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Simon Sixsmith: A Ghost Story
"Daniel Pembrey tells a cracking tale with verve and style. He can write, the jury's not out on that one ..." Susan Hill, Booker Prize short-listed writer, and author of ghost story The Woman In Black
A FAST, 106-PAGE READ: When London-based obituaries writer Simon Sixsmith receives a letter out of the blue telling him he's inherited a property in the Southern US, he can't but help fly out and investigate. Yet when Simon arrives in the marshy South Carolina Lowcountry, all is not as it first seemed. As he is drawn deeper into his ancestors' plantation-owning history, his problematic personal life and the horrifying events around the property come together to bring about a macabre conclusion.
A FAST, 106-PAGE READ: When London-based obituaries writer Simon Sixsmith receives a letter out of the blue telling him he's inherited a property in the Southern US, he can't but help fly out and investigate. Yet when Simon arrives in the marshy South Carolina Lowcountry, all is not as it first seemed. As he is drawn deeper into his ancestors' plantation-owning history, his problematic personal life and the horrifying events around the property come together to bring about a macabre conclusion.
107 pages, ebook
First published February 22, 2013
4 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Pembrey
13 books43 followersDaniel Pembrey grew up in Nottinghamshire, England — beside Sherwood Forest. He studied history at Edinburgh University and spent over a decade working in America and more recently Luxembourg, coming to rest in Amsterdam and London — dividing his time now between these two great maritime cities. He is the author of the Henk van der Pol detective series and several short thriller stories, and he contributes articles to publications including The Financial Times and The (London) Times. In order to write The Harbour Master, he spent several months living in the docklands area of East Amsterdam, counting De Druif bar as his local.
To receive occasional email updates and offers of free exclusive content, please sign up at www.danielpembrey.com. Daniel is also on Twitter, @DPemb.
To receive occasional email updates and offers of free exclusive content, please sign up at www.danielpembrey.com. Daniel is also on Twitter, @DPemb.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 21, 2018
Understanding the past to makes sense of the present - CHARLESTON
A good yarn to while away a couple of hours. Simon Sixsmith of the novel’s title has been left Smyth House – a former plantation house - outside Charleston, SC, bequeathed to him by Herod Smyth (the names are quite unusual in this story, Stamen Smyth was the original owner of the house in the 19th Century).
Once notified of his inheritance, Simon jets off to Charleston and stays at the Palmetto House, which exists in reality. Flavia, his fiancée is a Fulham lass and feels it is a ridiculous quest.
He is a writer, his staple is obituaries, and this research skill comes in jolly handy. It is an eerie property, clearly with a history and as he delves deeper into his legacy, the more confused he becomes. He is the spitting dabs of Stamen, and the confluence of past and present threaten to derail him. When he starts to see horses and carriages - which no-one else can see - he knows that he is treading on thin ice. Are the people around him really closing ranks to keep the house in safe hands? It is clearly being used for nefarious purposes.... or should he just give in to his paranoia?
Malaria was rife back in the day, when this was a thriving plantation business, with slaves, and after a bit of gun toting and action towards the end, Simon speeds back to Flavia only to find himself laid low by malaria. His plan of understanding the past to make sense of the present has upended his life....
This has a wry writing style, with an edgy storyline, although it is slightly convoluted at the end - but overall entertaining. Great on location with the blackening skies of storm all around, and the sense of humid heat just serves to heighten the pathos.
A good yarn to while away a couple of hours. Simon Sixsmith of the novel’s title has been left Smyth House – a former plantation house - outside Charleston, SC, bequeathed to him by Herod Smyth (the names are quite unusual in this story, Stamen Smyth was the original owner of the house in the 19th Century).
Once notified of his inheritance, Simon jets off to Charleston and stays at the Palmetto House, which exists in reality. Flavia, his fiancée is a Fulham lass and feels it is a ridiculous quest.
He is a writer, his staple is obituaries, and this research skill comes in jolly handy. It is an eerie property, clearly with a history and as he delves deeper into his legacy, the more confused he becomes. He is the spitting dabs of Stamen, and the confluence of past and present threaten to derail him. When he starts to see horses and carriages - which no-one else can see - he knows that he is treading on thin ice. Are the people around him really closing ranks to keep the house in safe hands? It is clearly being used for nefarious purposes.... or should he just give in to his paranoia?
Malaria was rife back in the day, when this was a thriving plantation business, with slaves, and after a bit of gun toting and action towards the end, Simon speeds back to Flavia only to find himself laid low by malaria. His plan of understanding the past to make sense of the present has upended his life....
This has a wry writing style, with an edgy storyline, although it is slightly convoluted at the end - but overall entertaining. Great on location with the blackening skies of storm all around, and the sense of humid heat just serves to heighten the pathos.
October 8, 2014
This detail-laden novella is a one-stop read.
Simon Sixsmith, who writes obituaries for a paper in London to fill in time while he tries to sell his great novel, is both hero and anti-hero. Bravely the author shows Simon wondering whether his fiancée and he are really just making the best bargain that can be had at their age, a thought process which I have previously only seen in women's fiction. With his wedding on the cards, and his upwardly mobile fiancée leading a pressured office life, Simon learns of an inheritance in lowland America.
Location details are well realised, with a hurricane blowing in - no wonder the hotel had cancellations - Spanish moss dripping from the ancient trees and the aroma of rot in the dank old plantation mansion, which is largely sitting on tabby or compressed oystershell.
Investigating as best he can the history of the family, Simon gradually sees that he has walked into something for which he is unprepared, realising that he is alone. A ghostly apparition fills the night... is it real, a re-enactment, or his imagination, fuelled by an overwhelmed mind and too much alcohol on no food? Antiheroes make bad choices, and drinking without eating is one of them.
Once you've begun this tense, chilling story you will start thinking the unthinkable. This couldn't happen in modern America - could it? Daniel Pembrey is inviting us to take that step of the imagination, to follow him into a sideways version of the world we know. I saw similarities between this book and 'The Candidate', a thriller set in modern Luxembourg which similarly invites us to look beneath the surface of the world of banking.
Simon Sixsmith, who writes obituaries for a paper in London to fill in time while he tries to sell his great novel, is both hero and anti-hero. Bravely the author shows Simon wondering whether his fiancée and he are really just making the best bargain that can be had at their age, a thought process which I have previously only seen in women's fiction. With his wedding on the cards, and his upwardly mobile fiancée leading a pressured office life, Simon learns of an inheritance in lowland America.
Location details are well realised, with a hurricane blowing in - no wonder the hotel had cancellations - Spanish moss dripping from the ancient trees and the aroma of rot in the dank old plantation mansion, which is largely sitting on tabby or compressed oystershell.
Investigating as best he can the history of the family, Simon gradually sees that he has walked into something for which he is unprepared, realising that he is alone. A ghostly apparition fills the night... is it real, a re-enactment, or his imagination, fuelled by an overwhelmed mind and too much alcohol on no food? Antiheroes make bad choices, and drinking without eating is one of them.
Once you've begun this tense, chilling story you will start thinking the unthinkable. This couldn't happen in modern America - could it? Daniel Pembrey is inviting us to take that step of the imagination, to follow him into a sideways version of the world we know. I saw similarities between this book and 'The Candidate', a thriller set in modern Luxembourg which similarly invites us to look beneath the surface of the world of banking.
February 2, 2018
This story started out with promise. Set up nicely for a ghost story taking place in the south. However, it really petered out and had so few details, there ended up not being much of a story at all. Should have added another 50 or so pages, at least, to give the reader a little more satisfaction. Wouldn't recommend it.
August 2, 2014
Simon Sixsmith: A Ghost Story by Daniel Pembrey
**** Rating 4.25/5
Daniel Pembrey again uses his talent to take his readers into different situations, locations and experience the emotions and fear through his characters eyes. In Simon Sixsmith: A Ghost Story you are introduced to Simon, 33 years old, a want-to-be author who makes his living from writing obituaries for a national newspaper. He is engaged and soon to be married to Flavia: 37 years old, from a very well-to-do family. Their relationship certainly could not be thought of as Romance of the Year, more likely that they had just settled for each other.
When the letter arrives from Lowcountry, south of Charleston, USA, informing Simon of his inheritance from a distant family member, he quickly feels he should go and investigate the situation. His rash decision leads him into unknown territory far away from his safe London-based lifestyle and hurls him into a sinister and psychological nightmare in the wilds of South Carolina. Can he believe what he sees, people are not who they seem so who can he trust?
The reader follows Simon as his senses and physical being are battered not only from the ceaseless weather but from what he sees. His psychological and physical trauma is so well portrayed that you can feel the fear and almost pain at being enclosed in the tunnel.
Simon Sixsmith: Ghost Story takes you on a despairing journey that thrashes the senses. So fast paced and well written it is hard to believe it is only 107 pages long. The ending is quite haunting and moving. A recommended good read, skilfully written with Pembrey using his talent for his character portrayals.
I was given a copy of Simon Sixsmith: A Ghost Story for an honest review, which I have given.
**** Rating 4.25/5
Daniel Pembrey again uses his talent to take his readers into different situations, locations and experience the emotions and fear through his characters eyes. In Simon Sixsmith: A Ghost Story you are introduced to Simon, 33 years old, a want-to-be author who makes his living from writing obituaries for a national newspaper. He is engaged and soon to be married to Flavia: 37 years old, from a very well-to-do family. Their relationship certainly could not be thought of as Romance of the Year, more likely that they had just settled for each other.
When the letter arrives from Lowcountry, south of Charleston, USA, informing Simon of his inheritance from a distant family member, he quickly feels he should go and investigate the situation. His rash decision leads him into unknown territory far away from his safe London-based lifestyle and hurls him into a sinister and psychological nightmare in the wilds of South Carolina. Can he believe what he sees, people are not who they seem so who can he trust?
The reader follows Simon as his senses and physical being are battered not only from the ceaseless weather but from what he sees. His psychological and physical trauma is so well portrayed that you can feel the fear and almost pain at being enclosed in the tunnel.
Simon Sixsmith: Ghost Story takes you on a despairing journey that thrashes the senses. So fast paced and well written it is hard to believe it is only 107 pages long. The ending is quite haunting and moving. A recommended good read, skilfully written with Pembrey using his talent for his character portrayals.
I was given a copy of Simon Sixsmith: A Ghost Story for an honest review, which I have given.
September 19, 2014
As someone who has read a lot of horror fiction over the years, and with a special fondness for the ghost story, I was eager to read "Simon Sixsmith." Especially since it was written by one of my favorite authors, Daniel Pembrey.
I didn't know what to expect going into it, since this author's other books would in no way be classified as horror or supernatural. But once again, the author outshined my expectations and provided an extremely enjoyable and shivery afternoon of reading entertainment.
As a British traveler traversing the American South (which can be a mystery even to those US citizens not from the South), Simon really is out of his element, even though he's the owner of a family manor in South Carolina, bequeathed to him by an ancestor he didn't know he had.
But this is where all resemblance to a typical ghost story end. You won't be prepared for the direction this story takes and what really happens to the spooky heirloom mansion, but it's definitely a story you'll want to read.
I didn't know what to expect going into it, since this author's other books would in no way be classified as horror or supernatural. But once again, the author outshined my expectations and provided an extremely enjoyable and shivery afternoon of reading entertainment.
As a British traveler traversing the American South (which can be a mystery even to those US citizens not from the South), Simon really is out of his element, even though he's the owner of a family manor in South Carolina, bequeathed to him by an ancestor he didn't know he had.
But this is where all resemblance to a typical ghost story end. You won't be prepared for the direction this story takes and what really happens to the spooky heirloom mansion, but it's definitely a story you'll want to read.
March 22, 2014
You probably only want to start reading this one if you are sure you have the time to get through all 107 pages! This is a cleverly crafted and original plot written in a style that just encourages you to keep turning the pages. The story builds through the introduction of the key characters whilst creating a sense of anticipation about what Sixsmith has really inherited. Unable to control his obituary writer's sense of curiosity to delve into the past, he is drawn into a world that is a long way from Fulham and his finacee. The momentum of the story never flags and there is a wonderful level of detail that transports you to the deep South. The finale, though, is where Pembrey excels, by offering the unexpected whilst maintaining the credibility of the story - not to mention a strong moral!
February 16, 2015
Not so great.
I did not like this book at all. I know the the appreciation of literature varies on tastes and preferences. My subjective opinion is that there was no flow. The writing was choppy and scenes jumped from one to another with no warning. Impossible for me to follow, much try to immerse myself in, I have to give it one star. Sorry, as I am sure the author spent time on it.
I did not like this book at all. I know the the appreciation of literature varies on tastes and preferences. My subjective opinion is that there was no flow. The writing was choppy and scenes jumped from one to another with no warning. Impossible for me to follow, much try to immerse myself in, I have to give it one star. Sorry, as I am sure the author spent time on it.
September 17, 2014
Simon Sixsmith is an excellent read. A well thought-out plot that builds to a terrific ending. The pace is fast and it’s hard to put it down once you start reading. I hadn’t read anything from this author before but would definitely again. An intelligent, well-spun ghost story that drags you through the nightmare with the central character. Five Stars.
April 14, 2015
Where this story excels is the human story, and the mystery surrounding it. It would work as a straight mystery, and most of it, the supernatural element seems forced, almost tacked on. Nevertheless, Pembrey proves he knows his way around a tale as he is able to create some realistic characters who live and breathe beyond the page.
July 17, 2014
there was quite a bit going on here, some of the writing was good but it was hard to follow the main character's thought processes.
December 25, 2014
An absorbing ghost story which had my eyes glued to my e-reader. The setting is perfect. South Carolina at its menacing best.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews