The Haunting of Bell Mansion: A Haunted House Mystery- Book 1

by James Hunt

Sarah Pembrooke thought the small town of Bell, Maine was the answer to her troubles. She hoped that she could disappear into the northern most reaches of the mountains and wait until people had forgotten her name. However, Bell had other plans.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Mystery

132 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 18, 2018

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

James Hunt's passion for writing began at an early age. While his journal of yesteryear may never be the work of great fiction, he's been working hard every day since then to bring pages to life. James has well over a decade of writing under his belt, but his professional career in literature didn't take off until 2014.

James currently lives in Orlando, FL and when he's not pounding away at the keyboard you can find him at the theater or somewhere outside enjoying the beautiful Florida weather.

Reviews

[Vikki Brand]

Well I had my doubts in the beginning. I'm never sure about any book from an author I've not heard of. But I was surprised, the book actually grabbed my attention. I can't wait to read more from James Hunt. Keep up the great work. 🤗

[Jennifer Williams]

I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this series, but I found myself very engaged with the characters and the plotline. Hunt’s main character, Sarah, is a strong-willed young woman who must fight her past as well as fighting the evil presence in the Bell Mansion. This series has all the necessary elements of a good ghost story:

A creepy title
Disturbing weather
Murder
A mystery with secrets
Suspense
A lingering sense of fear

Hunt, though, adds a bit more to the traditional ghost story in this story. There is the struggle between good and evil, redemption, forgiveness, and even a good old-fashioned love story.

While the story was not exceptionally intense or scary, it was a very entertaining read – especially if you are a sucker for stories about the supernatural!!

[Elaine Macon]

What???

It kept my interest to the very end but hated the ending. Really?? You decided not to finish the story or is there another book??

[Anna From Gustine]

This is the second book that I've read by James Hunt and I think it will be the last. I think that Mr. Hunt has a lot of potential. He can create suspense, has a great affinity for haunted house stories, and has some pretty engaging dialogue. However, I think he desperately needs an editor because his work tends to go off the rails after about the half way mark, if not sooner at times.

This story is about the Bell family which is basically cursed by a witch. The aging matriarch Iris recruits Sarah to work for her as a maid. Sarah is a young woman running away from her violent ex-boyfriend who happens to be a NYC cop. Needless to say, Iris does not have the best of intentions and Sarah gets wrapped into the curse as well.

This book has pacing issues and sometimes the characterizations are over the top as well. Sarah has such a horrible background in foster care. I know that foster care can be bad, but there's one incident that just....I don't know....seemed extreme to me. Also, the plot seemed to change at times and character histories were inconsistent. At one point, it seemed like Iris was a Bell and then another that she had just married into the family.

And the whole Hell bit and the witch's actual identity? Huh? I don't know....I'll leave it at that.

[Wanda]

Thrilling

This is an awesome series! Read The Haunting of Bell Mansion 0 first. I guarantee you will be hooked just like I am!
Sarah's parents died when she was just three years old. Then came the numerous foster parents from hell.
Even though Sarah is now grown she still can't trust anyone. Now she's stuck at Bell Mansion looking for a way to save herself and her new friend Dell.
There's horrors and mysteries around every curve in these books. But there's also cliff hangers so watch out and read at your own risk!!! impatiently waiting for the next book.

[Denise]

Not having ever heard of this author before but the title caught my attention then read expert thought why not. Gotta love those small towns having come from one myself with after so many years in a beach city landing yet again in a small town lol. Sarah and this story will get you into it weaving it around you. This gives you a good ghost story along with good characters. The only down fall is where is the next one.

[Teresa Byrd]

I never saw it coming...

The second installment does not disappoint. Sarah is a strong character and the action carries you along, bringing you to the stop before you are ready. Mr Hunt is a fine writer and I can't wait to read Book 2 to find out how Sarah "saves" those depending on her, including herself.

[Brenda Moser]

Another great read to this series and the author does not disappoint. He held me captive right to the end. He does a great job building the story and pulling you in with all the action and tension. It's well written,moves quickly and smoothly and in the end leaves you wanting more.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own and freely given.

[maggie duprey]

Meh

This book feels as though it was prematurely published. It needs an editor's input and some restructuring. The prequel should have been the first few chapters of this book, and the next book should , no doubt, be added to the end of this book. I can already guess the outcome. The plot and characters are pedestrian at best. Neither are well developed or well organized.

[Phyllis H. Pajka]

I'm loving these books. I'm now started on book 2 of the three books and can't wait to get really into it. If this books is as good as the others, it's headed to being the best reads ever as far as I'm concerned.

[Dennese Link]

Cliff Hanger

Four stars because it keeps you wanting more, and I kept trying to figure out what next. No dull moments. But the book stops, and unless you have book2, book1 doesn't end.

[Josette Thomas]

Another great installment to this great story. I like how Sarah had to realize she either help or die. Then she went back to help. What will happen next? Now I must read number 2 to see if Sarah is as full of strength as she appears to be.

[Terri]

A battle between good and bad begins!

Sarah is in the weirdest trouble of her life! An ex who is a cop, a lack of funds and a new job going nowhere!

[Linda Rogge]

Great book!!

As ghost stories go,this one is filled with lots of twists and turns. None more surprising than the one at the end!

[Mary Keeter]

Very Interesting.

I liked this book a lot. It is very interesting with a total different theme. Just wish you didn't have to buy the next to book to read the ending.

[Danelle Cale]

The story just keeps getting better.

[Lily]

Yet another good book. Moving on to part 3 !!

[SUE]

good story. A little tense at times but good reading

[Darla River-Higgs]

Review

I cannot wait until I can get the next book. Very adventurous, action packed. I loved it and read it in one day. Thank you

[Deborah Necessary]

Too many unanswered questions! Something was missing, maybe there was a prior book!

[Rosa Cline]

You will want book two after you finish. The author writes these as an on going huge book separated in smaller books. Good reads

[gwen graves]

Not that good

I really didn’t like this story, ghost stories or witch stories are not my thing. It isn’t really a mystery as advertised.

[Shanna Tidwell]

Great series. Enjoyed it a lot! Loved the story and the way hell was explored in the series.
Also love the priest part of this one!

[Lynda Lafond]

Doesn't end. :(

Well written book, but doesn't have the ending of the "episode" included. I don't mind books with sequels or ongoing stories, but this one ends completely unfinished.

[Margaret]

Great story but didn't like the way the first two ended...cliffhangers!!!