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The Pawnbroker
Amid the danger and death of a decaying 19th century city, the Pawnbroker plies his trade. A man of evil temper, he craves the one thing that will bring him the fulfilment he covets. In the present day, two teenage boys explore an abandoned Tudor-style house. An eerie atmosphere fills the boys with a sense of dread, and they realize that something sinister is in the air.
As the past reaches the present, the boys must uncover the mystery of the house... and face the ancient evil only known as The Pawnbroker.
As the past reaches the present, the boys must uncover the mystery of the house... and face the ancient evil only known as The Pawnbroker.
- GenresHorror
233 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 3, 2017
39 people are currently reading
103 people want to read
About the author
Stuart G. Yates
147 books28 followersMy first published book 'Cold Hell in Darley Dene' (written as Glenn Stuart) was the culmination of years of trying to get myself into print. Back in 1979 I submitted a novel to a publisher, and in 2009 Darley Dene was accepted. Thirty years of honing my skills, and learning a lot about the world. If I had the chance, I'd almost certainly re-write all of my books, improve them, make them more solid, because the more we write, the better we get.This is what has happened to 'Darley Dene'. It's now available as 'Lament for Darley Dene', re-written and improved. Soon, you will find the same with 'The Pawnbroker', a horror story which I am sure many out there will enjoy.
My current day-job is being a teacher, a job I love. Without it I would not be able to continue to write; it also gives me a wealth of characters and so many ideas. The bills get paid too!
I write now as Stuart G Yates in a range of genres. Unflinching is my best-selling Western, but if you like historical fiction, thrillers or spine-tingling horror, I am sure I have a title for you.
For the moment, I live in Spain, which is not so wonderful as people try to make out, and I would dearly love to return to Old Blighty, find a little cottage and write full time. Or the Philippines and be with my fiance, marry her, find happiness. Dreams, but dreams that I am trying very hard to make true. Afterall, it's dreaming what writers do best...don't they?
My current day-job is being a teacher, a job I love. Without it I would not be able to continue to write; it also gives me a wealth of characters and so many ideas. The bills get paid too!
I write now as Stuart G Yates in a range of genres. Unflinching is my best-selling Western, but if you like historical fiction, thrillers or spine-tingling horror, I am sure I have a title for you.
For the moment, I live in Spain, which is not so wonderful as people try to make out, and I would dearly love to return to Old Blighty, find a little cottage and write full time. Or the Philippines and be with my fiance, marry her, find happiness. Dreams, but dreams that I am trying very hard to make true. Afterall, it's dreaming what writers do best...don't they?
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 27, 2023
En las estrechas y envolventes calles de la decadencia del siglo XIX , el asesinato de dos chicos conmociona a los locales.
Con la rifa de la pobreza, la vida es para muchos una batalla de mantener el hambre lejos y simplemente sobrevivir día a día.
En esta lucha de peligro y muerte, "El Prestamista" acumula sus intercambios. Un hombre de temperamento vil, ansía la única cosa que le traerá la realización que codicia.
En el presente, dos niños adolescentes exploran una casa abandonada estilo Tudor. Mientras que la inquietante atmosfera llena a los niños con un sentimiento de peligro, se dan cuenta de que hay algo siniestro en el aire.
Mientras que el pasado alcanza al presente, los chicos deben descubrir el misterio de la casa... y enfrentarse a este mal conocido como "El Prestamista"..
Puntuación: 3,5 ⭐️
Historia "espeluznante" más suave de lo que me imaginaba. Pero muy buena ambientación desde el principio. Pasan muchas cosas para ser tan corto. Me ha gustado aunque sin echar cohetes.
El mal es soberano en estas páginas mientras la avaricia se intensificaba hasta el extremo de lo que puede llegar el ser humano.
Con toques paranormales que le sentaron muy bien en un camino entre el pasado y el presente.
Bien escrito manteniendo la incertidumbre y tensión. Aunque es algo suave.
Un ritmo ágil, una narrativa sencilla a través de un gótico paseo por una trama que atrapa por su ambientación con suaves dosis de "terror"diluido.
Recomendable sin grandes pretensiones..✍️🎩
Con la rifa de la pobreza, la vida es para muchos una batalla de mantener el hambre lejos y simplemente sobrevivir día a día.
En esta lucha de peligro y muerte, "El Prestamista" acumula sus intercambios. Un hombre de temperamento vil, ansía la única cosa que le traerá la realización que codicia.
En el presente, dos niños adolescentes exploran una casa abandonada estilo Tudor. Mientras que la inquietante atmosfera llena a los niños con un sentimiento de peligro, se dan cuenta de que hay algo siniestro en el aire.
Mientras que el pasado alcanza al presente, los chicos deben descubrir el misterio de la casa... y enfrentarse a este mal conocido como "El Prestamista"..
Puntuación: 3,5 ⭐️
Historia "espeluznante" más suave de lo que me imaginaba. Pero muy buena ambientación desde el principio. Pasan muchas cosas para ser tan corto. Me ha gustado aunque sin echar cohetes.
El mal es soberano en estas páginas mientras la avaricia se intensificaba hasta el extremo de lo que puede llegar el ser humano.
Con toques paranormales que le sentaron muy bien en un camino entre el pasado y el presente.
Bien escrito manteniendo la incertidumbre y tensión. Aunque es algo suave.
Un ritmo ágil, una narrativa sencilla a través de un gótico paseo por una trama que atrapa por su ambientación con suaves dosis de "terror"diluido.
Recomendable sin grandes pretensiones..✍️🎩
October 27, 2023
Pues me ha gustado pero..., pensaba que sería mas de terror, pero al final ese toque juvenil... sobre todo en ese final, pues me ha dado algo de bajón.
Era de esperar, de otro modo, ya que los protagonistas son niños, no muy mayores por lo que parecen edad indeterminada,, sobre el instituto o incluso menores.
Lo mejor, la ambientación de la época victoriana, con sus grandes casas, su suciedad, sus olores y demás.
La historia me ha parecido un pelín simple, todo gira en torno al robo de unas joyas y la conexión a lo largo del tiempo entre el presente y esa época victoriana de un barrio de Liverpool.
Valoración: 6.5/10
Sinopsis: En las estrecha y envolventes calles de la decadencia del siglo 19, el asesinato de dos chicos conmociona a los locales.
Con la rifa de la pobreza, la vida es para muchos una batalla de mantener el hambre lejos y simplemente sobrevivir día a día.
En esta lucha de peligro y muerte, El Prestamista acumula sus intercambios. Un hombre de temperamento vil, ansía la única cosa que le traerá la realización que codicia.
En el presente, dos niños adolescentes exploran una casa abandonada estilo Tudor. Mientras que la inquietante atmosfera llena a los niños con un sentimiento de peligro, se dan cuenta de que hay algo siniestro en el aire.
Mientras que el pasado alcanza al presente, los chicos deben descubrir el misterio de la casa... y enfrentar el mal conocido como El Prestamista.
Era de esperar, de otro modo, ya que los protagonistas son niños, no muy mayores por lo que parecen edad indeterminada,, sobre el instituto o incluso menores.
Lo mejor, la ambientación de la época victoriana, con sus grandes casas, su suciedad, sus olores y demás.
La historia me ha parecido un pelín simple, todo gira en torno al robo de unas joyas y la conexión a lo largo del tiempo entre el presente y esa época victoriana de un barrio de Liverpool.
Valoración: 6.5/10
Sinopsis: En las estrecha y envolventes calles de la decadencia del siglo 19, el asesinato de dos chicos conmociona a los locales.
Con la rifa de la pobreza, la vida es para muchos una batalla de mantener el hambre lejos y simplemente sobrevivir día a día.
En esta lucha de peligro y muerte, El Prestamista acumula sus intercambios. Un hombre de temperamento vil, ansía la única cosa que le traerá la realización que codicia.
En el presente, dos niños adolescentes exploran una casa abandonada estilo Tudor. Mientras que la inquietante atmosfera llena a los niños con un sentimiento de peligro, se dan cuenta de que hay algo siniestro en el aire.
Mientras que el pasado alcanza al presente, los chicos deben descubrir el misterio de la casa... y enfrentar el mal conocido como El Prestamista.
October 31, 2023
Pues me ha gustado todo el ambiente Victoriano, esta muy bien plasmado la vdd con todo lo que conlleva, sus calles, sus habitantes, el vestuario, los olores, las grandes casas de la gente rica...
Los protas al ser niños tanto en el pasado como en el presente me ha gustado también pero eso a su vez hace que la historia no sea tan de terror, pero dentro de todo la supo hacer el escritor.
El prestamista... tipo nefasto lo odie y creo que ese era el punto. Como por avaricia le puedes hacer la vida imposible a la gente, es triste eso pero real... El final un poquito flojo para mi gusto pero dentro de todo buena historia
Los protas al ser niños tanto en el pasado como en el presente me ha gustado también pero eso a su vez hace que la historia no sea tan de terror, pero dentro de todo la supo hacer el escritor.
El prestamista... tipo nefasto lo odie y creo que ese era el punto. Como por avaricia le puedes hacer la vida imposible a la gente, es triste eso pero real... El final un poquito flojo para mi gusto pero dentro de todo buena historia
October 31, 2023
Aventurándose por destinos poco recorridos, Jamie y Tim llegarán a una imponente pero sombría casa abandonada, atraídos por cierta fuerza poderosa que los instó a adentrarse en su interior sin pensarse en las futuras consecuencias que esta simple elección traería a sus vidas cotidianas.
A partir de ese momento, se establecerá una conexión con el pasado abriendo paso a una bien lograda ambientación de la Inglaterra victoriana, viendo el lado de la pobreza e inmundicia de las calles y de los menos favorecidos, se harán prsente otros personajes que están ligados a la casa y entre los cuales se encuentra el prestamista, que es la viva representación de la avaricia, malicia y perversidad, aprovechándose de su status para sembrar miseria y terror en quienes se cruzan en su camino.
A mi pesar el ritmo me ha parecido un poco lento y el final un poco flojo, pero no ha estado mal, una vez que agarré el hilo mejoró paulatinamente.
A partir de ese momento, se establecerá una conexión con el pasado abriendo paso a una bien lograda ambientación de la Inglaterra victoriana, viendo el lado de la pobreza e inmundicia de las calles y de los menos favorecidos, se harán prsente otros personajes que están ligados a la casa y entre los cuales se encuentra el prestamista, que es la viva representación de la avaricia, malicia y perversidad, aprovechándose de su status para sembrar miseria y terror en quienes se cruzan en su camino.
A mi pesar el ritmo me ha parecido un poco lento y el final un poco flojo, pero no ha estado mal, una vez que agarré el hilo mejoró paulatinamente.
July 31, 2019
Rocking back and forth between the 19th century backstreets of London & present day, this is a wonderful tale of trickery, deceit & greed. The ‘Pawnbroker’ is a mean but enigmatic character, living life by his own rules. Then we meet Bert, a pickpocket down on his luck who is somehow transported into the modern day dreams of young Jamie, causing flashbacks & fear. I absolutely love the way in which the author gently eases you in, painting each scene in exquisite detail & before shocking you then landing blow by blow upon the storyline. One of my favourite reads this year by far.
May 29, 2019
Pretty creepy story overall. Evil just for the sake of evil as greed intensified to the extremes. And paranormal overlaps the past and the present. Definitely a lot going on in this story.
July 15, 2024
I went into this book completely blind. It was christmas gift from my friend and the cover looked really interesting. The book was good but not scary. I was expecting something more stressful, but I get the feeling that it's for younger people than me (16yr) it was overall pretty good with short chapters and living characters
March 22, 2020
Wow! I really enjoyed this book. I found it difficult to put down.
It's the school holidays. Jamie hasn't been in the school for long and only has one friend--Tim. All the others tease him as he's as clever as Sarah, one of his classmates. Tim and Jamie play football together and go cycling as well. On one of their cycling trips, they discover an old dilapidated Tudor style house, set in its own set of grounds. Tim is adventurous and persuades the timid Jamie that they should explore the house, which they do.
Tim disappears and Jamie goes looking for him. Jamie goes upstairs and follows a long corridor, but can't find Tim. Jamie goes into a bedroom, lies down on the bed and goes to sleep. He starts having a very real dream of a young boy, Albert and when Jamie wakes up, he's disorientated for a while. He recalls his dream and it frightens him so much that he forgets Tim and cycles home as fast as he can. When it comes to light, after being home late for tea, what the boys had been up to, their mothers banned them from seeing each other. But Jamie still has the nightmares.
Sarah is invited round for tea and Jamie tells her what's been happening. It comes to light that Tim has been having the same experiences. Jamie defies his mother and meets Tim to talk about their dreams. Eventually, Jamie starts researching the people he's dreaming of and finds that they're real people from Victorian Birkenhead. Not only that, but the places in his nightmares are the places he knows in his modern day life, only greatly changed.
Sarah helps Jamie investigate his theories, along with the local librarian and their history teacher, Mr Morris. The nightmares keep coming until eventually they seem to be taking over Jamie's life.
Eventually, the story reaches its zenith and the two boys are allowed to restart their friendship. Both Tim and Jamie are susceptible to the atmosphere of places like the old house, which is why Tim felt drawn to Jamie.
After the culmination of the strange events, the boys stop having the nightmares, but they're not quite the same as before.
Parts of the story are slightly reminiscent of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, with the Pawnbroker using lads to do his dirty work for him, just like Fagin. But I suppose this was not an unusual scenario in Victorian times when the orphans ran away from the Workhouse and unwittingly fell in with unscrupulous people. However, this similarity didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book. It was scary in parts, but also exciting. I wanted to keep reading it to find out what would happen next. The ending seemed to promise that Jamie's life would be getting better after his ordeal.
``````````
It's the school holidays. Jamie hasn't been in the school for long and only has one friend--Tim. All the others tease him as he's as clever as Sarah, one of his classmates. Tim and Jamie play football together and go cycling as well. On one of their cycling trips, they discover an old dilapidated Tudor style house, set in its own set of grounds. Tim is adventurous and persuades the timid Jamie that they should explore the house, which they do.
Tim disappears and Jamie goes looking for him. Jamie goes upstairs and follows a long corridor, but can't find Tim. Jamie goes into a bedroom, lies down on the bed and goes to sleep. He starts having a very real dream of a young boy, Albert and when Jamie wakes up, he's disorientated for a while. He recalls his dream and it frightens him so much that he forgets Tim and cycles home as fast as he can. When it comes to light, after being home late for tea, what the boys had been up to, their mothers banned them from seeing each other. But Jamie still has the nightmares.
Sarah is invited round for tea and Jamie tells her what's been happening. It comes to light that Tim has been having the same experiences. Jamie defies his mother and meets Tim to talk about their dreams. Eventually, Jamie starts researching the people he's dreaming of and finds that they're real people from Victorian Birkenhead. Not only that, but the places in his nightmares are the places he knows in his modern day life, only greatly changed.
Sarah helps Jamie investigate his theories, along with the local librarian and their history teacher, Mr Morris. The nightmares keep coming until eventually they seem to be taking over Jamie's life.
Eventually, the story reaches its zenith and the two boys are allowed to restart their friendship. Both Tim and Jamie are susceptible to the atmosphere of places like the old house, which is why Tim felt drawn to Jamie.
After the culmination of the strange events, the boys stop having the nightmares, but they're not quite the same as before.
Parts of the story are slightly reminiscent of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, with the Pawnbroker using lads to do his dirty work for him, just like Fagin. But I suppose this was not an unusual scenario in Victorian times when the orphans ran away from the Workhouse and unwittingly fell in with unscrupulous people. However, this similarity didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book. It was scary in parts, but also exciting. I wanted to keep reading it to find out what would happen next. The ending seemed to promise that Jamie's life would be getting better after his ordeal.
``````````
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 20, 2023
I felt like I was there
The story was very good albeit a-bit like “Oliver” but I loved the “happily ever after “ part. I wish the author brought to light why it all happened. I was left with questions. Otherwise this was a good story and an easy read.
The story was very good albeit a-bit like “Oliver” but I loved the “happily ever after “ part. I wish the author brought to light why it all happened. I was left with questions. Otherwise this was a good story and an easy read.
April 17, 2019
I absolutely love this story!
August 27, 2021
More 3.5. A good story, but small mistakes that make you re-read parts.
A slow burner, could of been better
A slow burner, could of been better
July 10, 2025
one of the best books I’ve ever read
The Pawnbroker was one of the best books I’ve ever read! The story was unique. The author wrote the characters in such a way that I had feelings for them. I can’t put into words how I actually feel about this book.
You have to read it. You really do. I cannot wait to read more by this author. This book doesn’t even fall into one of my preferred genres. But now, I think it is safe to say that Stuart G. Yates is my favorite author.
All I know is that if I could only read two books for the rest of my life, one would be my Bible. The other would be The Pawnbroker.
The Pawnbroker was one of the best books I’ve ever read! The story was unique. The author wrote the characters in such a way that I had feelings for them. I can’t put into words how I actually feel about this book.
You have to read it. You really do. I cannot wait to read more by this author. This book doesn’t even fall into one of my preferred genres. But now, I think it is safe to say that Stuart G. Yates is my favorite author.
All I know is that if I could only read two books for the rest of my life, one would be my Bible. The other would be The Pawnbroker.
October 6, 2020
Interesting read
I was engaged by the premise of the story and contemplating shadows of the past peaking forward to the future. Although classified as horror, young teens and up would enjoy this book.
Thanks for the story Stuart,
WHO
WHO
I was engaged by the premise of the story and contemplating shadows of the past peaking forward to the future. Although classified as horror, young teens and up would enjoy this book.
Thanks for the story Stuart,
WHO
WHO
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews