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Haunted
Twenty years ago, the ghost of a dead little girl drove Sheriff Michael Blaine to his death.
Now, that same ghost is coming for his daughter.
FROM THE AUTHOR OF ASYLUM, AMERICAN COVEN AND THE ASH HOUSE.
Returning to the small town where she grew up, Alex Roberts is determined to live a normal, quiet life. For the residents of Railham, however, she's an unwelcome reminder of the town's darkest hour.
Twenty years ago, nine-year-old Mo Garvey was found brutally murdered in a nearby forest. Everyone thinks that Alex's father was responsible, but if the killer was brought to justice, why is the ghost of Mo Garvey still after revenge?
And how far will the real killer go to protect his secret, when Alex starts getting closer to the truth?
HAUNTED is a horror novel about a woman who has to face her past, about a town that would rather forget, and about a little girl who refuses to let death stand in her way.
Now, that same ghost is coming for his daughter.
FROM THE AUTHOR OF ASYLUM, AMERICAN COVEN AND THE ASH HOUSE.
Returning to the small town where she grew up, Alex Roberts is determined to live a normal, quiet life. For the residents of Railham, however, she's an unwelcome reminder of the town's darkest hour.
Twenty years ago, nine-year-old Mo Garvey was found brutally murdered in a nearby forest. Everyone thinks that Alex's father was responsible, but if the killer was brought to justice, why is the ghost of Mo Garvey still after revenge?
And how far will the real killer go to protect his secret, when Alex starts getting closer to the truth?
HAUNTED is a horror novel about a woman who has to face her past, about a town that would rather forget, and about a little girl who refuses to let death stand in her way.
261 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 20, 2017
467 people are currently reading
434 people want to read
About the author
Amy Cross
664 books1,679 followersAmy Cross writes novels and short stories in a number of genres, mainly horror, paranormal and fantasy. Books include The Farm, Annie's Room, The Island, Eli's Town and Asylum.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
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February 22, 2018💝 FREE on Amazon today (2/22/2018)! 💝
August 27, 2017
I find Amy Cross' novels a bit hit and miss but when she's good she's sensational, and this was one of those times!
The story had me hooked from the very first word until the last and the story told from various viewpoints and times made for well paced, exciting reading. As a mother the description of the initial crime sickened me, so fair warning to all, but it highlighted how truly perverted those who tried to cover up what really happened were. It's hard to describe more without beginning to give spoilers away but suffice to say the final reveal did shock me a little. A gripping, haunting (pun definitely intended) novel that I highly recommend.
The story had me hooked from the very first word until the last and the story told from various viewpoints and times made for well paced, exciting reading. As a mother the description of the initial crime sickened me, so fair warning to all, but it highlighted how truly perverted those who tried to cover up what really happened were. It's hard to describe more without beginning to give spoilers away but suffice to say the final reveal did shock me a little. A gripping, haunting (pun definitely intended) novel that I highly recommend.
June 23, 2017
A bit too gory for my taste
When Amy Cross sticks to ghost stories and tales of the supernatural she is one of the best. This horror story, however, was over the top. Too horrific for me thus the low rating.
When Amy Cross sticks to ghost stories and tales of the supernatural she is one of the best. This horror story, however, was over the top. Too horrific for me thus the low rating.
July 1, 2025
can't find it to read.
May 10, 2017
Amazing!
Amy Cross really put did herself with this book! It's a real page turner, non-stop throughout the entire book! I thought it was a very good book, and with my imagination it scared me a few times.
Amy Cross really put did herself with this book! It's a real page turner, non-stop throughout the entire book! I thought it was a very good book, and with my imagination it scared me a few times.
July 23, 2017
Good story but...
A good ghost story but was distracted by all the editing errors. Computers are not able to edit a story the way people can edit. Irritates me to pay for a book no person bothered to read before it was published.
A good ghost story but was distracted by all the editing errors. Computers are not able to edit a story the way people can edit. Irritates me to pay for a book no person bothered to read before it was published.
