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The Unquiet House: A chilling tale of gripping suspense
What is lurking in the corners of Mire House? Chillingly atmospheric, The Unquiet House is perfect for fans of Stephen King. Struggling to recover from the catastrophic loss of both of her parents, Emma Dean desperately needs a fresh start. When she inherits an old house in the depths of the Yorkshire countryside, she realises that this could be her chance. Mire House is dreary, dark and cold - yet when Emma walks inside, she feels an immediate sense of belonging.It isn't long before Charlie Mitchell, grandson of the original owner, appears, claiming he wants to seek out his family. But Emma suspects he's more interested in the house than his long-lost relations.And when she starts seeing ghostly figures, Emma begins to is Charlie trying to scare her away, or are there darker secrets lurking in the corners of Mire House?'Reads like a timeless classic of the genre' - Guardian
297 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2014
9 people are currently reading
774 people want to read
About the author
Alison Littlewood
121 books170 followersAlison Littlewood was raised in Penistone, South Yorkshire, and went on to attend the University of Northumbria at Newcastle (now Northumbria University). Originally she planned to study graphic design, but “missed the words too much” and switched to a joint English and History degree. She followed a career in marketing before developing her love of writing fiction.
Her first book, A Cold Season (2011), was selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club and described as ‘perfect reading for a dark winter’s night.’
Alison's latest novel is The Crow Garden (2017), is a tale of obsession set amidst Victorian asylums and séance rooms.
You can find her living with her partner Fergus in deepest Yorkshire, England, in a house of creaking doors and crooked walls. She loves exploring the hills and dales with her two hugely enthusiastic Dalmatians and has a penchant for books on folklore and weird history, Earl Grey tea and semicolons.
She is on Twitter as @Ali__L
Her first book, A Cold Season (2011), was selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club and described as ‘perfect reading for a dark winter’s night.’
Alison's latest novel is The Crow Garden (2017), is a tale of obsession set amidst Victorian asylums and séance rooms.
You can find her living with her partner Fergus in deepest Yorkshire, England, in a house of creaking doors and crooked walls. She loves exploring the hills and dales with her two hugely enthusiastic Dalmatians and has a penchant for books on folklore and weird history, Earl Grey tea and semicolons.
She is on Twitter as @Ali__L
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
December 27, 2017
THE UNQUIET HOUSE, by Alison Littlewood is the first book I have read by this author. The novel starts out like many other haunted house stories--someone (in this case, a lonely woman named Emma Dean), suddenly inherits a house from a relative she didn't know she had. Having no friends (that I could tell), and just recently losing both of her parents, Emma goes to see the property with a plan to sell it immediately. Once she gets there, however, she feels "needed/wanted" by the house.
". . . It crossed her mind that perhaps it was only that the house echoed her own emptiness, her aloneness . . ."
Fundamentally, Emma is an emotionally empty vessel. Despite having a job, she doesn't seem to have any friendly connections with other people, and nothing to really warrant going back to her apartment for.
". . . the warmth--had gone and instead there was an empty space, waiting. It was always waiting; it was just that sometimes she managed to forget it was there."
Charlie Mitchell--the grandson of the deceased owner of the house--known as "MIRE HOUSE", pays her a visit. They suddenly "connect" and begin making plans to renovate the place.
If the story had continued from there, I think I would have enjoyed it more. As it was, the author went into the history of the place using characters in reverse-chronological order. While not "confusing" so to speak, it did manage to throw me off for a bit, and I feel a more lineal approach would have been better to the flow of the narrative.
The REAL history takes place in 1939, when the original Mrs. Hollingworth is brought into the picture, and the "birth" of the house begun.
". . . I built that house for love . . . But love will never come to fill it."
We have a new cast of characters for each of the timelines, which comes full circle by the time the story is finished.
Overall, I thought the idea behind the story was good, but I feel that taking the scenes in order would have made more sense in this particular case. The backstories really "overshadowed" Emma's own current state, and reduced her plight to that of almost an "afterthought", in my mind.
". . . You will never be content. You shall never be happy."
". . . It crossed her mind that perhaps it was only that the house echoed her own emptiness, her aloneness . . ."
Fundamentally, Emma is an emotionally empty vessel. Despite having a job, she doesn't seem to have any friendly connections with other people, and nothing to really warrant going back to her apartment for.
". . . the warmth--had gone and instead there was an empty space, waiting. It was always waiting; it was just that sometimes she managed to forget it was there."
Charlie Mitchell--the grandson of the deceased owner of the house--known as "MIRE HOUSE", pays her a visit. They suddenly "connect" and begin making plans to renovate the place.
If the story had continued from there, I think I would have enjoyed it more. As it was, the author went into the history of the place using characters in reverse-chronological order. While not "confusing" so to speak, it did manage to throw me off for a bit, and I feel a more lineal approach would have been better to the flow of the narrative.
The REAL history takes place in 1939, when the original Mrs. Hollingworth is brought into the picture, and the "birth" of the house begun.
". . . I built that house for love . . . But love will never come to fill it."
We have a new cast of characters for each of the timelines, which comes full circle by the time the story is finished.
Overall, I thought the idea behind the story was good, but I feel that taking the scenes in order would have made more sense in this particular case. The backstories really "overshadowed" Emma's own current state, and reduced her plight to that of almost an "afterthought", in my mind.
". . . You will never be content. You shall never be happy."
June 29, 2014
I love haunted houses, me. I love Hill House, I love Hell House, I love The House Next Door and the House Of Leaves.
And now I think I love Mire House, too.
For Alison Littlewood's new(ish) novel is a haunted house novel to rank with all the above; where the house is not just a home for spooky beings, but a corruption of all a house should actually be; an archetypal 'bad place'; a mirror of its inhabitant's hopes and fears; a trap.
The Unquiet House is told in four interlocking sections, starting in the present day and then working back to the 1973, then to 1939, before finally coming back to 2013 - it almost reads like three self-contained novellas about a different generation's experiences at Mire House. But the historical parts of the novel provide a rich and plausible justification for the terrors in the present, and at the end Mire House is left still standing, still unquiet (still "not sane" as Shirley Jackson would no doubt have it) and still occupied by... something. And there's a strong suggestion that all is not over, and that another generation is about to be trapped and consumed by the horrors of the past.
I love haunted houses, me.
And now I think I love Mire House, too.
For Alison Littlewood's new(ish) novel is a haunted house novel to rank with all the above; where the house is not just a home for spooky beings, but a corruption of all a house should actually be; an archetypal 'bad place'; a mirror of its inhabitant's hopes and fears; a trap.
The Unquiet House is told in four interlocking sections, starting in the present day and then working back to the 1973, then to 1939, before finally coming back to 2013 - it almost reads like three self-contained novellas about a different generation's experiences at Mire House. But the historical parts of the novel provide a rich and plausible justification for the terrors in the present, and at the end Mire House is left still standing, still unquiet (still "not sane" as Shirley Jackson would no doubt have it) and still occupied by... something. And there's a strong suggestion that all is not over, and that another generation is about to be trapped and consumed by the horrors of the past.
I love haunted houses, me.
July 13, 2014
2.5 Stars
A fast haunted house read that was just ok by me. The book is split up by giving us looks into the past of Mire House by telling the story of past owners. Everything is ties together I the end. I liked the present day story and the ending was ok. This one is just ok.
A fast haunted house read that was just ok by me. The book is split up by giving us looks into the past of Mire House by telling the story of past owners. Everything is ties together I the end. I liked the present day story and the ending was ok. This one is just ok.
November 12, 2014
I love a good haunted house story, and I downloaded the audiobook of Alison Littlewood's The Unquiet House hoping it would provide some creepy chills during the dark autumn days. While it did keep me entertained, though, ultimately I felt it didn't quite deliver.
The book opens with Emma, a single woman whose parents have recently died, inheriting a large old house from a distant relative. Although her early intention is to sell it, she is immediately captivated by the mysterious property, moves in, and sets about carrying out renovations. However, a musty old suit hanging in a wardrobe, the arrival of Charlie - who, as the grandson of the house's owner, has effectively been disinherited - and a series of strange incidents soon make Emma realise that the house is not the dream home she imagined.
