What do you think?
Rate this book
The Haunting of Truscott House
A house with a dark secret.
A grieving daughter determined to carry out her parents’ last wishes.
A grandmother with something to hide…
Chloe Thomas brushes aside her grandmother’s pleas that she stay away from Truscott House, and moves in with her friend Emily to finish the project her parents had begun before their death — the renovation of a property that had been in the family for a century.
Sure, she knows that the locals say it’s haunted. She brushes that aside; kids will be kids, and so-called haunted houses are practically a rite of childhood, aren’t they?
But it isn’t long before Chloe has to eat her words, and admit that something doesn’t seem want them there — but who? Or what? And why?
Growing increasingly afraid, she has to dig deep to find the courage to continue, with a terrified friend begging her to leave and as the truth about her grandmother’s childhood is revealed. Does she have what it takes to see this out, risking another terrible loss for her grandmother? Or is it possible to reverse the ill fortune of decades, and make Truscott House a happy home once more?
Chloe calls in the help of a ghost-hunter, and only then does she understand the strength of the unquiet spirit in her home — and that there are other innocents who have much at stake.
A grieving daughter determined to carry out her parents’ last wishes.
A grandmother with something to hide…
Chloe Thomas brushes aside her grandmother’s pleas that she stay away from Truscott House, and moves in with her friend Emily to finish the project her parents had begun before their death — the renovation of a property that had been in the family for a century.
Sure, she knows that the locals say it’s haunted. She brushes that aside; kids will be kids, and so-called haunted houses are practically a rite of childhood, aren’t they?
But it isn’t long before Chloe has to eat her words, and admit that something doesn’t seem want them there — but who? Or what? And why?
Growing increasingly afraid, she has to dig deep to find the courage to continue, with a terrified friend begging her to leave and as the truth about her grandmother’s childhood is revealed. Does she have what it takes to see this out, risking another terrible loss for her grandmother? Or is it possible to reverse the ill fortune of decades, and make Truscott House a happy home once more?
Chloe calls in the help of a ghost-hunter, and only then does she understand the strength of the unquiet spirit in her home — and that there are other innocents who have much at stake.
105 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 19, 2017
50 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 7, 2022
This is a 3.5 star read.
September 25, 2023
I chose to read this book to get ready for spooky season, and I will say that the theming was exactly what I was looking for: woman inherits a family house haunted by the ghosts born of a tragic family secret, and as she begins renovating, the haunting becomes violent and she must enlist the help of an amateur ghost hunter to save her family’s souls. Unfortunately, the execution sort of missed the mark for me.
In spite of the intriguing summary, the atmosphere was lacking; we had the elements - apparitions, howling winds, footsteps, furniture being thrown around, power outages - but the way it was written didn’t really pull me in or make me feel scared. It felt more like a matter-of-fact retelling of the events of a haunting, rather than an engaging, eerie tale. Because of that, my heart wasn’t in it, and the stakes didn’t feel that high to me.
This is a shorter read, so that may account for some of the lack of stakes, but truthfully the characters were hard to care too much about, even with taking the length of the book into consideration. The dialogue was clunky and the descriptors felt out of place - for instance, the ghost hunter kept being referred to as “her friend,” when she had literally known him for less than two days.
I won’t harp on it too much, but the matter-of-fact stylistic choices of the book and the one-dimensionality of the characters weren’t the only things that felt “off.” As I mentioned before, the dialogue was clunky (example: a lot of unnatural uses of the word “must,” like, “I must go”), but the scene-setting, action, and descriptor words, too, often felt forced, repetitive, or over-explanatory. Frequently it felt like a lot of “tell” and not “show,” if you know what I mean.
Lastly, the second POV of the book is from the perspectives of the ghosts in the Netherworld. Unfortunately, this might’ve been the nail in the coffin for the whole “stakes” issue; it removed all possibility for any semblance of mystery or eeriness, and knowing the ghost’s plan outright caused a lot of the “discoveries” the main characters make later on to feel lackluster and redundant.
TW: PTSD, murder, domestic abuse, knife violence, child death.
In spite of the intriguing summary, the atmosphere was lacking; we had the elements - apparitions, howling winds, footsteps, furniture being thrown around, power outages - but the way it was written didn’t really pull me in or make me feel scared. It felt more like a matter-of-fact retelling of the events of a haunting, rather than an engaging, eerie tale. Because of that, my heart wasn’t in it, and the stakes didn’t feel that high to me.
This is a shorter read, so that may account for some of the lack of stakes, but truthfully the characters were hard to care too much about, even with taking the length of the book into consideration. The dialogue was clunky and the descriptors felt out of place - for instance, the ghost hunter kept being referred to as “her friend,” when she had literally known him for less than two days.
I won’t harp on it too much, but the matter-of-fact stylistic choices of the book and the one-dimensionality of the characters weren’t the only things that felt “off.” As I mentioned before, the dialogue was clunky (example: a lot of unnatural uses of the word “must,” like, “I must go”), but the scene-setting, action, and descriptor words, too, often felt forced, repetitive, or over-explanatory. Frequently it felt like a lot of “tell” and not “show,” if you know what I mean.
Lastly, the second POV of the book is from the perspectives of the ghosts in the Netherworld. Unfortunately, this might’ve been the nail in the coffin for the whole “stakes” issue; it removed all possibility for any semblance of mystery or eeriness, and knowing the ghost’s plan outright caused a lot of the “discoveries” the main characters make later on to feel lackluster and redundant.
TW: PTSD, murder, domestic abuse, knife violence, child death.
January 10, 2023
This was laughably bad, which likely explains why it was free on Prime.
Chloe wants to renovate an empty, rundown house & turn it into a happy home. No problem there, except she's in way over her head. Hun, a few curtains & some paint won’t fix anything. What about redoing the floors, replacing the baseboards, installing quarter round or new lighting? I’d take care of that before I worry about making curtains.
The book has two main POV - Chloe & Edward Truscott.
And in case you didn’t understand the opening events, the book drives it home by stating that Edward now lives in the Netherworld. Yes, I’m serious. His location serves as his chapter headers: The Netherworld.
I was rolling.
Chloe wants to renovate an empty, rundown house & turn it into a happy home. No problem there, except she's in way over her head. Hun, a few curtains & some paint won’t fix anything. What about redoing the floors, replacing the baseboards, installing quarter round or new lighting? I’d take care of that before I worry about making curtains.
The book has two main POV - Chloe & Edward Truscott.
And in case you didn’t understand the opening events, the book drives it home by stating that Edward now lives in the Netherworld. Yes, I’m serious. His location serves as his chapter headers: The Netherworld.
I was rolling.
October 5, 2024
It was an okay read, I didn’t get spooky vibes but the story was enough to keep me reading. If you want an easy and quick read then this will fit the bill but don’t expect to be scared out your mind because you’ll be disappointed
June 29, 2022
great book
Thanks for the book,that was scary and interesting story.Loved it.Will try to get the rest of the books as soon as possible.
Thanks for the book,that was scary and interesting story.Loved it.Will try to get the rest of the books as soon as possible.
November 5, 2022
enjoyable read
I enjoyed this book, good uncomplicated bedtime reading. Not too scary.
I look forward to reading more of Mo’s books.
I enjoyed this book, good uncomplicated bedtime reading. Not too scary.
I look forward to reading more of Mo’s books.
October 12, 2023
A nice and simple ghost story. No real twists or surprises, but really doesn't need it. Really good read.
August 11, 2024
Bit boring
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews