brooks Towry desire to turn they haunting edifice into a place to host staying guests, they find themselves in the battle lines as the murderous souls of several Towry ancestors are setting out to claim more innocent lives... including Anne's own child.


Highly recommended.

[Letsreadagoodbook · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know! I thought this was going to end with Ann getting a happy ending. Guess not! Evie! However, you spell her name, really wrecked my nerves!! From being just plain dumb! To try to breastfeed someone else child! Like TF! And that's when i started hating her! So much! For example, if I could reach into a story and smack someone, it would be her! But let's get past her! This story, like the other ones, was amazing!!! I was a little upset that Ann, after all she went thru, still had was in that hospital and died the way she did! And didn't get to raise her child!

I'm glad her stupid half dumb brother got done in at the end because how you go try make money off someone else house!! Like TF! Dude!!! And you ignore your wife time and time again! Just to end up in the same darn situation! Now look at you! Lol, DEAD!!
GREAT ENDING Tho! Loved it from being to end!

[Leanetta Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book. It was so good and thrilling. The haunting and all that was amazing the story really reeled me in. It was so good. I just didn’t know what to do or say there was always something but in a good way. It kept me going and wanting to know more. The characters kept me interested and I wanted to knock some sense into them. I felt like a long lost friend that just wanted to shake them for not doing what I’d expect. I really loved this. This was the best story I’ve read in a long while. It was great.

[Marcus Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic installment of the Whitehall Manor series. The book has just the right amount of horror and gore to maximize the plot. I don't like when gore is added for gore's sake, and the author did a great job here. Every detail mattered and added to the overall feeling of suspense and horror. The story is compelling, with twists and turns that keep it interesting through to the last page. Horror is not my go-to genre, but I was excited to read all three books in this series because of their strong story and interesting characters. I recommend.

[Pamela S Inskeep · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gothic Horror novel #3 in the Whitehall Manor series

The author's writing style is modern Gothic, with core elements of haunting, especially that of the evil Towry men and possession. There were only one or two maudlin sentences in an otherwise well-written narrative. This book, like the earlier two books in the series, held my attention throughout. Thrilling and fast- paced, this story held me enthralled until the very end. I highly recommend reading the series in order.

[eiei · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm really bummed to say that this book was such a letdown for me. I had high hopes after the buildup from the previous books, but this one just didn't deliver. The plot felt dragged out and the twists were pretty predictable. Anne's character development seemed to stall, and the climax left me more confused than thrilled. Overall, it just didn't capture the eerie, gripping vibe that made the earlier books so good.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intriguing story once again. Anne is locked up in an asylum, why was she put there. When an unexpected relative helps her, she’s surprised. Will she be safe now or is there more danger. Ready for more.

[Hanna Belle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good gothic novel is perfect for a comfy, chilly fall night. Spooky but captivating, my kind of book!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Samantha Ryals-Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

None of this series was especially well written. I mostly finished it because I had started it. It was perfectly okay.

[Linda Myette · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first one was great, the second was passable, this was garbage. Wholly unlikable new characters with basically the same plot as the second book.