At this point, however, the story shifts back to the 1970s and a different set of characters altogether: this time, a group of boys full of childhood bravado dare each other to enter the house, infuriating its current owner. And when this lengthy section concludes, we step back once again, this time to the 1940s, where we see a series of tragedies unfold through the eyes of a local farmer's daughter seeking a position as a maid. Only after another long digression do we return to Emma and the present.
This sort of structure isn't new to the ghost story genre - think of the portmanteau horror films of the 60s and 70s, for example, or books of short stories with a framing narrative of friends telling ghost stories round a fire, or a mysterious stranger relating sinister tales to strangers in a railway carriage. Neither is there anything particularly problematic about the flashback parts of the story in themselves: the writing is otherwise strong, particularly in the 1940s section, which has the added poignancy of documenting a rural community disintegrating at the outbreak of war. However, the problem for me is that these sections continue for so long that by the time we returned to Emma and the present, I'd lost any sense of a bond with her, and found it much harder to care about her fate. I found it even harder to have any interest in Charlie, who is a posh, floppy-haired type who probably wears a rugby shirt and who generally just seems altogether too insipid for the role he's required to play in the story.
My other issue with The Unquiet House is that it's notably derivative - and unsubtly so. I have little problem with well-used ghost story tropes and motifs - they're well used for a reason, after all, which is because they're highly effective - but the 'twist' at the end of this one has been done to death (no pun intended) in horror cinema over the last decade or two and there are major elements of this story that are so similar to another, extremely famous, ghost story that I almost snorted a couple of times. If you've ever read The Woman In Black, there's an awful lot that you'll recognise here, and The Woman In Black (while brilliant) wasn't startlingly original in the first place, just exceptionally well-executed in a way that The Unquiet House sadly can't match.
That said, the time I spent listening to this book was certainly not even close to being time wasted, and while the 'twist' is a relatively well-worn one, it does give the book a gripping final section. The start of the novel is suitably unsettling, and the characters, at least in the flashback chapters, are strong and vivid, each possessing a plausible voice.
The book opens with Emma, a single woman whose parents have recently died, inheriting a large old house from a distant relative. Although her early intention is to sell it, she is immediately captivated by the mysterious property, moves in, and sets about carrying out renovations. However, a musty old suit hanging in a wardrobe, the arrival of Charlie - who, as the grandson of the house's owner, has effectively been disinherited - and a series of strange incidents soon make Emma realise that the house is not the dream home she imagined.
At this point, however, the story shifts back to the 1970s and a different set of characters altogether: this time, a group of boys full of childhood bravado dare each other to enter the house, infuriating its current owner. And when this lengthy section concludes, we step back once again, this time to the 1940s, where we see a series of tragedies unfold through the eyes of a local farmer's daughter seeking a position as a maid. Only after another long digression do we return to Emma and the present.
This sort of structure isn't new to the ghost story genre - think of the portmanteau horror films of the 60s and 70s, for example, or books of short stories with a framing narrative of friends telling ghost stories round a fire, or a mysterious stranger relating sinister tales to strangers in a railway carriage. Neither is there anything particularly problematic about the flashback parts of the story in themselves: the writing is otherwise strong, particularly in the 1940s section, which has the added poignancy of documenting a rural community disintegrating at the outbreak of war. However, the problem for me is that these sections continue for so long that by the time we returned to Emma and the present, I'd lost any sense of a bond with her, and found it much harder to care about her fate. I found it even harder to have any interest in Charlie, who is a posh, floppy-haired type who probably wears a rugby shirt and who generally just seems altogether too insipid for the role he's required to play in the story.
My other issue with The Unquiet House is that it's notably derivative - and unsubtly so. I have little problem with well-used ghost story tropes and motifs - they're well used for a reason, after all, which is because they're highly effective - but the 'twist' at the end of this one has been done to death (no pun intended) in horror cinema over the last decade or two and there are major elements of this story that are so similar to another, extremely famous, ghost story that I almost snorted a couple of times. If you've ever read The Woman In Black, there's an awful lot that you'll recognise here, and The Woman In Black (while brilliant) wasn't startlingly original in the first place, just exceptionally well-executed in a way that The Unquiet House sadly can't match.
That said, the time I spent listening to this book was certainly not even close to being time wasted, and while the 'twist' is a relatively well-worn one, it does give the book a gripping final section. The start of the novel is suitably unsettling, and the characters, at least in the flashback chapters, are strong and vivid, each possessing a plausible voice.
April 10, 2014
Book Review originally published here: http://www.iheartreading.net/reviews/...
The Unquiet House is the best horror book I’ve read so far this year. That could be, in part, because it’s a ghost story, and I’m a huge fan of ghost stories. But still, it highly outranks the other ghost stories I read this year, like “The Woman in Black: Angel of Death” and “The Everlasting”.
But back to The Unquiet House. Emma has inherited the house from a long-lost relative she never even heard of. The strange thing? He had a grandson, who he could’ve given the house to just as easily, but instead, he chose to give it to Emma. Either way, after her parents’ death a few years ago, Emma is looking for something new, a fresh start. She went to Mire House – the house she inherited – first with the intention of taking a look at it before she’d put it on the market. But the moment she steps inside the house, it feels like coming home. She knows exactly what she wants the house to look like. And she knows she wants to live in it.
It doesn’t take long before Charlie Mitchell, the grandson who we spoke about earlier, ends up on Emma’s doorstep. Charlie wants to get to know her, and Emma welcomes the company. But in the middle of the night she wakes up to see a strange man in her bedroom – a hunched-over figure of an old man wearing the suit she found in the closet. Charlie is convinced it’s a ghost, but Emma isn’t sure whether it’s a ghost, or simply her imagination.
The longer Emma stays in Mire House, the more she grows convinced it’s haunted. And why does Charlie stay for so long? Is he somehow involved, maybe trying to get her to leave the house, so he could have it instead? But when the evidence of something supernatural becomes more and more apparent, Charlie is the only one Emma can turn to for help. And when a century-old ghost who wishes to destroy the happiness of anyone who inhabits the house, comes out to play, things get truly dangerous.
In a way, the story reminded me of “The Woman in Black”. The host here is somewhat similar to the ghost in “The Woman in Black”, and equally sinister. However, whereas “The Woman in Black” offers a straightforward story, and it’s quite apparent who is who, and who is connected to whom in what way, we see none of those things here. The story is complicated, and involves many generations, all of which get discussed here as we take a trip back to the past in the second part of the book. While we may despise the evil spirit, we also feel sorry for her. Mire House is delightfully creepy, and the suit appearing and disappearing from the closet managed to terrify me. It’s something so simple, yet so terrifying.
The writing is excellent. The prose is quite poetic at times, but never causes the narrative to derail, or to slow down. The plot, while familiar, offered enough fresh and original elements to keep me entertained. The ghost story itself may be reminiscent of a dozen other ghost stories (the haunted house trope has been used so many times it”s hard to put anything original in it) but the history of the house offered enough originality to make up for that. And then there’s also the surprise toward the ending, which I hadn’t seen coming until a few pages before, so great work on that.
If you love ghost stories, then check out The Unquiet House. I read as many ghost stories as I can, and I found this one of the best ghost stories I’ve ever read, so I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as well.
The Unquiet House is the best horror book I’ve read so far this year. That could be, in part, because it’s a ghost story, and I’m a huge fan of ghost stories. But still, it highly outranks the other ghost stories I read this year, like “The Woman in Black: Angel of Death” and “The Everlasting”.
But back to The Unquiet House. Emma has inherited the house from a long-lost relative she never even heard of. The strange thing? He had a grandson, who he could’ve given the house to just as easily, but instead, he chose to give it to Emma. Either way, after her parents’ death a few years ago, Emma is looking for something new, a fresh start. She went to Mire House – the house she inherited – first with the intention of taking a look at it before she’d put it on the market. But the moment she steps inside the house, it feels like coming home. She knows exactly what she wants the house to look like. And she knows she wants to live in it.
It doesn’t take long before Charlie Mitchell, the grandson who we spoke about earlier, ends up on Emma’s doorstep. Charlie wants to get to know her, and Emma welcomes the company. But in the middle of the night she wakes up to see a strange man in her bedroom – a hunched-over figure of an old man wearing the suit she found in the closet. Charlie is convinced it’s a ghost, but Emma isn’t sure whether it’s a ghost, or simply her imagination.
The longer Emma stays in Mire House, the more she grows convinced it’s haunted. And why does Charlie stay for so long? Is he somehow involved, maybe trying to get her to leave the house, so he could have it instead? But when the evidence of something supernatural becomes more and more apparent, Charlie is the only one Emma can turn to for help. And when a century-old ghost who wishes to destroy the happiness of anyone who inhabits the house, comes out to play, things get truly dangerous.
In a way, the story reminded me of “The Woman in Black”. The host here is somewhat similar to the ghost in “The Woman in Black”, and equally sinister. However, whereas “The Woman in Black” offers a straightforward story, and it’s quite apparent who is who, and who is connected to whom in what way, we see none of those things here. The story is complicated, and involves many generations, all of which get discussed here as we take a trip back to the past in the second part of the book. While we may despise the evil spirit, we also feel sorry for her. Mire House is delightfully creepy, and the suit appearing and disappearing from the closet managed to terrify me. It’s something so simple, yet so terrifying.
The writing is excellent. The prose is quite poetic at times, but never causes the narrative to derail, or to slow down. The plot, while familiar, offered enough fresh and original elements to keep me entertained. The ghost story itself may be reminiscent of a dozen other ghost stories (the haunted house trope has been used so many times it”s hard to put anything original in it) but the history of the house offered enough originality to make up for that. And then there’s also the surprise toward the ending, which I hadn’t seen coming until a few pages before, so great work on that.
If you love ghost stories, then check out The Unquiet House. I read as many ghost stories as I can, and I found this one of the best ghost stories I’ve ever read, so I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as well.
June 22, 2016
This was an average entry into the young-woman-inherits-spooky-house genre. It wasn't scary, but it was competently written and a fast read. The story is divided up into three time periods: present day with our young protagonist, the 1970s from the POV of the boy next door, and the 1940s, when the trouble all began, from the POV of a young woman living close to the house. In a ghost story, I prefer more focus, as I think that makes the story more compelling.
June 15, 2019
This was okay. Well-written and engaging enough, but nothing outstanding. A ghost story with some Gothic-ish undertones.
March 17, 2016
Alison Littlewood has taken a risk in using a type of fractured tandem structure for her haunted house story. Supernatural tales are usually best left to a straightforward narrative that drives the reader along. But this isn’t a normal ghost story. This is a story of how ghosts are created and more importantly how they change the living world around them. The author took a risk and it paid off in spades.
The novel starts in present day. Nothing too unfamiliar here. A large country place called Mire House left in a will to Emma, a protagonist battling her own internal ghosts, a mystery surround the house and Charlie an uninvited relative from her childhood. While this territory may be familiar what follows is anything but.
The present is used like a framing device for two strands set in the past. The writing in the first part is haunting and beautifully written. It’s the kind of opening to a book that power companies love, as it’ll keep bedroom lights on all night across the country. Spectral visions, mysterious relatives showing up unannounced and terrifying events build to a horrifying crescendo. Then we’re swiftly transported back to the 1970s and meet a group of young boys daring each other to enter Mire House.
This is where we follow the path of the dark woman who haunts the house and the adjoining cemetery. We also follow Frank and his little brother Mossy. This Yorkshire childhood of the 1970s is so well observed it reminded me of Bill Naughton’s tales of childhood. But Alison Littlewood never allows you enjoy the exploits of these young scamps for too long without reminding you of the ghosts that lurk and the dangers they pose.
Read the full review here- http://thehorrificallyhorrifyinghorro...
The novel starts in present day. Nothing too unfamiliar here. A large country place called Mire House left in a will to Emma, a protagonist battling her own internal ghosts, a mystery surround the house and Charlie an uninvited relative from her childhood. While this territory may be familiar what follows is anything but.
The present is used like a framing device for two strands set in the past. The writing in the first part is haunting and beautifully written. It’s the kind of opening to a book that power companies love, as it’ll keep bedroom lights on all night across the country. Spectral visions, mysterious relatives showing up unannounced and terrifying events build to a horrifying crescendo. Then we’re swiftly transported back to the 1970s and meet a group of young boys daring each other to enter Mire House.
This is where we follow the path of the dark woman who haunts the house and the adjoining cemetery. We also follow Frank and his little brother Mossy. This Yorkshire childhood of the 1970s is so well observed it reminded me of Bill Naughton’s tales of childhood. But Alison Littlewood never allows you enjoy the exploits of these young scamps for too long without reminding you of the ghosts that lurk and the dangers they pose.
Read the full review here- http://thehorrificallyhorrifyinghorro...
September 8, 2018
Does she own the house, or does the house own her?
This is the second of Alison Littlewood’s books that I’ve read, and whereas I wasn’t as taken with it as with The Hidden People, I still found it a solid read. The novel opens with a theme of loss and acquisition, with its protagonist – Emma Dean – having lately lost both of her parents, as well as a distant elderly relative who has bequeathed her Mire House. However, it soon becomes apparent that the house as much owns Emma, as she owns it.
The story weaves in a little folklore here and there, and is firmly grounded in its rural Yorkshire setting with a good sprinkling of Yorkshire accent and dialect lending it an engaging warmth and authenticity. However, this is a ghost story, so the few moments of warmth that are encountered are greatly outnumbered by the reader’s chills. Littlewood is particularly good at portraying childhood group dynamics and bravado, showing how a simple dare can descend into cruelty and lead to the direst of consequences. For me, this was the greatest horror in the book, and made me cringe, but in the manner that the author intended rather than in a bad way, for it was extremely well written.
The novel has an interesting non-linear narrative structure which works well, and the period aspects of the story are deftly handled. However, I did guess the twist some way in advance, and the ending seemed to stutter and fade, being somewhat drawn out. As for the protagonist, I felt less sympathy for her than for many of the other characters, but this may well have been the author’s intention. For all that, this was an enjoyable read that I’d recommend to those who possess a taste for ghost stories.
This is the second of Alison Littlewood’s books that I’ve read, and whereas I wasn’t as taken with it as with The Hidden People, I still found it a solid read. The novel opens with a theme of loss and acquisition, with its protagonist – Emma Dean – having lately lost both of her parents, as well as a distant elderly relative who has bequeathed her Mire House. However, it soon becomes apparent that the house as much owns Emma, as she owns it.
The story weaves in a little folklore here and there, and is firmly grounded in its rural Yorkshire setting with a good sprinkling of Yorkshire accent and dialect lending it an engaging warmth and authenticity. However, this is a ghost story, so the few moments of warmth that are encountered are greatly outnumbered by the reader’s chills. Littlewood is particularly good at portraying childhood group dynamics and bravado, showing how a simple dare can descend into cruelty and lead to the direst of consequences. For me, this was the greatest horror in the book, and made me cringe, but in the manner that the author intended rather than in a bad way, for it was extremely well written.
The novel has an interesting non-linear narrative structure which works well, and the period aspects of the story are deftly handled. However, I did guess the twist some way in advance, and the ending seemed to stutter and fade, being somewhat drawn out. As for the protagonist, I felt less sympathy for her than for many of the other characters, but this may well have been the author’s intention. For all that, this was an enjoyable read that I’d recommend to those who possess a taste for ghost stories.
Want to read
July 24, 2015This is copy 47 of 200 signed numbered copies.
February 10, 2021
Den här boken gjorde mig deprimerad. För att den var så dålig
May 29, 2022
This actually gets off to quite a good start, with Emma Dean inheriting Mire House from a distant relative. She's immediately drawn to the place and decides to live there. She is visited by Charlie Mitchell, direct grandson of the ancestor. Emma likes the company, but always wonders if he's bitter about not inheriting. When spooky things start to happen, she wonders if he's behind it, or if the house could actually be haunted.
The first 100 pages or so kept my interest, managing to be spooky and engaging. It was nothing new, but I was enjoying it and wanted to see where things were going. But after that 100 pages, the book then jumps back to 1973, detailing the adventures of a young boy, Frank, who lives next door to Mire House, who keeps getting dared by a bully to go inside. This section was very dull, with the dialogue in thick Yorkshire dialect that was hard to decipher at time.
After another 100 or so pages, the book jumps back in time again, now to 1939, to tell the story of Frank's mother, Aggie, who is 16 and eager to work as a maid for the newly built Mire House. Here we learn how the "curse" started, but holy moly, this section was BORING. Once again, the Yorkshire dialect is hard to access (and my mum is from Yorkshire!), and there is nothing interesting or spooky going on. Nothing. I had to take frequent breaks to stop myself from nodding off. Any goodwill generated by the interesting start had well and truly dissipated by now!
The book then jumps back to the present and Emma, where it proceeds to deliver a "twist" ending that we've seen about a 100 times or so in the last 20 years, and one which I give an automatic one star to. Seriously? That's how you're going to wrap up your book?
I've never come across a book that starts with such promise, only to completely squander it by becoming more and more excruciatingly boring as it goes along, and to then wrap it all up with one of the most predictable and overdone "twists" found in ghost stories today. Condemn this property!
The first 100 pages or so kept my interest, managing to be spooky and engaging. It was nothing new, but I was enjoying it and wanted to see where things were going. But after that 100 pages, the book then jumps back to 1973, detailing the adventures of a young boy, Frank, who lives next door to Mire House, who keeps getting dared by a bully to go inside. This section was very dull, with the dialogue in thick Yorkshire dialect that was hard to decipher at time.
After another 100 or so pages, the book jumps back in time again, now to 1939, to tell the story of Frank's mother, Aggie, who is 16 and eager to work as a maid for the newly built Mire House. Here we learn how the "curse" started, but holy moly, this section was BORING. Once again, the Yorkshire dialect is hard to access (and my mum is from Yorkshire!), and there is nothing interesting or spooky going on. Nothing. I had to take frequent breaks to stop myself from nodding off. Any goodwill generated by the interesting start had well and truly dissipated by now!
The book then jumps back to the present and Emma, where it proceeds to deliver a "twist" ending that we've seen about a 100 times or so in the last 20 years, and one which I give an automatic one star to. Seriously? That's how you're going to wrap up your book?
I've never come across a book that starts with such promise, only to completely squander it by becoming more and more excruciatingly boring as it goes along, and to then wrap it all up with one of the most predictable and overdone "twists" found in ghost stories today. Condemn this property!
January 11, 2020
Complete Review
I enjoyed the book, though it does not feel like horror. But I was reading it in the Metro.
The book is about Mire House and a Woman who has cursed it.
Emma moves in, and instantly feels connected to it. Because Emma was also sad, similar to the house.
Well, she does lift the curse. From the house and from herself.
Some scenes are very powerful, and some are just awful. But overall, I enjoyed the book.
The loneliness of Emma and the House and that Woman - They all wanted happiness...
It is all connected in a ruthless way.
The house owners give the house to Emma to hurt the Woman. He could have stopped all the madness by giving the house to the rightful owner. The Woman kills all these children because she becomes a hateful spirit and then plays with the mind of Emma.
It is a sad novel. But worth it.
Happy for Emma.
I have to take out one star because of that language I can't read. It was french or what accent it was...
I enjoyed the book, though it does not feel like horror. But I was reading it in the Metro.
The book is about Mire House and a Woman who has cursed it.
Emma moves in, and instantly feels connected to it. Because Emma was also sad, similar to the house.
Well, she does lift the curse. From the house and from herself.
Some scenes are very powerful, and some are just awful. But overall, I enjoyed the book.
The loneliness of Emma and the House and that Woman - They all wanted happiness...
It is all connected in a ruthless way.
The house owners give the house to Emma to hurt the Woman. He could have stopped all the madness by giving the house to the rightful owner. The Woman kills all these children because she becomes a hateful spirit and then plays with the mind of Emma.
It is a sad novel. But worth it.
Happy for Emma.
I have to take out one star because of that language I can't read. It was french or what accent it was...
April 10, 2014
Mire House is dreary, dark, cold and infested with midges. But when Emma Dean inherits it from a distant relation, she immediately feels a sense of belonging.
It isn’t long before Charlie Mitchell, grandson of the original owner, appears claiming that he wants to seek out his family. But Emma suspects he’s more interested in the house than his long-lost relations.
And when she starts seeing ghostly figures, Emma begins to wonder: is Charlie trying to scare her away, or are there darker secrets lurking in the corners of Mire House?
Who hasn’t dreamed of inheriting a rambling old house hidden in the heart of the countryside? I know I certainly have, even if it has seen better days and is a bit worn round the edges. It sounds like the perfect rural idyll. When the reader is first introduced to Emma, the sadness that permeates her character is quickly established. She has suffered recent loss and that trauma has left its mark. She is keen to escape the past, to find somewhere new where she can build a life and really belong. The opportunity to start again at Mire House seems almost too good to be true. As she starts to settle into her new life, she begins to experience phenomena that she can’t explain. There is a presence and it has its sights set firmly on Emma.
The book is split into four distinct parts set during three different time periods; 2013, 1973, 1939 and then back to 2013 again. Each feels almost like a self-contained novella in their own right. As the years roll back the author reveals the layers of the history surrounding Mire House and all of its previous occupants. During the seventies, Frank and his younger brother Mossy discover how a game of dares can lead to tragedy. Meanwhile, on the cusp of the second World War. Aggie dreams of escaping the farm and going to work at the grand new house down the road. Littlewood does a terrific job of weaving these multiple plot strands together. They work well in isolation, but brought together as a whole they’re just perfect.
Personally, I’ve always liked the idea that old places and buildings have the ability to retain echoes of events in their history, the suggestion that when you leave a place behind something can be left behind appeals. The deeper into its history the narrative goes, the more it feels like Mire House is almost a character in its own right. It’s the spectre that connects everything, always there, sinister and brooding in the background. Throughout the years people can’t help but continue to be drawn inexplicably to it.
It struck me as kind of ironic that in a book called The Unquiet House, silence plays such an important role in events. There are many key scenes that play out wordlessly. It feels as though any sound would be wrong, like some sort of horrible intrusion. This technique is most effective in the chapters set in 2013. Emma spends quite a lot of her time alone and this makes her a rather introspective sort. Her solitary existence means that, in these initial chapters at least, there is very little dialogue* Instead, the reader is treated to direct access to Emma’s innermost thoughts and feelings. The author really knows her characters and takes time to ensure that the reader also knows exactly what makes them tick.
For me a truly effective ghost story needs to work on multiple levels, The Unquiet House manages to pull this feat off with aplomb; the air of subtle disquiet, an ever-growing sense of tension and just enough ambiguity to leave a reader with as many questions as answers. The plot certainly builds to a satisfyingly unexpected and shocking conclusion.
Littlewood’s evocative writing does a splendid job of pressing all of a reader’s emotional buttons. In particular, Emma and Aggie’s respective journeys feature some truly breath-taking moments. At certain points in the plot, the sadness and anger in both women feels palpable. I defy anyone not to get caught up in such emotive writing.
Mixing elements of modern and traditional horror seamlessly, Alison Littlewood’s latest novel proves she is a writer of undeniable talent that has the ability to engross and unsettle in equal measure. This is an excellent example of how well plotted psychological horror manages to be many things all at once, part ghost story, part thriller, part character study. I’ll be honest and admit that, with the exception of a single chapbook, I’ve never read any of her other books. I will be remedying this horrific oversight immediately.
The Unquiet House is published by Jo Fletcher Books and is available now, and comes highly recommended.
*Actually I checked (call me curious) there is not a single word of external dialogue in the first four chapters.
It isn’t long before Charlie Mitchell, grandson of the original owner, appears claiming that he wants to seek out his family. But Emma suspects he’s more interested in the house than his long-lost relations.
And when she starts seeing ghostly figures, Emma begins to wonder: is Charlie trying to scare her away, or are there darker secrets lurking in the corners of Mire House?
Who hasn’t dreamed of inheriting a rambling old house hidden in the heart of the countryside? I know I certainly have, even if it has seen better days and is a bit worn round the edges. It sounds like the perfect rural idyll. When the reader is first introduced to Emma, the sadness that permeates her character is quickly established. She has suffered recent loss and that trauma has left its mark. She is keen to escape the past, to find somewhere new where she can build a life and really belong. The opportunity to start again at Mire House seems almost too good to be true. As she starts to settle into her new life, she begins to experience phenomena that she can’t explain. There is a presence and it has its sights set firmly on Emma.
The book is split into four distinct parts set during three different time periods; 2013, 1973, 1939 and then back to 2013 again. Each feels almost like a self-contained novella in their own right. As the years roll back the author reveals the layers of the history surrounding Mire House and all of its previous occupants. During the seventies, Frank and his younger brother Mossy discover how a game of dares can lead to tragedy. Meanwhile, on the cusp of the second World War. Aggie dreams of escaping the farm and going to work at the grand new house down the road. Littlewood does a terrific job of weaving these multiple plot strands together. They work well in isolation, but brought together as a whole they’re just perfect.
Personally, I’ve always liked the idea that old places and buildings have the ability to retain echoes of events in their history, the suggestion that when you leave a place behind something can be left behind appeals. The deeper into its history the narrative goes, the more it feels like Mire House is almost a character in its own right. It’s the spectre that connects everything, always there, sinister and brooding in the background. Throughout the years people can’t help but continue to be drawn inexplicably to it.
It struck me as kind of ironic that in a book called The Unquiet House, silence plays such an important role in events. There are many key scenes that play out wordlessly. It feels as though any sound would be wrong, like some sort of horrible intrusion. This technique is most effective in the chapters set in 2013. Emma spends quite a lot of her time alone and this makes her a rather introspective sort. Her solitary existence means that, in these initial chapters at least, there is very little dialogue* Instead, the reader is treated to direct access to Emma’s innermost thoughts and feelings. The author really knows her characters and takes time to ensure that the reader also knows exactly what makes them tick.
For me a truly effective ghost story needs to work on multiple levels, The Unquiet House manages to pull this feat off with aplomb; the air of subtle disquiet, an ever-growing sense of tension and just enough ambiguity to leave a reader with as many questions as answers. The plot certainly builds to a satisfyingly unexpected and shocking conclusion.
Littlewood’s evocative writing does a splendid job of pressing all of a reader’s emotional buttons. In particular, Emma and Aggie’s respective journeys feature some truly breath-taking moments. At certain points in the plot, the sadness and anger in both women feels palpable. I defy anyone not to get caught up in such emotive writing.
Mixing elements of modern and traditional horror seamlessly, Alison Littlewood’s latest novel proves she is a writer of undeniable talent that has the ability to engross and unsettle in equal measure. This is an excellent example of how well plotted psychological horror manages to be many things all at once, part ghost story, part thriller, part character study. I’ll be honest and admit that, with the exception of a single chapbook, I’ve never read any of her other books. I will be remedying this horrific oversight immediately.
The Unquiet House is published by Jo Fletcher Books and is available now, and comes highly recommended.
*Actually I checked (call me curious) there is not a single word of external dialogue in the first four chapters.
November 6, 2025
Great wee spooky haunted house , easy and fast paced read 📚 👌 😀 ❤️
April 15, 2014
Mire House is dreary, dark, cold and infested with midges. But when Emma Dean inherits it from a distant relation, she immediately feels a sense of belonging. It isn’t long before Charlie Mitchell, grandson of the original owner, appears claiming that he wants to seek out his family. But Emma suspects he’s more interested in the house than his long-lost relations. And when she starts seeing ghostly figures, Emma begins to wonder: is Charlie trying to scare her away, or are there darker secrets lurking in the corners of Mire House?
The book opens with Emma, who has just lost both of her parents and inherited Mire House from an uncle - Clarence Mitchell - she never knew. Bereft and alone, she embraces the challenge of setting up a new house, seeing it as a way to escape the past and start again. Occasionally prone to light flights of fantasy - she remembers her Mum saying “You’re being fanciful, Emma” - she is disturbed to find an old suit and pipe in a cupboard in her bedroom, which always seem to be there, even after she’s thrown them away. Mire House is next door to a rundown church and when she explores it, she meets Frank before going out to investigate the graveyard. Under an old Yew tree, she finds a bench with an inscription - “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me? Matthew 27:46” Then she hears voices and sees things in Mire House that she can’t explain and it seems as though something from the past might be reaching out to take her hand.
The book is told in four parts, with the bookends being the Emma sequences which are both set in 2013. Part 2 - 1973 focusses on Frank Watts (the man from the church), who is 11. Investigating Mire House, Frank meets Mr Owens, who lives there alone, sitting in the drawing room all day in his old suit, smoking a pipe as he mourns his lost wife. Striking up an odd friendship, this is shattered when Franks friend Sam - who’s 12 and manipulative and sly - persuades him to steal something from the house, threatening Frank’s younger brother Mossy. What happens after this is genuinely heartbreaking on several levels and I felt like I had a bit of dust in my eye.
“Part 3 - 1939 The Last Stook” is the story of Aggie, Frank’s Mum, who is 16 years old and living in the farm just up the road from Mire House. There’s a tangible air of sadness to this section, for the doomed Mrs Hollingworth who is having Mire House built and also for Aggie’s brother and friends who are called up to the war that is just starting. With the ‘second’ Mrs Hollingworth taking in evacuees - amongst them a very young Clarence Mitchell - Aggie begins to see a dark woman in the cemetery, under the Yew tree and this vision leads to another terrible, gut-wrenching conclusion.
The separate sections are vivid and full of life, easily standing as independent novellas and while this style works wonderfully for the book - and immerses the reader completely in the well-realised times - it’s also my one area to quibble, that we spend so long away from Emma (almost 300 pages) it takes a while to get back into her rhythm. Having said that, part four works beautifully, setting up a painfully poignant note before moving swiftly and with complete assurance to an unexpected - and frightening - conclusion.
“The Unquiet House” is filled with writing that is assured and stylish, with barely a word wasted and long sequences take place without any dialogue, adding to the sense of unease and melancholy that the novel seems to exude. With some nice touches - most of the dialogue is written as dialect, which is interesting - a keen sense of location and atmosphere - the house, the mire and the church are characters unto themselves - and a nicely deliberate pace that keeps you on the edge, this is told with verve by a writer spreading her wings and surely taking off for ever greater success. Dark and spooky, with touches of humour and a knowing sense of family life and dynamics, this is an excellent novel and I highly recommend it.
The book opens with Emma, who has just lost both of her parents and inherited Mire House from an uncle - Clarence Mitchell - she never knew. Bereft and alone, she embraces the challenge of setting up a new house, seeing it as a way to escape the past and start again. Occasionally prone to light flights of fantasy - she remembers her Mum saying “You’re being fanciful, Emma” - she is disturbed to find an old suit and pipe in a cupboard in her bedroom, which always seem to be there, even after she’s thrown them away. Mire House is next door to a rundown church and when she explores it, she meets Frank before going out to investigate the graveyard. Under an old Yew tree, she finds a bench with an inscription - “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me? Matthew 27:46” Then she hears voices and sees things in Mire House that she can’t explain and it seems as though something from the past might be reaching out to take her hand.
The book is told in four parts, with the bookends being the Emma sequences which are both set in 2013. Part 2 - 1973 focusses on Frank Watts (the man from the church), who is 11. Investigating Mire House, Frank meets Mr Owens, who lives there alone, sitting in the drawing room all day in his old suit, smoking a pipe as he mourns his lost wife. Striking up an odd friendship, this is shattered when Franks friend Sam - who’s 12 and manipulative and sly - persuades him to steal something from the house, threatening Frank’s younger brother Mossy. What happens after this is genuinely heartbreaking on several levels and I felt like I had a bit of dust in my eye.
“Part 3 - 1939 The Last Stook” is the story of Aggie, Frank’s Mum, who is 16 years old and living in the farm just up the road from Mire House. There’s a tangible air of sadness to this section, for the doomed Mrs Hollingworth who is having Mire House built and also for Aggie’s brother and friends who are called up to the war that is just starting. With the ‘second’ Mrs Hollingworth taking in evacuees - amongst them a very young Clarence Mitchell - Aggie begins to see a dark woman in the cemetery, under the Yew tree and this vision leads to another terrible, gut-wrenching conclusion.
The separate sections are vivid and full of life, easily standing as independent novellas and while this style works wonderfully for the book - and immerses the reader completely in the well-realised times - it’s also my one area to quibble, that we spend so long away from Emma (almost 300 pages) it takes a while to get back into her rhythm. Having said that, part four works beautifully, setting up a painfully poignant note before moving swiftly and with complete assurance to an unexpected - and frightening - conclusion.
“The Unquiet House” is filled with writing that is assured and stylish, with barely a word wasted and long sequences take place without any dialogue, adding to the sense of unease and melancholy that the novel seems to exude. With some nice touches - most of the dialogue is written as dialect, which is interesting - a keen sense of location and atmosphere - the house, the mire and the church are characters unto themselves - and a nicely deliberate pace that keeps you on the edge, this is told with verve by a writer spreading her wings and surely taking off for ever greater success. Dark and spooky, with touches of humour and a knowing sense of family life and dynamics, this is an excellent novel and I highly recommend it.
April 24, 2014
Available Now from Jo Fletcher Books.
Thank you to the author and publisher for the review copy.
Mire House is dreary, dark, cold and infested with midges. But when Emma Dean inherits it from a distant relation, she immediately feels a sense of belonging.
It isn’t long before Charlie Mitchell, grandson of the original owner, appears claiming that he wants to seek out his family. But Emma suspects he’s more interested in the house than his long-lost relations.
And when she starts seeing ghostly figures, Emma begins to wonder: is Charlie trying to scare her away, or are there darker secrets lurking in the corners of Mire House?
This was a wonderfully creepy, atmospheric story, one that had me glancing at all the dark corners in my own house and wondering what might lurk there…
Emma is surprised to inherit the property, especially as there are other relatives much closer who should have been obvious choices. Intending to sell, she goes to visit Mire House and is immediately captivated by it. Upon moving in she meets Charlie and after some strange occurrences Emma realises there is something hidden beneath the tranquil surface.
An extremely cleverly constructed novel, as we move back in time to learn the secrets of Mire House, each separate part is a story in and of itself, all adding up to a complete and compelling tale. Emma is an extraordinarily perfect character to follow along with – solitary and emotional, her thoughts and feelings make up a large part of the slow building sense of menace, and give us a true insight into the ambience of the surroundings. As far as psychological horror goes this is spot on for creating a sense of space and time and putting the reader bang into the moment…and unnerving them utterly. The timeslips are perfect, telling us as they do about previous experiences within the house and giving the whole story a real resonance.
I don’t want to give too much away – safe to say that this one is best read with the lights firmly on or outside in the glorious sunshine (should we ever get such a thing in the UK!) because if there are shadows around you as you read, those shadows will certainly menace you. Some beautiful prose to be had here and a fair few moments of magic…within the quiet..or the Unquiet House.
We all go silent in the end…
Terrific. Highly recommended.
Thank you to the author and publisher for the review copy.
Mire House is dreary, dark, cold and infested with midges. But when Emma Dean inherits it from a distant relation, she immediately feels a sense of belonging.
It isn’t long before Charlie Mitchell, grandson of the original owner, appears claiming that he wants to seek out his family. But Emma suspects he’s more interested in the house than his long-lost relations.
And when she starts seeing ghostly figures, Emma begins to wonder: is Charlie trying to scare her away, or are there darker secrets lurking in the corners of Mire House?
This was a wonderfully creepy, atmospheric story, one that had me glancing at all the dark corners in my own house and wondering what might lurk there…
Emma is surprised to inherit the property, especially as there are other relatives much closer who should have been obvious choices. Intending to sell, she goes to visit Mire House and is immediately captivated by it. Upon moving in she meets Charlie and after some strange occurrences Emma realises there is something hidden beneath the tranquil surface.
An extremely cleverly constructed novel, as we move back in time to learn the secrets of Mire House, each separate part is a story in and of itself, all adding up to a complete and compelling tale. Emma is an extraordinarily perfect character to follow along with – solitary and emotional, her thoughts and feelings make up a large part of the slow building sense of menace, and give us a true insight into the ambience of the surroundings. As far as psychological horror goes this is spot on for creating a sense of space and time and putting the reader bang into the moment…and unnerving them utterly. The timeslips are perfect, telling us as they do about previous experiences within the house and giving the whole story a real resonance.
I don’t want to give too much away – safe to say that this one is best read with the lights firmly on or outside in the glorious sunshine (should we ever get such a thing in the UK!) because if there are shadows around you as you read, those shadows will certainly menace you. Some beautiful prose to be had here and a fair few moments of magic…within the quiet..or the Unquiet House.
We all go silent in the end…
Terrific. Highly recommended.
April 11, 2019
At first glance, the front cover which depicts a house and a catchy title, had really drawn me in. I love the horror genre in both book, film and TV, and I thought this was bound to whet my appetite. I listened (via audiobook) to the first chapters detailing Emma, her background and new predicament and her experience of the house, and I was quite enjoying the story, and her as a character. But then it stalled and suddenly switched characters - to two young boys which were rather annoying due their regional dialect. The annoyance was only accentuated by the narrators awful attempt at the accent and male gender voice. By this time I had turned the playback speed to 2.0 - full speed to get through it. I hadn't been able to leave Emma behind as I was still curious, but besides that my interest in the story had waned because it just wasn't exciting in any way. From about halfway through the book and looking back, I realised that the author was probably more fitted to writing family drama or historical fiction, for her sense of horror just wasn't evident. I wasn't scared and I certainly wasn't drawn away from my reality into Mire House at all - which I should have been! The words on the page were a repeated roll of bland dialogue, bland location description and badly described action by the characters. It was as though the author wanted to tell us Emma did this then she did this then she did this then she did this then...without any purpose as though she was just floating through life.
I did finish the book by skipping a few chapters. I had visited the reviews on here to learn there was a twist and so I stuck it out to find out. But it was a dated twist, entirely boring, and to be honest, I am glad I have finished the book. Rated 1 star - purely because the author managed to get a book out there.
I did finish the book by skipping a few chapters. I had visited the reviews on here to learn there was a twist and so I stuck it out to find out. But it was a dated twist, entirely boring, and to be honest, I am glad I have finished the book. Rated 1 star - purely because the author managed to get a book out there.
Read
May 23, 2015I really enjoyed this one. I'm on a bit of a ghost story kick at the moment, and this is the best modern one I've read yet (Susan Hill excepted, obviously, but I've already read all of hers). There's a few shivery moments and a really sneaky plot: I didn't manage to predict the twists correctly. The structure is a little unusual: we start in the modern day with Emma, who has unexpectedly inherited an old house in the country from a distant relative, but then it jumps back to the 70s and then again to the 30s, each time revealing a little more of the history of both the house and the family and the legacy of grief and hatred that surrounds the house. By the time we come back to Emma's story in the final quarter of the book, the reader has a better understanding of the danger she's in than Emma herself does. It works really well here.
No excessive gore, no eldritch horrors, just sympathetic characters and solid storytelling. Good stuff.
No excessive gore, no eldritch horrors, just sympathetic characters and solid storytelling. Good stuff.
December 26, 2021
Tense and strange, grounded in solid and specific details, but ultimately left me less than fully satisfied. I never felt like I fully knew or cared about the characters, or the house. I didn't feel like anything was at stake other than the usual "oh no, get out honey" at every person who walked through the door, oblivious or aware of how dangerous the house is. Didn't reach true levels of disquieting for me.
September 1, 2017
I loved it!
You really feel for the characters. At times you love them, other times you despise them, other times you think they are acting really foolish and you get really sad or happy when something happens to them. All the time you are completely feeling everything and you really feel a part of the story.
You really feel for the characters. At times you love them, other times you despise them, other times you think they are acting really foolish and you get really sad or happy when something happens to them. All the time you are completely feeling everything and you really feel a part of the story.
November 12, 2014
Very atmospheric and creepy haunted house tale. Nicely done with the three time periods and stories all linking.
February 26, 2020
I really wanted to like this book; it's the first horror I've picked up since goosebumps as a child and I was open to being taken in by a suspenseful, well crafted ghost story. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. Emma, as a character, is bland and passive and seems to have gotten through 20+ years of life without forming any type of meaningful relationship or making any decision for herself - and next to none with any rationalisation (mostly it was just reiterations of her decision to stay in Mire House because 'it felt right'), and she spends most of her time plodding through the house noting the mold and choosing room colours. Any type of supernatural tension is smothered by a flat, heavy handed romance which steals the last dregs of Emma's already lacking personality. Also, it was an odd choice to hammer this "we should look out for each other because we're the last of our family lines and are related in some manner" angle to then push a budding romance between Emma and Charlie, whether it was really Charlie or not.
Then the book abruptly jumps into the past with completely new characters, twice in fact, and you realise that it isn't really Emma's story at all, and she is the most mundane element of the whole thing. You learn about the history of the house and characters who become part of the house's history and influence, and it's actually incredibly interesting when the connection between all these characters comes together piece by piece. What isn't interesting is when we finally return to Emma and, what I assume is, 'the big plot twist'. It might have had a much bigger impact some 100 or so pages earlier, but by this point it's been made so convoluted, and you have so little investment in Emma, that it just doesn't land, it crumples. And would you believe from this point on that she only gets more unlikeable?
Ultimately, I finished this book due to stubbornness rather than enjoyment. The writing itself was fine, but the pacing, structure, over explanation of straightforward situations, and dire repetition were a significant weakness.
Then the book abruptly jumps into the past with completely new characters, twice in fact, and you realise that it isn't really Emma's story at all, and she is the most mundane element of the whole thing. You learn about the history of the house and characters who become part of the house's history and influence, and it's actually incredibly interesting when the connection between all these characters comes together piece by piece. What isn't interesting is when we finally return to Emma and, what I assume is, 'the big plot twist'. It might have had a much bigger impact some 100 or so pages earlier, but by this point it's been made so convoluted, and you have so little investment in Emma, that it just doesn't land, it crumples. And would you believe from this point on that she only gets more unlikeable?
Ultimately, I finished this book due to stubbornness rather than enjoyment. The writing itself was fine, but the pacing, structure, over explanation of straightforward situations, and dire repetition were a significant weakness.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 24, 2023
Emma Dean has inherited Mire House. Whilst getting to know her new home Charlie another relative who Emma doesn't know turns up wanting to find out family members. Things start to become a little strange, is the house haunted or is it Charlie trying to scare Emma.
I love stories about creepy old houses so this book was for me. I have read a book by the author before so decided to give this one ago and I wasn't disappointed.
The story is told in three timelines. Emma in present day, Frank in 1973 and Aggie in 1939. All three stories are connected to the house and all three characters are connected and all does become clear.
The first part of the story with Emma I found really creepy, especially one scene in the bedroom. The rest of the story flowed along and each section had its moments of unease. I would say this book is on par with The Woman in Black and the like. I would say more of a ghostly thriller rather than full on horror.
I really enjoyed this book and what made it for me was the twist at the end, I should have guessed but I didn't. A great spooky read all round.
I love stories about creepy old houses so this book was for me. I have read a book by the author before so decided to give this one ago and I wasn't disappointed.
The story is told in three timelines. Emma in present day, Frank in 1973 and Aggie in 1939. All three stories are connected to the house and all three characters are connected and all does become clear.
The first part of the story with Emma I found really creepy, especially one scene in the bedroom. The rest of the story flowed along and each section had its moments of unease. I would say this book is on par with The Woman in Black and the like. I would say more of a ghostly thriller rather than full on horror.
I really enjoyed this book and what made it for me was the twist at the end, I should have guessed but I didn't. A great spooky read all round.
January 21, 2022
Best book I ever read? No. Worst book I ever read? Also no. This was middle of the road for me.
It had a good story line which kept me interested throughout. The writing was good and the characters were well developed. A good old fashioned haunted house book. Didn't exactly keep me up at night, but was more 'haunting' than some recent books I've read.
I had only two issues. First, the dialogue was difficult to understand at times. Characters spoke in some kind of accent or slang and it was hard to decipher what they were trying to say. Second, this book went through 3 time periods. This is normally great because I love a good backstory, but it took too long to get into the new storyline. Just when one would start getting good you'd jump to another one and have to muddle through until that one started to pick up. Then, BAM, you're thrust into another one to muddle through. This made parts of the book a little slow moving.
Overall, it was a decent book and I think worth the read if you like a classic ghost story.
It had a good story line which kept me interested throughout. The writing was good and the characters were well developed. A good old fashioned haunted house book. Didn't exactly keep me up at night, but was more 'haunting' than some recent books I've read.
I had only two issues. First, the dialogue was difficult to understand at times. Characters spoke in some kind of accent or slang and it was hard to decipher what they were trying to say. Second, this book went through 3 time periods. This is normally great because I love a good backstory, but it took too long to get into the new storyline. Just when one would start getting good you'd jump to another one and have to muddle through until that one started to pick up. Then, BAM, you're thrust into another one to muddle through. This made parts of the book a little slow moving.
Overall, it was a decent book and I think worth the read if you like a classic ghost story.
September 5, 2020
2,5 stars. I’m a huge fan of spooky stories, a gothic horror tale will always get my pulse going.
However, though it has all the ingredients (a young woman who has just inherited an old house that has stood empty for many years, and as soon as she moves int weird things start happening) it does turn into more of a historical novel in three parts, and less of a horror read. I would call it historical with a supernatural twist, as it was not scary at all and a little too focused on the backstory before it arrived at the chilling conclusion. The ending was great and just what I wanted.
For it to be a four star read for me, it would have needed to be shortened, speeded up and the scary factor ramped up lots, but if you enjoy an atmospheric historical novel with some spooky stuff thrown in, this is for you!
However, though it has all the ingredients (a young woman who has just inherited an old house that has stood empty for many years, and as soon as she moves int weird things start happening) it does turn into more of a historical novel in three parts, and less of a horror read. I would call it historical with a supernatural twist, as it was not scary at all and a little too focused on the backstory before it arrived at the chilling conclusion. The ending was great and just what I wanted.
For it to be a four star read for me, it would have needed to be shortened, speeded up and the scary factor ramped up lots, but if you enjoy an atmospheric historical novel with some spooky stuff thrown in, this is for you!
February 11, 2019
This novel is divided into 4 sections covering different times of Mire house. This format worked really well as each section provided pieces of the story for the reader to join together. The first section focussed on Emma, who discovers she has inherited the house. I felt the story got off to a good start, it was chilling and highly enjoyable. After that the book gradually started to lose momentum which is such a shame as the overall story was good and it also went into the background of the ghosts and the reasons for them remaining at Mire House. I did find I had to make myself read through to the end, and the novel dragged in places. There wasn't any depth behind any of the characters so it was hard to any build rapport. Overall it's a good book, but lacking in oomph.
August 16, 2019
Not my cup of tea. She has an intriguing premise: a book in sections going back in time, spelling out the source of the misery that is Mire House. The pace was too slow for my liking and each shift in time jolted me out of the narrative. It took me months to read this as I was reading other books in tandem and it just wasn't compelling. I found the local Yorkie dialect confusing and frustrating to wade through. Most books on writing advise authors to avoid dialect or argot in a narrative and with good reason. This book would've been better without it. Alison Littlewood is a strong and imaginative writer but it felt wasted here.
December 20, 2020
I always enjoy coming across a 'haunted house' novel and this one sounded promising. It was an easy read with some chilling moments and a good twist but overall I found the characters a little bland (Aggie was the best of the bunch) and for me, there wasn't much atmosphere; it felt a bit flat. However I did enjoy 'A Cold Season' and so will give 'Mistletoe' a try which I have waiting on my Kindle.
April 28, 2014
I've wanted to read Alison Littlewood's books ever since reading reviews for her debut novel A Cold Season. For some reason or another, I never picked up that one or her second novel A Path of Needles, despite having review copies for both of them. But after meeting Alison at WFC last year and reading the synopsis for The Unquiet House, I was determined to read it come publication time and here we are. What I found inside its pages must be one of the creepiest novels I've read in ages, together with Sarah Lotz's The Three. I read this book with my heart in my throat for large swathes of the story and it even invaded my dreams. So what made this book so successfully creepy?
It's the sense of encroaching danger and dread that lingers around the house. Littlewood manages to hit each possible beat to ramp up this feeling of unease that sets in shortly after the start of the book. She crescendos each part of the story expertly and uses these moments to jump off into a different time line. The house is full of character and foreboding, without actually feeling alive or sentient. It's clear that whatever is happening, it's not the house itself that responsible. But if not the house, then who or what?
The story starts with Emma Dean's arriving at Mire House, a house she inherited from a relative she didn't even know she had and falling in love with the place. Emma is a sympathetic character and her romantic notion of starting over in this new and imposing place is one we've all felt at one time or another, to just get away and start over. She's in a vulnerable state when she moves to Mire House, having just lost both her parents and her feeling of being alone in the world makes her instant connection to Charlie, a purported cousin-far-removed, far more believable. Charlie is an attractive character; he's kind, funny, and seems to genuinely care for Emma. At the same time he seems off, though during the narrative especially in the first part of the book it's not clear whether he's truly got hidden motives or whether Emma is being paranoid. Especially as she starts seeing ghosts. When Emma really seems to be losing her mind, we jump back in time in the next part of the book.
Thirty years back to Frank's story and we discover more about the history of the house and the identity of the old man whose ghost we encounter in Emma's time line. I really loved Frank and I was properly horrified at Sam's treatment of him. I kept wanting to reach in and tell him no no no, do not do it! His striking up a friendship with the old man living in Mire House was touching and the way it ends broke my heart, both because of the betrayal of said budding friendship and because of the chain of events it triggers. We also get the first inkling that there is tragedy connected to Mire House in more ways than one and that its origins are complex and reaching further back in time.
Thirty-four years further back and we land at the start of the Second World War with Aggie. Aggie is the daughter of the farm that overlooks the grounds where Mire House is then being built, the same farm where Frank lives thirty-four years later. In fact, Aggie sees Mire House as her escape from the farm as she's to go in service to its mistress, Mrs Hollingsworth, as a lady's maid. It is in this part of the book that we learn of the House's tragic past and the curse that has been placed upon it. We unravel the intricately interwoven ties that bind all of our main characters together, be they of blood or fate. Littlewood cleverly links people together in a way that is unexpected and in some case almost accidental, which leaves the reader to consider all the implications of 'What if?' What if Aggie hadn't been about to go into service, what if Arthur hadn't been evacuated to Mire House during the war? What if Sam had never challenged Frank to knock on the door of the House? But nothing is as random as it seems and events are steered in this direction, but by whom?
In the final part of the book we return to Emma's timeline and discover her fate. It's in this part of the book that Littlewood pulls the rug out from under you and adds in such a twist to the narrative that I was just stunned. I hadn't foreseen it at all and I was taken fully by surprise. It was masterfully executed and the way Littlewood ends the story, left me filled with foreboding and worry for both Charlie and Emma.
The Unquiet House is a superb ghost story, filled with dread and foreboding, but it is also a tragedy in three parts, in which we see how one event can influence the lives of all who are connected to it far into the future. I loved this first taste of what Littlewood can do in long form – I'd already encountered her writing in short form – and it's made me want to go and read the other books as soon as I can fit them into the reading schedule. If you like a good ghost story and really creepy horror without any gore, then please do pick up The Unquiet House, because it'll get under your skin and won't let go.
This book was provided for review by the publisher.
It's the sense of encroaching danger and dread that lingers around the house. Littlewood manages to hit each possible beat to ramp up this feeling of unease that sets in shortly after the start of the book. She crescendos each part of the story expertly and uses these moments to jump off into a different time line. The house is full of character and foreboding, without actually feeling alive or sentient. It's clear that whatever is happening, it's not the house itself that responsible. But if not the house, then who or what?
The story starts with Emma Dean's arriving at Mire House, a house she inherited from a relative she didn't even know she had and falling in love with the place. Emma is a sympathetic character and her romantic notion of starting over in this new and imposing place is one we've all felt at one time or another, to just get away and start over. She's in a vulnerable state when she moves to Mire House, having just lost both her parents and her feeling of being alone in the world makes her instant connection to Charlie, a purported cousin-far-removed, far more believable. Charlie is an attractive character; he's kind, funny, and seems to genuinely care for Emma. At the same time he seems off, though during the narrative especially in the first part of the book it's not clear whether he's truly got hidden motives or whether Emma is being paranoid. Especially as she starts seeing ghosts. When Emma really seems to be losing her mind, we jump back in time in the next part of the book.
Thirty years back to Frank's story and we discover more about the history of the house and the identity of the old man whose ghost we encounter in Emma's time line. I really loved Frank and I was properly horrified at Sam's treatment of him. I kept wanting to reach in and tell him no no no, do not do it! His striking up a friendship with the old man living in Mire House was touching and the way it ends broke my heart, both because of the betrayal of said budding friendship and because of the chain of events it triggers. We also get the first inkling that there is tragedy connected to Mire House in more ways than one and that its origins are complex and reaching further back in time.
Thirty-four years further back and we land at the start of the Second World War with Aggie. Aggie is the daughter of the farm that overlooks the grounds where Mire House is then being built, the same farm where Frank lives thirty-four years later. In fact, Aggie sees Mire House as her escape from the farm as she's to go in service to its mistress, Mrs Hollingsworth, as a lady's maid. It is in this part of the book that we learn of the House's tragic past and the curse that has been placed upon it. We unravel the intricately interwoven ties that bind all of our main characters together, be they of blood or fate. Littlewood cleverly links people together in a way that is unexpected and in some case almost accidental, which leaves the reader to consider all the implications of 'What if?' What if Aggie hadn't been about to go into service, what if Arthur hadn't been evacuated to Mire House during the war? What if Sam had never challenged Frank to knock on the door of the House? But nothing is as random as it seems and events are steered in this direction, but by whom?
In the final part of the book we return to Emma's timeline and discover her fate. It's in this part of the book that Littlewood pulls the rug out from under you and adds in such a twist to the narrative that I was just stunned. I hadn't foreseen it at all and I was taken fully by surprise. It was masterfully executed and the way Littlewood ends the story, left me filled with foreboding and worry for both Charlie and Emma.
The Unquiet House is a superb ghost story, filled with dread and foreboding, but it is also a tragedy in three parts, in which we see how one event can influence the lives of all who are connected to it far into the future. I loved this first taste of what Littlewood can do in long form – I'd already encountered her writing in short form – and it's made me want to go and read the other books as soon as I can fit them into the reading schedule. If you like a good ghost story and really creepy horror without any gore, then please do pick up The Unquiet House, because it'll get under your skin and won't let go.
This book was provided for review by the publisher.
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