August 9, 2018
Recently I made the decision to earnestly read a lot of horror fiction, at least until I tire of it. Rather than start this regimen with something that I knew for sure I would enjoy (e.g., rereading Dracula), I started at what I assumed would be near the bottom of the barrel. Haunted is one of those free books that can be found somewhat easily on the Kindle store. I had never heard of Amy Cross, although she seems somewhat prolific in this genre. I give her major bonus points for the fact that she mostly writes standalone novels, so that readers don't fall into the Amazon trap of buying (for free) the first book in a series that has ballooned to five or six novels and then feeling obligated to actually pay real currency for following installments that are invariably not free. Goodreads lists this book as 262 pages, which is reasonably long for a book of its kind.
As for the actual content, it was fine. It was a predictable but acceptable read. People who claim to have been blindsided by a twist or something of that sort are either not very discerning or not very honest. The book is also written in a weird first-person present tense POV that is difficult to get used to at first, and gets clunky by nature at times. It occasionally makes forays into discussions of mental illness or child abuse that, although I am not particularly qualified to participate in, felt a tad bit gratuitous to me. There are also numerous typos, which I guess is going to happen when the editing process is light enough, as I assume is the case here. I'm honestly kind of impressed that there weren't more. The most hilarious mistake that I found was when Cross refers to Brad, the protagonist's husband, as Tom, the couple's old man neighbor. It is quite obviously a mistake, and just as obviously mindboggling that it wasn't detected by anyone before the book was finalized. Maybe they just liked the humor of the reader feeling very befuddled at the protagonist (whose name is Alex, in case you were wondering) suddenly hanging out alone in her house with Tom, the elderly man. I know it made me chuckle.
Anyway, Haunted certainly isn't going to win a Stoker, but it's not as bad as I expected it to be when I spenthard-earned no money on it. If you're looking for a placeholder novel while you find something more substantial, or horror fic is the preferred genre for your "beach reads", you could do worse than Haunted. I don't feel any strong sense of regret at having read it, which is much better than I had anticipated.
As for the actual content, it was fine. It was a predictable but acceptable read. People who claim to have been blindsided by a twist or something of that sort are either not very discerning or not very honest. The book is also written in a weird first-person present tense POV that is difficult to get used to at first, and gets clunky by nature at times. It occasionally makes forays into discussions of mental illness or child abuse that, although I am not particularly qualified to participate in, felt a tad bit gratuitous to me. There are also numerous typos, which I guess is going to happen when the editing process is light enough, as I assume is the case here. I'm honestly kind of impressed that there weren't more. The most hilarious mistake that I found was when Cross refers to Brad, the protagonist's husband, as Tom, the couple's old man neighbor. It is quite obviously a mistake, and just as obviously mindboggling that it wasn't detected by anyone before the book was finalized. Maybe they just liked the humor of the reader feeling very befuddled at the protagonist (whose name is Alex, in case you were wondering) suddenly hanging out alone in her house with Tom, the elderly man. I know it made me chuckle.
Anyway, Haunted certainly isn't going to win a Stoker, but it's not as bad as I expected it to be when I spent
March 16, 2020
Tense, exciting, well written story *****Spoiler alert******
As much as I liked the story, I didn't give it five stars because I thought a couple characters were flat and unrealistic. Alex's husband Brad doesn't have much personality or purpose in the story, other than to serve as a plot point. Alex's mother seems unrealistic, other than as a plot device.
**********Spoiler*********
The big reveal of Milford's wife as Neil Bloom's accomplice at the end didn't work for me. There was very little character development--she appears briefly at the beginning of the story, then vanishes until the very end where suddenly she was the villain all along. It would have been better if there had been more character development, if the reader had been given a chance to get to know and like her character. But I guess I see some logic behind it; you forget about this character by the end of the story, so you don't suspect her.
As much as I liked the story, I didn't give it five stars because I thought a couple characters were flat and unrealistic. Alex's husband Brad doesn't have much personality or purpose in the story, other than to serve as a plot point. Alex's mother seems unrealistic, other than as a plot device.
**********Spoiler*********
The big reveal of Milford's wife as Neil Bloom's accomplice at the end didn't work for me. There was very little character development--she appears briefly at the beginning of the story, then vanishes until the very end where suddenly she was the villain all along. It would have been better if there had been more character development, if the reader had been given a chance to get to know and like her character. But I guess I see some logic behind it; you forget about this character by the end of the story, so you don't suspect her.
July 4, 2017
A very heartbreaking story in parts.
I don't usually have such a emotional responds to a book of these sorts as the book is fiction, but I actually found that I felt anger and sadness reading some parts of this book. It was brilliantly written as I find most of Amy Cross's books are. As a mother I found some parts were very distressing to even think about, and I felt actually angry reading parts of this book which as I said is not my usual responds. Any body with a sensitive disposition should take care reading this as it can be quite upsetting in my opinion. But all in all an excellently written book in how it covered a very sensitive subject!
I don't usually have such a emotional responds to a book of these sorts as the book is fiction, but I actually found that I felt anger and sadness reading some parts of this book. It was brilliantly written as I find most of Amy Cross's books are. As a mother I found some parts were very distressing to even think about, and I felt actually angry reading parts of this book which as I said is not my usual responds. Any body with a sensitive disposition should take care reading this as it can be quite upsetting in my opinion. But all in all an excellently written book in how it covered a very sensitive subject!
August 19, 2017
Awesome
I absolutely love Amy crosses books!
There are a few typos in this book but other than that its really good and doesn't take long to get into the meat of the story which is the same for every other books I've read of hers which is a lot. I've never in my life read a ghost story book which so captivating Like I do with hers every book is different and never ends the way you think it will be. I read this book in less than 5 hours just awesome
I absolutely love Amy crosses books!
There are a few typos in this book but other than that its really good and doesn't take long to get into the meat of the story which is the same for every other books I've read of hers which is a lot. I've never in my life read a ghost story book which so captivating Like I do with hers every book is different and never ends the way you think it will be. I read this book in less than 5 hours just awesome
November 21, 2017
I really wanted to like this book because the bare bones of the story were excellent and the first third of the plot was involving, however the two main characters are so mind numbingly stupid and one dimensional that I actually started getting frustrated at the fact that it took them both so long to figure out what was going on. I think the main female character was meant to be tough and resilient but I just found her to be ‘standoffish’ and annoying. A wasted opportunity!
February 10, 2020
Fantastic...but....
Love the books. All of them. My only criticism is every character in every book is always going on about the mind playing tricks when confronted with a ghost. It's so repetitive in every book it becomes frustrating. just once, it would be nice if the character believes seeing a ghost than going through 3/4 of the book and finally they believe! Other than that, love her books,
Love the books. All of them. My only criticism is every character in every book is always going on about the mind playing tricks when confronted with a ghost. It's so repetitive in every book it becomes frustrating. just once, it would be nice if the character believes seeing a ghost than going through 3/4 of the book and finally they believe! Other than that, love her books,
September 29, 2017
Another Great Story
This is another awesome story by this brilliant author who I just can't get enough of. What a gift of capturing such a vivid imagination she has been blessed with! I don't know what I will do once I've read all her stories. I guess I'll have to go back and read them all again! Yes they are that good! Another story for the big screen, I must add!
This is another awesome story by this brilliant author who I just can't get enough of. What a gift of capturing such a vivid imagination she has been blessed with! I don't know what I will do once I've read all her stories. I guess I'll have to go back and read them all again! Yes they are that good! Another story for the big screen, I must add!
June 19, 2018
Great Book! I would have NEVER guessed the ending! Amy Cross has a way of writing that makes you feel like you are right there with her characters. Straight from the beginning I really felt for the family in this story. There was action that kept my attention straight from the beginning. Read this one! You won't be sorry!
March 24, 2022
The beginning and the end were a little hard to stomach (as a mother) but the overall story had me hooked. The spelling and content errors (using the wrong names of characters) in her books can be more scary than the story itself but I have faith that one day she’ll shell out the money for a good editor :)
September 15, 2024
Love Amy Cross books!
Alex is returning home to the house of her childhood, but her father died there and she’s not looking forward to looking at the past. Alex learns so much about that night and knows who is haunting her. A great ready by Amy Cross, as always. I really enjoyed reading Haunted! Happy reading!
Alex is returning home to the house of her childhood, but her father died there and she’s not looking forward to looking at the past. Alex learns so much about that night and knows who is haunting her. A great ready by Amy Cross, as always. I really enjoyed reading Haunted! Happy reading!
May 5, 2017
Haunted
Good storyline, some editing errors. This book could have been even better if there was a bit more character development. A great late night read. A few editing errors, doesn't ruin the story.
Good storyline, some editing errors. This book could have been even better if there was a bit more character development. A great late night read. A few editing errors, doesn't ruin the story.
June 29, 2017
I thought this book was awesome. Amy Cross includes so many twists and turns and you honestly don't want to put the book down. I am currently reading my 7th Amy Cross book and I have enjoyed every one of them and no two are alike.
July 10, 2017
Great edge of your seat read
From the first page this book will get you hooked I could not stop reading until the end Amy Cross is a wonderful author. Can't wait for more of her books
From the first page this book will get you hooked I could not stop reading until the end Amy Cross is a wonderful author. Can't wait for more of her books
July 26, 2017
Good read
I wasn't that excited to read this book but after I started, I couldn't put it down. The story was good and I liked how each chapter went back and forth in time so we could get a feel for what really happened. I recommend this book to all horror/mystery readers.
I wasn't that excited to read this book but after I started, I couldn't put it down. The story was good and I liked how each chapter went back and forth in time so we could get a feel for what really happened. I recommend this book to all horror/mystery readers.
October 26, 2017
Very intriguing book
The gory details are so vivid it is not for the faint of kinds for sure. I honestly recommend this author and her books to all who love horror, thriller, and suspense.
The gory details are so vivid it is not for the faint of kinds for sure. I honestly recommend this author and her books to all who love horror, thriller, and suspense.
August 7, 2019
Although the turn in the mystery was well done, I found myself skipping paragraphs at a time. Much of the dialogue was repetitive and so many phrases felt over used. I read for the highlights, and not every word.
March 7, 2021
Twists and Turns
This is one of my favorites. I enjoyed the characters and the plot. The description of the ghost, Mo, was great. Terrifying. I can't wait to read another Amy Cross story.
This is one of my favorites. I enjoyed the characters and the plot. The description of the ghost, Mo, was great. Terrifying. I can't wait to read another Amy Cross story.
April 5, 2021
The Ghost of Mo
The Ghost of Mo It is the ghost of a little girl who was murdered with horrendous abuse done to her. Alex. Goes to her home town to seek the truth about her father
The Ghost of Mo It is the ghost of a little girl who was murdered with horrendous abuse done to her. Alex. Goes to her home town to seek the truth about her father
May 9, 2017
This was an exciting, fast paced, ghost story. I have read a lot by Amy Cross and this is one of my favorites!
May 9, 2017
Enjoyed
Was a good story ,very scary at times,the plot was god and I was hoping Alex,s Dad was a good guy
Was a good story ,very scary at times,the plot was god and I was hoping Alex,s Dad was a good guy
May 10, 2017
A must read!
June 1, 2017
Haunted
Would recommend these books to everyone that likes ghost stories. Love the story lines and characters. Love Amy Cross books
Would recommend these books to everyone that likes ghost stories. Love the story lines and characters. Love Amy Cross books
July 29, 2017
Brilliant! Kept me on the edge of my seat.
August 4, 2017
Must read!
Great plot! Love stories from Amy Cross. Will continue to read her books! This story was hard to put down.
Great plot! Love stories from Amy Cross. Will continue to read her books! This story was hard to put down.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews