The Spirits of Six Minstrel Run

by Matthew S. Cox

A move to the small town of Spring Falls, New York is the perfect cure for Mia Gartner’s horrid commute. However, her new home isn’t quite empty. She adored working in fine art restoration, but a two-hour ride each way got old fast. When her husband found a house for sale at a suspiciously low price, they jumped at it. Mia expected chemical contamination, a fixer-upper, or termites, so when the problem turned out to be persistent rumors of haunting, she set aside her worries. Adam hoped the place would propel his parapsychology hobby into a career. Upon first sight, the innocuous suburban house filled Mia with dread. Adam had long maintained she had a psychic gift, but if she believed him, that would mean something terrible and dark once happened there. Soon after their arrival, unexplained events prove the rumors are more than wild stories. A childlike spirit attaches itself to Mia, seeming harmless and so very lonely. Alas, she fears the ghost may not be as innocent as it seems.

Genres: Paranormal

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 19, 2019

About the author

Born in a little town known as South Amboy NJ in 1973, Matthew has been creating science fiction and fantasy worlds for most of his reasoning life. Somewhere between fifteen to eighteen of them spent developing the world in which Division Zero, Virtual Immortality, and The Awakened Series take place. He has several other projects in the works as well as a collaborative science fiction endeavor with author Tony Healey.

Hobbies and Interests:

Matthew is an avid gamer, a recovered WoW addict, Gamemaster for two custom systems (Chronicles of Eldrinaath [Fantasy] and Divergent Fates [Sci Fi], and a fan of anime, British humour (<- deliberate), and intellectual science fiction that questions the nature of reality, life, and what happens after it.

He is also fond of cats.

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, so super scary!

The Spirits of Six Minstrel Run by Matthew Cox is not a creepy book, it is a freaking terrifying book! I got to 75% and I had to wait til the next day when it was sunny out to finish it! Creepy does not describe this haunted house story properly! A haunted house, a couple, (one being a little psychic and the other a fan of paranormal activity), a little girl ghost, crazy history, freaky scary activity, unsure who is good or evil, a pastor,and witches. A thrill ride for sure!

[Helen Power · Rating 3 out of 5]

Synopsis 
When Mia’s husband buys a beautiful old house at a bargain, she can’t help but wonder what’s wrong with it. She doesn’t have to wonder for long, because it quickly becomes obvious that the house is haunted.  Her husband is delighted--he’s a university professor who’s looking for proof of the paranormal. Mia quickly discovers that she’s psychically sensitive to the spirits in this house. While one of them is a harmless little girl Mia would do anything to protect, there is something else that is much more sinister lurking the halls of Six Minstrel Run...
Plot 
This novel fights a lot of tropes in the paranormal activity subgenre.  First off, Adam, a professor at the university, bought this house because he knew it was haunted. He wanted to see if he could capture evidence of the existence of ghosts on camera.  This automatically sets this novel apart from others like it--where there is that inevitable first third of the book where the protagonists are in denial that supernatural beings exist.  Even Mia, the skeptic, believes that there is a ghost in this house within the first few chapters.

There is a lot of paranormal activity right off the bat, which also sets this book apart. Usually in novels like this the author plays with shadowy figures in the corner of your eye, mysterious noises in the dead of night, and other events that can be attributed to the imagination or natural phenomenon.  But this book escalates things a lot more quickly. The plot isn’t about whether or not the protagonists believe there is a ghost. It’s about Mia getting to know the ghost of the little girl that lives there, all the while questioning if she’s truly a little girl at all, or if she’s something insidious...

The book also has religious undertones, as there is a priest who makes regular appearances at Six Minstrel Run, warning Adam and Mia that they need to leave before its too late.  He fears for their souls, though Adam and Mia find him more annoying than the ghosts inhabiting their home. This theme is carried throughout, as Mia was raised Catholic but turned against her religion for slightly spoilery reasons. 
Characters 
I had to suspend my disbelief just a tad when reading this book. Some of the plot points that I lauded in the “Plot” section make for unrealistic main characters.  Mia is supposedly a skeptic, yet the first time she has a paranormal encounter in this book, she instantly believes. Both Mia and Adam are invested in keeping the house, but as the paranormal events escalate, they remain oblivious to the danger they’re truly in.  Even someone who was desperate to prove the paranormal exists would have run for the hills after some of the events that take place early on in this story.  The main characters' lack of relatability can be countered by saying that the novel isn't meant to be horror, and that it at times takes a sardonic tone, but whether that was intentional or not is unclear.  The writing style is a lot lighter than you would expect a book with this type of plot to be.  I talk a bit more about this element a little more in depth in the Language section below.

There is a lot of cutesy back and forth banter between Mia and Adam, which serves to make me as the reader truly invested in their relationship.  They love each other, and there’s never a point in the novel where I questioned that even for a moment. 

I was particularly invested in the strange yet beautiful relationship between Mia and the ghost girl.  It’s clear that Mia has motherly instincts despite not being a mother, and she worries for the safety of the little girl, what with the other spirits that inhabit this house. She wants to protect her, despite not truly knowing if she isn’t dangerous, and the relationship is quite tender and refreshing.  It also adds to the horror element, as there’s nothing scarier than a child that might just be homicidal.  The little girl ghost is adorable yet incredibly creepy, a beautiful dichotomy that makes this book truly unique.
Language 
As mentioned earlier, the tone of the book is light. It reminded me a little of Jay Ansen’s “The Amityville Horror”, as it has that sense of the author calmly relaying the facts, no matter how disturbing they might be.  Many books rely on language to instill that fear in the reader, yet in this case (and in The Amityville Horror’s case), the language was a mere medium for relaying the horror of the events that unfold.  



I recommend this book to anyone looking for a refreshing take on an old subgenre--the ghost story--with a unique twist.



*Thank you to Blackthorn Book Tours  for ebook for review*

This review appeared first on https://powerlibrarian.wordpress.com/

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My 2019 Reading Challenge

[Christi M · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sometimes you just need a little bit of scare in your life. Something that has you looking over your shoulder or allows you to get startled when you hear an unrelated noise in your own house. But as I read the story the plot took a direction on how to handle the ghost that I wasn't comfortable reading. I don't want to ruin anyone's reading, so I won't mention it here, but what I can say is I found it rather disturbing and wish I could unread it.

[Isobel Blackthorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This straight ahead haunted house novel opens with Adam and Mia heading to their new home on Minstrel Run. Adam is an academic taking up a new posting at Syracuse in the psychology faculty. Mia is a painting restorer with a spooky past. Adam has a special interest in the paranormal and believes Mia has special psychic abilities she’s in denial of. He knows Six Minstrel Run is haunted and buys the house no one else wants as a kind of twisted experiment. He is as keen as mustard. Mia is, from the very first moment, terrified, even as she battles with her fear and summons enough courage to get on with the normal routines of domestic life. Yet even before she crosses the threshold and enters the house, she is consumed by dread. It is Mia’s terror that permeates the narrative and makes this novel utterly convincing and really very spooky. Throw in a local clergyman who comes knocking on their door offering his assistance and protection from the truly evil spirits lurking in their new home and you have the perfect set up.

I enjoyed the steady plotting, the twist, and the unfolding of the characters, their interesting lives, thoughts and motives, the plethora of scary scenes rising in intensity and escalating to a heart-pounding climax. Mia is a strong female lead, intelligent, resilient, courageous. The narrative has a strong forward drive, not overly weighed down by back story and exposition, the reader given just enough explanatory detail to provide context and setting. In all, The Spirits of Six Minstrel Run is a well written, traditional supernatural horror novel for those who want to be truly terrified. Not to be read alone in the dark in a big old house with creaky doors and attics and cellars. Cox has penned a classic.

[Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Ghost Story

This was such a good story. Adam and Mia move into a house that is reportedly haunted. It is haunted by a little girl named Robin and her father who murdered her. Adam is a ghost hunting buff and is thrilled to be living there. Robin eventually appears to Mia and they get very attached. Read the book for the rest of this excellent read

[Irene Well Worth A Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like the start of most haunted house stories Mia and her husband move into a house with a dark past. Unlike the typical couple who are shocked by ghosts they have actually chosen this home on purpose. Mia is a sensitive psychic and her husband an amateur ghost hunter.
At first the haunting seems rather tame, but they soon learn the reasons why previous owners have not dared to stay long. Is it merely the ghost of a lonely child playing pranks or could it be a demon? It seems that something wants to hurt Mia, and the constant interference by an over zealous pastor who arrives uninvited and unwelcome does not help matters any. Pastor Weston is a man who just can't seem to take "go away" for an answer. If it were me I think I would have turned the garden hose on him. I loved Mia, she was a very strong woman even when she sometimes doubted herself.

I received a complimentary copy for review.

[Ronald Mathews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting book

I was really excited about reading every chapter in this book. It was a great storyline. Excellent job on your part. Bravo!!!

[Dave Higgins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blending a nuanced portrayal of the paranormal with the mundane subtleties of marriage and small-town life, Cox creates a supernatural thriller that draws it’s horror as much from the plausible reactions of characters as any ghostly presence.

Mia Gartner loves her job, but not the two-hour commute. So, moving to Six Minstrel Run—a spacious house in a charming little town only a short drive from work—seemed ideal. And, though the low asking price hinted at issues, the surveys came back clean. Dismissing her odd sense of foreboding and the rumours of supernatural infestation, she tries to settle into her new life. However, she quickly realises something resides in the house. Her immediate impression is of a lonely little girl; but the local preacher’s faith and her husband’s research raise the question whether it is something dark and deceitful.

While psychic powers and questions of the afterlife feature in many of Cox’s books, they are greatly more prominent here, forming the centre of the narrative. They are also set in the context of the real world rather than a cyberpunk future. This book is therefore much closer to a traditional ghost story than an action thriller with speculative metaphysics. However, Cox’s description of both character and the mystical is equally adept when applied to the modern world, making it likely fans of his other works will still find something to enjoy.

Ironically, this skill in grounding the unusual in the plausible is what also creates the aspect most likely to put some readers off: forthright Christianity. The all-to-real portrayal of a strident preacher and his congregation determined to save the Gartner’s souls from the wiles of Satan at any cost contrasted with a polite and helpful paganism might raise unpleasant memories in those who have been subjected to dogmatic evangelism while also seeming a thinly veiled attack on the Church to others.

However, as with Cox’s other books, this is not a book built around a shallow binary: while both the spirit and the pagans present as more pleasant that the Christians, there is substantial evidence of both darker forces and hidden motives that raises the question whether the preacher is a flawed person yet also right about the need for the Abrahamic god’s intervention.

Paralleling this conflict over the meaning and appearance of good and evil, Mia and her husband struggle with his interest in the paranormal; while he loves her and wants her safe, his desire for evidence of supernatural activity tempts him to embrace mostly harmless manifestations rather than place Mia’s interests first at all costs.

Mia is a well-crafted protagonist. A mature adult, but lacking any experience specifically relevant to the paranormal, she exhibits a plausible confusion of what is happening and the underlying truths; neither a credulous embrace of child ghosts nor a sceptical fixation on any hint of deceit, her reaction to the paranormal is likely to seem reasonable to readers whatever their assessment of the evidence.

The supporting cast are similarly complex, their behaviour shaped by the complexities of their experience but not slavishly constrained by it.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I recommend it to readers looking for a nuanced ghost story, who are not put off by negative depictions of Christianity.

I received a free copy from the author with a request for a fair review.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moving to a small town sounded like a great plan to Mia and Adam . It would elimnate the horrible commute that Mia drives everyday . When Adam found a great house for a low price they do what any couple would do and put an offer in and got it . This is house is more then it seems though, once Mia sees the house she is filled with an uneasy feeling and can't shake it . After a visit from pastor Weston things start to go weird . Mia and the ghost have become attached and all isn't what it seems . Mia is fearing the worst that the ghost child is isn't what she seems to be and something more sinister is at play here .
The characters are so very well written and complex . Mia and Adam are a young couple who want the american dream of owning their own home . Mia is a strong woman who will do whatever it takes to keep her and her husband safe . She does get to freak out a few times but over all she is strong and determined even though she has had a horrible past . Adam is well he is kind of a dweeb every now and then sometimes he comes off as inconsiderate of what Mia is going through. Then there are times where he is the hero and saves Mia . Robin well she is the little girl that is haunting the house you don't knwo which way she will go . She can be a sweet girl and then there is the evil side of her that comes out . Oh the character i love is Wilehmenia she is such a cool character . She helps out the couple with wiccan help . She is strong and headstrong and you will love her . You will love these characters or hate them if you are inclined .
I sat down to start reading this book looking forward to see how the author handles a ghost story . What I wasn't expecting is to be sucked into a story that at times had the hairs on my arms standing up and chills running up my spine . The book started off as a good ghost story , the characters are amazing but as you read the book it got creepier and creepier . The author has so much going on from ghosts . to human behaviour and a religious zealo running awry . It blends into a book that you can't put down and has you on the edge of your seat through out the whole story This is a story for those of us like me who love a great ghost story that isn't full of guts and gore . This story makes you think about how you would handle things . So I will say this read this book, you will not be disappointed and you will get a great ghost story .

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matthew S. Cox has done the impossible in his novel The Spirits of Six Minstrel Run. He has turned me into a horror fan. I hate horror, but the synopsis of this one intrigued me so much that I had to read it.

Boy, I am glad that I read this novel. I swore to myself that I would only read during the daytime, but once I got going, I couldn’t put it down and stayed up reading all through the night.

I have always been a bit fussy and anxious. But until I read Pet Sematary at the tender age of 11, I wasn’t afraid of horror. After that one, no way would I ever have anything to do with horror again. Until now. Matthew has completely turned me around.

Cox’s writing is smooth like butter, and while it is scary as hell, I never felt alone. Mia was there the whole time, and I sympathized with her. To be honest, it surprised me that the author is male. His female characters are sensational. I’ve not read many horror stories with women as strong as those in this tome.

I am happy to award The Spirits of Six Minstrel Run a full 5 out of 5 stars. Hooked from the first sentence, it was worth it, even though I had a hard time sleeping last night. If you are a lover of horror, grab this book!!

Thank you to Blackthorn Book Tours, Henry Roi, and Matthew S. Cox for gifting me The Spirits of Six Minstrel Run in exchange for an honest review.

[Lee]

The Spirits of Six Minstrel run is an interesting tale about a couple that moves into a haunted house.Overall the story was wonderful I really like the twists and turns along the way and I really like the main character who was an art restorer and her husband was a novice ghost Hunter which I thought was really cool. I like the dreams in which she saw what happened at the house as well as all the physical evidence that they collected while living there I also like the little girl ghost she was very sweet and well written. I really likes the coven that we're trying to help the main characters with the little ghosts and I like what they did with that all in all I would recommend this book if you like paranormal because it's a really interesting read.

[Alisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freaky

Scary, wild, horrifying (especially if you live in an old house with a lot of rooms). This book will grab you, get you, and shake you up. There were several times I almost stopped reading, it's just that scary.

[Ronald Andrzejewski · Rating 5 out of 5]

A novel that will keep you on your toes.,the characters are very well thought out,I really enjoyed reading this novel.

[S Bodier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually don’t read stories about ghosts but after checking the reviews I decided to give it a go. I’m glad I did!
This book is a page turner. Even though at times it gave me goose bumps, I couldn’t put the book down. The characters are all likeable, except for Vic of course, and I like the narrative and the plot twist. There is no gore and even though it narrates a story of brutal murder and conjugal violence there are light hearted moments in between.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mia and Adam Gartner thought moving to a small town would mean less time commuting , getting a
home at a bargain price but could never imagine what else they were getting. There is never a dull moment from the time Mia entered the house to the very end. So many things happening that You have to read it for yourself to enjoy it even more. I have enjoyed ghost stories but this is much more then the others that I have read. At times I had tingles running up and down my spine and goosebumps on my arms. This is 100% worth the read.

[Staci Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not my usual genre of choice.

Very well written. Easy to imagine the individual characters perspective's. Definitely enough to bring dark and suspicious energy to a sunny day. Closed perfectly!

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW. I am admittedly a horror junkie. But very few things I actually find scary. This...this I read with every light on in my apartment. And I couldn't put it down. I was absolutely spellbound. I wish I could give it more stars!!!

[E. Billups · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come.

[Norma · Rating 3 out of 5]

( Format : Audiobook )
"Every girl needs a little magic in her life."
A large o!d house in the woods on sale for three years at an asking price way below what should be expected, previous tenants who never stayed for more than a few months, a small town whose centre looked like a deserted movie set, an husband who hoped to force his wife into becoming aware that she was psychic so he could write about the paranormal first hand, an elder!y over zealous religious pastor, a tiny witches' coven, a wife who wanted to shorten her two hour commute to work, and a couple of singularly unpleasant ghosts (even if one was a 'cutesy' little girl): this is, essentially, the cast list to this over long story. To be scary, for this reader, happenings have to be subtle and this story most definitely is not. The first half of the book was a reasonable read, despite the frequent paranoid diatribe against religion from the wife, Mia - far too many to be comfortable - and the husband's apparent resolution to not notice the obvious, yes, the people made this story somewhat frightening. But then came the 'great solving' which left everyone happy, until it didn't.

Sorry, too long, too obvious. This reader kept waiting for a dramatic twist that would be payback for the time invested and it didn't happen. As an haunted house film, this could probable succeed if skillfully directed, actors well chosen. As pictures in the head, however, it was too obvious, even though visually written, possibly because none of the characters, alive or ghostly, could engage my empathy. In fact, just the opposite - I disliked them all for differing reasons. The narrator, Julia Collura, read well, infusing the text with added drama, and her voicings of all of the characters was individually distinct even if the men sounded, mostly, strange. The little girl, especially, was suitably whiney and childish. It was a good performance which kept me listening even after I had tired of the book.

My thanks to the rights holder of The Spirits of Six Minstrel Run, who, at my request, freely gifted me with a complimentary jvia Audiobook Boom. Too long and with the alive people more scary than the dead, it would still doubtless please many who enjoy the haunted house genre as it was a little quirky, even intriguing at times, with a good narration.

[Lady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Should Seem Too Good To Be True...

•••NOT for the homophobic, transphobic, closedminded, or faint of heart!•••



This (sadly) seems to be a stand alone novel. I wish there were more!



Number Six Minstrel Run should seem too good to be true... Especially for the price it sold to them at. Mia has misgivings about the place, but since she does not always feel dread, she is willing to try and give the place a real chance. It is worth it for the commute alone! Finding out that she IS psychic by finding the ghost of a small girl makes her determined to fight for the young ghost. Who is the sinister presence? Could they be one and the same? Can they get rid of one without harming the other? Adam is in parapsychology heaven until he realizes his wife may be in real danger. Can they solve all the riddles of Number Six without getting hurt? Or will they be forced to flee this haunted house like so many others?


This is a ghost story unlike any other that I have read. It sucks you in and makes you want more even though it comes to a satisfying conclusion. I am always eager to read anything written by this talented author.


***This book is suitable for mature young adult through adult readers who enjoy unconventional ghost stories filled with humor and plenty of suspense while still being super chilling :)

[Deedra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audible:This was a good ghost/haunted house story.It could have been better.I found the story fragmented in parts,dull and then over exuberant in parts. Who is haunting the house?Well,lets see ,who died there?It was a chaotic book.To me narration by Julia Collura was not quite right.Willa was breathy and weird sounding.The vicar was way too screechy.Some was ok.She had a lot to work with. A bit more editing and a calmer narration would do justice to this book. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.' 

[Ashley Hedden · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Spirits of Six Minstrel Run was a good read by Matthew S. Cox. Mia Gardner has a horrid commute and the move to small town Spring Falls, New York fixes that. But their new house has persistent rumors of being haunted. Her husband hopes that it will propel his parapsychology hobby into a new career.Quickly upon arrival there are unexplained events that there may be some truth to the rumors. I enjoyed reading this book and can’t wait to read more by the author.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

The start of the book got me hooked. I dropped my other book to read this one after reading about how scary this book was a FB group post. The middle lagged and seemed to draw on. I kept think the book was going to go another way. "OK, it'll get scary after this chapter" was a thought that went through my head often until the end. Looking back the ending was predictable throughout the book.

[Cary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh sweet Jesus why oh why are Matthew's book so awesomely great!!! This is the perfect haunted house novel which I read deep into the night and, of course, didn't let me sleep, lol. I am really afraid of kid's ghosts... Read this one you will love the scare and the unexpected twist!!

[Conny · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me it was way to long. The begining was good, but the further it went on the more pages I skipped, to much, to boring. Maybe I'll read it again another time.

[Jeanine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.

[Tresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love paranormal stories and this one is AMAZING!!! I love this author and I COULD NOT put this book down, let me tell you!!! Just an epic story that you must read! Love Mia and Adam!

[Taylor (Books&Beanies) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adam and Mia got an amazing deal on this house on Minstrel Run that’s been empty for a while. Other people that have lived there haven’t stayed very long. The house is haunted which piques Adam’s interest in the paranormal and makes Mia start to believe what Adam has always told her: she is a psychic. One of the ghosts living in the house is a seven-year-old girl who is looking for a maternal figure. The ghost seeks those affections in Mia, who out of all of the past owners, can actually see her. Is this a good idea? You’ll have to read it to find out.

As far as page-turners go, the author hit the mark with this one. What I got from this book is definitely not what I was thinking when I agreed to review it.

This book probably has the craziest plot twist I have ever read. No joke, when I was reading it my eyes got so wide, like no way this is about to happen. But it did, and let me tell you, it’s really weird. I can honestly say that I had no idea it was coming though, so kudos to the author.

I would recommend this book to fans of supernatural thrillers and scary ghost stories. I received this book for free as part of the blog tour.