What do you think?
Rate this book
House on Cold Hill #2
The Secret of Cold Hill
The Secret of Cold Hill by Peter James is the spine-chilling follow-up to The House on Cold Hill . Now a smash-hit stage play. Cold Hill House has been demolished to make way for a new housing estate. Luxury-living at its best with high specification gadgets all thrown in – part-exchange available for the right buyers. The first two families move in, and as soon as they do, the unearthly residents of Cold Hill begin to make themselves known. Nobody who moves into Cold Hill reaches their fortieth birthday, and the old couple that have just arrived . . . let’s just say their days are numbered.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published October 3, 2019
422 people are currently reading
1480 people want to read
About the author
Peter James
245 books3,667 followersPeter James is a global bestselling author, best known for writing crime and thriller novels, and the creator of the much-loved Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. With a total of 21 Sunday Times No. 1s under his belt, he has achieved global book sales of over 23 million copies to date and has been translated into 38 languages.
Synonymous with plot-twisting page-turners, Peter has garnered an army of loyal fans throughout his storytelling career – which also included stints writing for TV and producing films. He has won over 40 awards for his work, including the WHSmith Best Crime Author of All Time Award, Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger and a BAFTA nomination for The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons for which he was an Executive Producer. Many of Peter’s novels have been adapted for film, TV and stage.
Synonymous with plot-twisting page-turners, Peter has garnered an army of loyal fans throughout his storytelling career – which also included stints writing for TV and producing films. He has won over 40 awards for his work, including the WHSmith Best Crime Author of All Time Award, Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger and a BAFTA nomination for The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons for which he was an Executive Producer. Many of Peter’s novels have been adapted for film, TV and stage.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 480 reviews
November 3, 2019
The Secret of Cold Hill by Peter James is simply a ghost story and who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned ghost story and what better setting than the English countryside. Emily and Jason Danes have decided to buy a house in the country and the one they fall in love with is a new build on an estate previously occupied by an old mansion. When they move in, they realize that there are few other residents with the exception of the eccentric older couple across the way: Maurice and Claudette Penze-Weedell. Before long, the young couple begin to notice that all is not well in the new home. Sounds are heard and sightings begin to appear in the homes of the Danes and the Penze-Weedell. You will have to read this book to learn more. Close the curtains and turn up all the lights: you are in for quite a story. Thank you to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
October 3, 2019
3-4 stars
The central characters in this story are artist Jason Danes and his chef wife Emily and Claudette and Maurice Penze-Weedell. The Danes are very likeable and very much in love. The Penze-Weedell’s are totally ghastly and almost like caricatures. Claudette is a snob but thinks Prosecco is better than champagne (so definitely NOT!!!) and Maurice is given to trite and hackneyed expressions. He is more likeable than her as he tries to keep her happy with never ending spending at the garden centre. I did like the mild and gentle humour that Peter James uses to poke a bit of fun at these two for example, with their rather tacky ornaments and over the top Christmas decorations. I suspect he enjoyed creating those characters!
Both couples have moved in to the new and ongoing development on the site of an older house at Cold Hill near Lewes in Sussex when a number of spooky events happen to both couples. The Danes try to convince themselves that it’s their over active imagination or the stress of moving into their new house but things get weirder and weirder and take a very unsettling turn. At times it gets a bit repetitive as Jason turns over the events in his mind trying to make some sense of them and I found myself loosing a bit of focus from time to time. It’s the explanation of the events towards the end that nearly pushes this book to 4 stars as it was very good and a bit of a surprise. I like the ending and it left me with a wry smile at the estate agents comment to potential new buyers on the estate.
This is the second of the Cold Hill series. I haven’t read the first one but found it didn’t matter in the slightest. Overall, this is a fun, quick read. I wouldn’t describe it as creepy more ghostly with a sequence of strange and unsettling events. This could be something to read on Halloween or around Christmas as that is the time frame.
The central characters in this story are artist Jason Danes and his chef wife Emily and Claudette and Maurice Penze-Weedell. The Danes are very likeable and very much in love. The Penze-Weedell’s are totally ghastly and almost like caricatures. Claudette is a snob but thinks Prosecco is better than champagne (so definitely NOT!!!) and Maurice is given to trite and hackneyed expressions. He is more likeable than her as he tries to keep her happy with never ending spending at the garden centre. I did like the mild and gentle humour that Peter James uses to poke a bit of fun at these two for example, with their rather tacky ornaments and over the top Christmas decorations. I suspect he enjoyed creating those characters!
Both couples have moved in to the new and ongoing development on the site of an older house at Cold Hill near Lewes in Sussex when a number of spooky events happen to both couples. The Danes try to convince themselves that it’s their over active imagination or the stress of moving into their new house but things get weirder and weirder and take a very unsettling turn. At times it gets a bit repetitive as Jason turns over the events in his mind trying to make some sense of them and I found myself loosing a bit of focus from time to time. It’s the explanation of the events towards the end that nearly pushes this book to 4 stars as it was very good and a bit of a surprise. I like the ending and it left me with a wry smile at the estate agents comment to potential new buyers on the estate.
This is the second of the Cold Hill series. I haven’t read the first one but found it didn’t matter in the slightest. Overall, this is a fun, quick read. I wouldn’t describe it as creepy more ghostly with a sequence of strange and unsettling events. This could be something to read on Halloween or around Christmas as that is the time frame.
October 6, 2019
Having really enjoyed The House on Cold Hill and the subsequent stage adaptation, I was delighted to learn that a sequel was planned.
Even though this can be enjoyed as a standalone novel, readers might find spoilers for the first book during this spooky tale.
A new development project has sprung up on the location of Cold Hill House, with the new properties being built artist Jason and wife Emily along with elderly Maurice and Claudette becomes the estates first two residents.
But strange unexplained occurrences start to arise and the two couples feel that they’re not the only occupiers in the street.
This was a really fun addictive read that is synonymous with James books, the really short chapters helps make this a page turner.
Whilst this was a perfect October read the bulk of the story was set in December, it’s also a perfect ghost story for Christmas!
Even though this can be enjoyed as a standalone novel, readers might find spoilers for the first book during this spooky tale.
A new development project has sprung up on the location of Cold Hill House, with the new properties being built artist Jason and wife Emily along with elderly Maurice and Claudette becomes the estates first two residents.
But strange unexplained occurrences start to arise and the two couples feel that they’re not the only occupiers in the street.
This was a really fun addictive read that is synonymous with James books, the really short chapters helps make this a page turner.
Whilst this was a perfect October read the bulk of the story was set in December, it’s also a perfect ghost story for Christmas!
December 18, 2019
I have been a big fan of Peter James especially his standalone novels, in particular his paranormal stories. The previous book was an easy 5 stars, and made it into my top books of the year. However this one was a bit too much of the same story retold. different characters, but the same basic plot, which was obvious from the start. Sorry but I have had to drop my original 4 stars to 3 as it was too much of the same for me.
October 6, 2019
I am a big fan of Peter James novels and especially enjoy the Roy Grace series but he does write exceptionally good ghost stories.
By my own admission I am not a prolific reader of this genre and feel far more at home with the psychological thriller but such is Peter James writing that I always entertained by his novels.
This is the 2nd book in the 'House on Cold Hill' series but can easily be read as a standalone but I would definitely recommend reading the other book as well.
Cold Hill House was replaced by a new modern development housing but the haunting memories of the house remain. The site is still under construction but one by one the new families are arriving to move into their dream houses. The first two families arrive but are very different, Maurice and Claudette Penze-Weedell have picked this home for their retirement while the much younger couple Jason and Emily Danes are looking for the house they can fulfil their dreams in.
Things start smoothly but both couples sense a feeling of others in their new homes. This only gets worse when one of the locals points out that nobody has ever survived beyond forty in Cold Hill House and no one has ever truly left.
This is a great read with strong characters and an addictive story. There are even touches of humour within the haunting chills.
I would like to thank both Net Galley and Macmillan for supplying me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
By my own admission I am not a prolific reader of this genre and feel far more at home with the psychological thriller but such is Peter James writing that I always entertained by his novels.
This is the 2nd book in the 'House on Cold Hill' series but can easily be read as a standalone but I would definitely recommend reading the other book as well.
Cold Hill House was replaced by a new modern development housing but the haunting memories of the house remain. The site is still under construction but one by one the new families are arriving to move into their dream houses. The first two families arrive but are very different, Maurice and Claudette Penze-Weedell have picked this home for their retirement while the much younger couple Jason and Emily Danes are looking for the house they can fulfil their dreams in.
Things start smoothly but both couples sense a feeling of others in their new homes. This only gets worse when one of the locals points out that nobody has ever survived beyond forty in Cold Hill House and no one has ever truly left.
This is a great read with strong characters and an addictive story. There are even touches of humour within the haunting chills.
I would like to thank both Net Galley and Macmillan for supplying me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
November 11, 2019
5 star read for me overall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ thoroughly enjoyed this and thought it was just as good as the first book! 😊 creepy and atmospheric, a classic ghost story with a modern twist! Highly recommended especially for those who loved The House on Cold Hill (although not if you are about to move into a new house in the middle of nowhere!). Will definitely be reading more of Peter James’ supernatural novels in the future!
November 8, 2019
For a relatively short novel at times it felt as though it would never end. The first half (to two-thirds) I found to contain solid gothic elements of a traditional ghost story. The Danes are likeable and I wanted them to be able to settle into their new home (minus the eerie elements). Their neighbours, Mr & Mrs P-W, provide satirical comic relief.
However, having figured out the twist, a little over half way, I felt it just went on and on (and on) from there. It felt as though the author had a checklist of all ‘ghost related’ elements one needs to include in one novel and was adding each one methodically.
I hadn’t read the first instalment but it did not seem to make a difference, as it worked as a stand-alone novel. Unfortunately, I don’t think I am intrigued enough to read the next one.
However, having figured out the twist, a little over half way, I felt it just went on and on (and on) from there. It felt as though the author had a checklist of all ‘ghost related’ elements one needs to include in one novel and was adding each one methodically.
I hadn’t read the first instalment but it did not seem to make a difference, as it worked as a stand-alone novel. Unfortunately, I don’t think I am intrigued enough to read the next one.
February 22, 2022
I felt this was a re-hash of The House on Cold Hill, and the ‘secrets’ the title promised never eventuated. I enjoyed the slow build where the characters tried to rationalise the haunting, but there was nothing new in this sequel that wasn’t in the original.
October 15, 2022
I liked the first book just a bit more and I believe it was because I knew what was going to happen in this one after that one ended. I was still anxious for the adventure and hoped to learn the "whys" and "hows" that the spirit was there to start with and what it wanted. That was not really ever addressed in the first book. You don't have to read the first book to enjoy this one, but it will give you some helpful background information to some of the events mentioned here. Jason and Emily Danes and Maurice and Claudette Penze-Weedell, are polar opposites to each other. Jason is an up-and-coming artist, and his wife, Emily, is a chef, They wanted a bigger house with a large kitchen and a studio for Jason. These two characters were intelligent and thought about things and the possible reasons they came up with for the events that occurred were plausible and well thought out. The Penze-Weedells were simply awful. The wife, Claudette spent all her time comparing her house and everything in it to the Danes while constantly complaining that their house just didn't "live up to" the other and wondering why they didn't get something bigger and more expensive. The fact that her husband, Maurice, had lost his job a few months earlier and money was tight, but he wanted her to have the house seemed never to cross her mind. Maurice was 100% more likeable, but I hated that he so often gave in to his wife's poor behavior. I think Peter James must have had a good time creating these characters. Both couples have moved into their individual houses that had been built on the site of the old house, (from the first book), known for its paranormal activity as well as its continuous string of bad luck for those that lived there. The author made Jason a blabbermouth and he gave away a lot that the author should have left for the reader to discover and work out. I still don't know exactly what the spirit wanted or why it was there to begin with. I think it was just angry about a lot of things and being dead was probably at the top of it's list. The chapters are short, and the events move quickly, the story has a good creep factor, and everything ties together in the end. I guess the spirit must by now have the house to herself.
March 5, 2020
Creepy. Better than the first one.
October 28, 2019
*https://mrsbbookreviews.wordpress.com
‘You cannot bury evil’ states the spine tingling front cover tagline of bestselling British author Peter James’ brand new novel, The Secret of Cold Hill. Following on from his 2015 release, The House on Cold Hill, which was recently made into a theatre production, the second book in the Cold Hill series is creepy, intense, unpredictable and consuming.
Cold Hill House perished in a raging fire many years ago. Since this tragedy, a new development has popped up to replace the old site. Top of the range luxurious homes have been erected on this historic site, saying goodbye to the old and introducing new technology friendly houses. When The Secret of Cold Hill opens, an artist and his wife are one of the first residents to move into this revered estate. The couple are very excited to have a new place to call home. They are joined by another couple, Maurice and Claudette. These retirees are determined to make their Cold Hill Park home a relaxing abode to live out their twilight years. However, it doesn’t take long before they realise that their dream home has become a place of nightmares. When things go bump in the night, strange apparitions materialise, and a tragic history continues to haunt this locale, they get much more than bargained for. This lucrative piece of real estate soon becomes an inescapable horror story.
Initially, I didn’t cotton on to the fact that The Secret of Cold Hill is the sequel and follow on novel to The House on Cold Hill, which Peter James penned back in 2015. Despite the fact that I had no prior experience with the first book, I found The Secret of Cold Hill very easy to read. I didn’t feel like I was missing anything, but I am going to make a big effort to source The House on Cold Hill. I am also intrigued by the theatre production of this book too!
From page one Peter James is able to plunge the reader deep into his spooky scene. There is a strong sense of foreboding surrounding this novel from the onset. We know that something sinister is at work very early on in the piece. I was never scared and my hair didn’t stand on end, but I was filled with an utter sense of dread, as well as speculation. James performs extremely well in this aspect of the novel. James successfully builds a strong sense of puzzlement, bewilderment and he sets the stakes to a high bar. This was amplified further by the fact that the location base for this book is set in familiar grounds for me. I used to reside in the same area as Cold Hill and there is even a reference to my old school, which had me smiling in recognition!
The characters that populate The Secret of Cold Hill are compelling. Readers will most probably find the lead couple, Jason and Emily, very agreeable and relatable. I genuinely wanted this couple to conquer the feat of Cold Hill Park! On the other hand, I had plenty of contempt for the other couple of the tale, the Penze-Weedell’s. However, I think we have all had cringe worthy neighbours in our lives at some point in time that we wish to avoid at all costs! James utilises a good dose of humour to this couple, which offsets the darkness of this spine tingling tale.
Classic haunted house characteristics appear during the course of the novel, from ghostly apparitions that disappear as soon as they appear, to sudden temperature drops, stomping feet, cursed voices and unexplained potent aromas add to the issues faced by the new residents of Cold Hill Park. I appreciated the insertion of newspaper reports and even gravestone inscriptions included within the narrative. These extra flourishes add further conjecture to the unfolding tale.
The Secret of Cold Hill is now the third book I have read recently that fuses old world gothic history with the contemporary. There is also a strong slant towards technology in this book, as the houses populated by the families of this novel all contain highly modernised home systems that are automated and work on voice recognition. Of course we know that technology is not immune to malfunctions, which occurs in The Secret of Cold Hill, but we do question if something more malevolent is at work.
There is a strong strand of unpredictability that follows The Secret of Cold Hill from the start. The short and highly engrossing chapters are populated by events that follow a tight time frame. The novel opens on 20th October and then wraps up on the 27th December. There is an additional closing chapter based in April 2020, which served to answer a few questions I had about the book, but it also posed a few more! I do hope Peter James is able to extend upon these questions in a possible future issue, or issues of this engrossing series.
*Please note that a free copy of this book was provided to me for review purposes through Beauty & Lace and Pan Macmillan. To read the original review on the Beauty & Lace website please visit here:
http://bookgirl.beautyandlace.net/boo...
‘You cannot bury evil’ states the spine tingling front cover tagline of bestselling British author Peter James’ brand new novel, The Secret of Cold Hill. Following on from his 2015 release, The House on Cold Hill, which was recently made into a theatre production, the second book in the Cold Hill series is creepy, intense, unpredictable and consuming.
Cold Hill House perished in a raging fire many years ago. Since this tragedy, a new development has popped up to replace the old site. Top of the range luxurious homes have been erected on this historic site, saying goodbye to the old and introducing new technology friendly houses. When The Secret of Cold Hill opens, an artist and his wife are one of the first residents to move into this revered estate. The couple are very excited to have a new place to call home. They are joined by another couple, Maurice and Claudette. These retirees are determined to make their Cold Hill Park home a relaxing abode to live out their twilight years. However, it doesn’t take long before they realise that their dream home has become a place of nightmares. When things go bump in the night, strange apparitions materialise, and a tragic history continues to haunt this locale, they get much more than bargained for. This lucrative piece of real estate soon becomes an inescapable horror story.
Initially, I didn’t cotton on to the fact that The Secret of Cold Hill is the sequel and follow on novel to The House on Cold Hill, which Peter James penned back in 2015. Despite the fact that I had no prior experience with the first book, I found The Secret of Cold Hill very easy to read. I didn’t feel like I was missing anything, but I am going to make a big effort to source The House on Cold Hill. I am also intrigued by the theatre production of this book too!
From page one Peter James is able to plunge the reader deep into his spooky scene. There is a strong sense of foreboding surrounding this novel from the onset. We know that something sinister is at work very early on in the piece. I was never scared and my hair didn’t stand on end, but I was filled with an utter sense of dread, as well as speculation. James performs extremely well in this aspect of the novel. James successfully builds a strong sense of puzzlement, bewilderment and he sets the stakes to a high bar. This was amplified further by the fact that the location base for this book is set in familiar grounds for me. I used to reside in the same area as Cold Hill and there is even a reference to my old school, which had me smiling in recognition!
The characters that populate The Secret of Cold Hill are compelling. Readers will most probably find the lead couple, Jason and Emily, very agreeable and relatable. I genuinely wanted this couple to conquer the feat of Cold Hill Park! On the other hand, I had plenty of contempt for the other couple of the tale, the Penze-Weedell’s. However, I think we have all had cringe worthy neighbours in our lives at some point in time that we wish to avoid at all costs! James utilises a good dose of humour to this couple, which offsets the darkness of this spine tingling tale.
Classic haunted house characteristics appear during the course of the novel, from ghostly apparitions that disappear as soon as they appear, to sudden temperature drops, stomping feet, cursed voices and unexplained potent aromas add to the issues faced by the new residents of Cold Hill Park. I appreciated the insertion of newspaper reports and even gravestone inscriptions included within the narrative. These extra flourishes add further conjecture to the unfolding tale.
The Secret of Cold Hill is now the third book I have read recently that fuses old world gothic history with the contemporary. There is also a strong slant towards technology in this book, as the houses populated by the families of this novel all contain highly modernised home systems that are automated and work on voice recognition. Of course we know that technology is not immune to malfunctions, which occurs in The Secret of Cold Hill, but we do question if something more malevolent is at work.
There is a strong strand of unpredictability that follows The Secret of Cold Hill from the start. The short and highly engrossing chapters are populated by events that follow a tight time frame. The novel opens on 20th October and then wraps up on the 27th December. There is an additional closing chapter based in April 2020, which served to answer a few questions I had about the book, but it also posed a few more! I do hope Peter James is able to extend upon these questions in a possible future issue, or issues of this engrossing series.
*Please note that a free copy of this book was provided to me for review purposes through Beauty & Lace and Pan Macmillan. To read the original review on the Beauty & Lace website please visit here:
http://bookgirl.beautyandlace.net/boo...
July 2, 2020
This is a very average ghost story but has the same quick read enjoyment of flicking through a magazine. It won’t blow your socks off and there is definitely better ‘haunted house’ books out there, but like reality tv sometimes trashy is good. I’m a big fan of Peter James usually. I love his easy flow and short chapters. It just makes picking it up and putting it back down so simple. 3 stars from me. ✨
October 4, 2019
I really enjoyed House on Cold Hill and this is a great follow on book.
A new housing estate has been built where the old house was originally, but all the locals keep well away as they know the story of the house.
Emily and Jason fall in love with their new house and move in just before Christmas.
There’s only one other house that’s occupied near them, and they meet each other soon after moving in.
Emily and Jason go to the local pub but are met with a frosty reception due to not being born and bred in the village.
They start to hear voices at home and then both see a woman who makes them feel really uncomfortable.
More and more strange things start to happen and Jason starts to believe that he won’t see his fortieth Birthday, as per the story about the house.
This is a chilling read that gave me the creeps as I couldn’t imagine living in a house like this one.
A great ghost story - thanks to Pan MacMillan and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
A new housing estate has been built where the old house was originally, but all the locals keep well away as they know the story of the house.
Emily and Jason fall in love with their new house and move in just before Christmas.
There’s only one other house that’s occupied near them, and they meet each other soon after moving in.
Emily and Jason go to the local pub but are met with a frosty reception due to not being born and bred in the village.
They start to hear voices at home and then both see a woman who makes them feel really uncomfortable.
More and more strange things start to happen and Jason starts to believe that he won’t see his fortieth Birthday, as per the story about the house.
This is a chilling read that gave me the creeps as I couldn’t imagine living in a house like this one.
A great ghost story - thanks to Pan MacMillan and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
November 10, 2019
As The Secret of Cold Hill begins, Jason and Emily Danes move into a newly built, grand home, part of a large development on the lands of an old estate which was the subject of James’ earlier book, The House on Cold Hill. It is not necessary to have read the first book to enjoy this one as enough information is given through conversation, etc to provide backstory.
Jason is an up and coming artist looking forward to the studio and quiet surroundings of the new home. Emily, with her friend Louise, is a caterer, and will manage the business out of the adapted garage. Everything looks wonderful as they work at settling in shortly before Christmas. They meet their across-the-street neighbors, Maurice and Claudette Penze-Weedell soon and learn they have little in common. The Penze-Weedells, especially Claudette, do seem close to caricature.
Now to the story. Slowly odd things begin to happen. Footsteps heard where no one should be walking. Voices talking out of empty space. Disturbing. But not yet scary. Then there are shadows. What is in this house? Jason and Emily learn a little about the area from locals, enough to increase their curiosity. Meanwhile he is working on important art work due before Christmas.
As the novel progresses, many things begin to become confusing. We see events through Jason’s perspective throughout and when he or Emily is confused or disagree, what are we to think? Does it matter? At one point late in the book, Jason thinks to himself How much, since they had moved here, was real? I think this is an important question as the confusion of the last third of the book actually decreased my feelings of dread. I had been feeling a build up but then I lost where the plot was going along with Jason. But I did enjoy the setting, the varied characters (except Claudette), and the build up .
In fact, as I sit here writing this, I am now positing another possible explanation for some of the confusion. Hmmm...well I’m not going to share it with anyone; they might think I’m a bit crazy to even come up with the idea.
3.5
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Jason is an up and coming artist looking forward to the studio and quiet surroundings of the new home. Emily, with her friend Louise, is a caterer, and will manage the business out of the adapted garage. Everything looks wonderful as they work at settling in shortly before Christmas. They meet their across-the-street neighbors, Maurice and Claudette Penze-Weedell soon and learn they have little in common. The Penze-Weedells, especially Claudette, do seem close to caricature.
Now to the story. Slowly odd things begin to happen. Footsteps heard where no one should be walking. Voices talking out of empty space. Disturbing. But not yet scary. Then there are shadows. What is in this house? Jason and Emily learn a little about the area from locals, enough to increase their curiosity. Meanwhile he is working on important art work due before Christmas.
As the novel progresses, many things begin to become confusing. We see events through Jason’s perspective throughout and when he or Emily is confused or disagree, what are we to think? Does it matter? At one point late in the book, Jason thinks to himself How much, since they had moved here, was real? I think this is an important question as the confusion of the last third of the book actually decreased my feelings of dread. I had been feeling a build up but then I lost where the plot was going along with Jason. But I did enjoy the setting, the varied characters (except Claudette), and the build up .
In fact, as I sit here writing this, I am now positing another possible explanation for some of the confusion. Hmmm...well I’m not going to share it with anyone; they might think I’m a bit crazy to even come up with the idea.
3.5
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
January 31, 2020
I got this as one of a pair for Christmas with The House on Cold Hill. I thought that was pretty dreadful, but I thought I'd give this one a go to see if it improved.
It didn't.
Peter James may be a great crime writer, but he is hopeless at horror. It's 300 pages of the main character having conversations and meetings with people who - surprise surprise - turn out to be people who died a few years earlier, interspersed with people who he knows to be ghosts turning up for a few seconds and making "spooky" things happen for no apparent reason.
It's not scary in the slightest. It's about as terrifying as Thomas the Tank Engine, and to be frank, he creates main protagonists so appallingly middle-class that you sort of wish the ghosts would hurry up and kill them.
I give it two stars out of generosity as you can tell Peter James is very capable of writing good books. He just isn't capable of writing horror in the slightest.
Perhaps the worst thing is that the whole plot just seemed to be lifted from The House on Cold Hill, with exactly the same sort of thing happening throughout, right down to the plot "twists".
Really, if you want British horror, you might as well dig out James Herbert novels, and don't waste your money and time on this.
It didn't.
Peter James may be a great crime writer, but he is hopeless at horror. It's 300 pages of the main character having conversations and meetings with people who - surprise surprise - turn out to be people who died a few years earlier, interspersed with people who he knows to be ghosts turning up for a few seconds and making "spooky" things happen for no apparent reason.
It's not scary in the slightest. It's about as terrifying as Thomas the Tank Engine, and to be frank, he creates main protagonists so appallingly middle-class that you sort of wish the ghosts would hurry up and kill them.
I give it two stars out of generosity as you can tell Peter James is very capable of writing good books. He just isn't capable of writing horror in the slightest.
Perhaps the worst thing is that the whole plot just seemed to be lifted from The House on Cold Hill, with exactly the same sort of thing happening throughout, right down to the plot "twists".
Really, if you want British horror, you might as well dig out James Herbert novels, and don't waste your money and time on this.
September 27, 2019
I love haunted house stories and one of my favourites of recent years is The House on Cold Hill by Peter James, published in 2015. I was thrilled to discover a sequel was on the way and I read The Secret of Cold Hill as soon as I could. I stayed up late into the night, reading it in two glorious sittings. This is, pure and simple, a ghost story and these are not ghosts who like to hang back in their haunting. If you've read the first novel then you'll have some idea of what to expect and I'm delighted that this second book is every bit as good as the first. It's frightening but there's also a real sense of dread overhanging events. On a lighter note, it also features some neighbours from hell who did make me chuckle. I really, really hope that there will be more ghost stories from Peter James. Review to follow shortly on For Winter Nights.
November 3, 2023
SpookTober read #15
A very good ghost story for those cold, wintry days and HALLOWEEEEN.
It will spook your socks off 😱 Ok, it’s not altogether terrifying but the hairy scary bits and the ghostly activity may have you hiding under your bed but above all else it is a fabulously fun read.
Anyone considering buying an old house or a new house where once an old house sat read this book first, it may change your mind. Lol
👻👻👻
Listened to the audiobook on BorrowBox
Published by Macmillan
Narrated by Jack Hawkins
Duration: 9hrs, 27 min. 1.50x Speed
A very good ghost story for those cold, wintry days and HALLOWEEEEN.
It will spook your socks off 😱 Ok, it’s not altogether terrifying but the hairy scary bits and the ghostly activity may have you hiding under your bed but above all else it is a fabulously fun read.
Anyone considering buying an old house or a new house where once an old house sat read this book first, it may change your mind. Lol
👻👻👻
Listened to the audiobook on BorrowBox
Published by Macmillan
Narrated by Jack Hawkins
Duration: 9hrs, 27 min. 1.50x Speed
April 27, 2023
I decided to try the audiobook version of this after gleefully discovering I can access thousands of great audiobooks and ebooks for free through my online area library service linked to a great app called BorrowBox.
This was a woeful struggle to get through. It wasn’t the level I’d expect from Peter James.
Being new to audiobooks I’ve realised it’s not only the story, the characters and pace that matters as it does reading a book but also whomever reads the book can make or break it. In this case it didn’t hit the spot on many levels.
It’s an extremely slow start with droplets of anything “ghostly” happening. It was really hard to stay interested. Annoying characters that bordered on the ridiculous didn’t help. The specific tones, accents and reading style created a lot of eye-rolling.
There is long-winded focus on things like which flavour chocolate choices are being consumed from a tin or a coffee machine. So much inserted boring and irrelevant detail.
All up this really didn’t do anything for me and could see so many ways a lot could have been in the book to really lift it. Would I have enjoyed it more if I’d read the book? I pondered this but realised the pace and plot would not of held me tight anyway.
This isn’t scary or chilling and the whole ghost element is pretty far-fetched. I’ve noticed a lot of other one star reviews on Amazon with similar sentiments. This was boring, at times unbelievable and padded out with mundane paragraphs making you want to fast forward.
This was a woeful struggle to get through. It wasn’t the level I’d expect from Peter James.
Being new to audiobooks I’ve realised it’s not only the story, the characters and pace that matters as it does reading a book but also whomever reads the book can make or break it. In this case it didn’t hit the spot on many levels.
It’s an extremely slow start with droplets of anything “ghostly” happening. It was really hard to stay interested. Annoying characters that bordered on the ridiculous didn’t help. The specific tones, accents and reading style created a lot of eye-rolling.
There is long-winded focus on things like which flavour chocolate choices are being consumed from a tin or a coffee machine. So much inserted boring and irrelevant detail.
All up this really didn’t do anything for me and could see so many ways a lot could have been in the book to really lift it. Would I have enjoyed it more if I’d read the book? I pondered this but realised the pace and plot would not of held me tight anyway.
This isn’t scary or chilling and the whole ghost element is pretty far-fetched. I’ve noticed a lot of other one star reviews on Amazon with similar sentiments. This was boring, at times unbelievable and padded out with mundane paragraphs making you want to fast forward.
November 1, 2019
Overall, this was a great read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
It was very cliche, and in many ways was repetitive of the first instalment, but I just wanted a classic "haunted house" book for the lead up to Halloween, and this fit the bill. It did what I wanted it to do; it entertained me.
I think it also made me reconsider my rating of the first book, and makes me want to put that down from a 5* to a 3.5*. This book was far stronger. The characters were much better (the snobby, horrible neighbours were awful people but so funny, I kind of warmed to them!) and in terms of the haunting, it was less of a movie-cliche, and far more realistic of true hauntings.
It did get a bit repetitive in that "everyone is dead" however we know that "no one leaves Cold Hill" and so I suppose this was expected. I had however hoped that for once, someone would survive it. This was my only nitpick at the plot, which I thought was otherwise quite strong.
On the whole, this was a great book, and I thought the continuity from book one to book two was excellent.
It was very cliche, and in many ways was repetitive of the first instalment, but I just wanted a classic "haunted house" book for the lead up to Halloween, and this fit the bill. It did what I wanted it to do; it entertained me.
I think it also made me reconsider my rating of the first book, and makes me want to put that down from a 5* to a 3.5*. This book was far stronger. The characters were much better (the snobby, horrible neighbours were awful people but so funny, I kind of warmed to them!) and in terms of the haunting, it was less of a movie-cliche, and far more realistic of true hauntings.
It did get a bit repetitive in that "everyone is dead" however we know that "no one leaves Cold Hill" and so I suppose this was expected. I had however hoped that for once, someone would survive it. This was my only nitpick at the plot, which I thought was otherwise quite strong.
On the whole, this was a great book, and I thought the continuity from book one to book two was excellent.
October 29, 2019
While I enjoyed the first book as light and quick to read ghost story this one was too much of a retread of the first. The author would perhaps have been better served by going into the far past of the house and perhaps throwing in some other supernatural element like a witch or something fresher.
October 10, 2020
I’ve been a fan of Peter James for years but it’s hard to believe that the Cold Hill books are written by the same author that brings us the excellent Roy Grace series. The plot itself - a boilerplate ghost story - is fine if you don’t think too hard, but the writing really grated with me and it took a while to figure out why: the dialogue is dreadful. Every spoken interaction sounds like it was written by a chatbot that has never heard an actual human conversation. Random slang in all the wrong places, stilted and repetitive phrasing, and sentence structures that I’ve never heard a real person use when speaking. It’s honestly the weirdest thing, especially when you compare it to James’s other books - and once you spot it, it becomes hugely irritating.
As do some of the characters, unfortunately. The neighbours are a ridiculously cliched caricature of a middle class elderly couple (despite being described as in their early 50s) and the main protagonists are frankly so unlikeable, I was secretly cheering for the ghosts to drop some masonry on their heads and have done with it.
Overall really disappointing, given how great the author’s other novels have been. I honestly found myself wondering if he actually wrote this!
As do some of the characters, unfortunately. The neighbours are a ridiculously cliched caricature of a middle class elderly couple (despite being described as in their early 50s) and the main protagonists are frankly so unlikeable, I was secretly cheering for the ghosts to drop some masonry on their heads and have done with it.
Overall really disappointing, given how great the author’s other novels have been. I honestly found myself wondering if he actually wrote this!
October 7, 2019
exactly the same as the previous book.
March 3, 2020
This was another absolute corker of a read from Peter James! The whole 'haunted house' trope is one of my favourites, even if they do really creep me out the most once I turn the lights off at night. The Secret of Cold Hill was jam-packed with all manner of heavy twists, turns + gut punches. My mind was in overdrive the entire time, trying to suss out what exactly was going on, where the story was heading, how it would all transpire in the end. And, as it turns out, I didn't get a single thing correct in my guessing, which means I'm now one mildly SHOOK + extremely happy reader
June 23, 2024
This was the sequel to Cold Hill House and though I enjoyed it this wasn't quite as impactful as its predecessor. It was still a good read and was again well written and I would recommend reading but the first book is better. After the previous events time in Cold Hill has elapsed and the old Georgian mansion after a fire has been razed to the ground, in its place is Cold Hill Development, new build, state-of-the-art homes and up and up-and-coming artist Jason Danes and his wife Emily a Caterer are now the proud owners of 36 Lakeview Drive.
Across the street, at number 47 we also have Maurice and Claudette Penze-Weedell. These two couples for the moment are the only residents of phase 1 of the new development. This alternates between the two families but for the most part, this concentrates on Jason and Emily and the Paenze-Weedell's are more secondary characters. They are also not a very likeable pair at least Claudette isn't, her Husband Maurice is more henpecked. Jason and Emily who I'd say are the focus here were fortunately much more likable.
Like the first book almost instantly strange things occur, they did seem slightly more confusing this time around though, but the flow this takes is fairly similar, with time slips, ghosts and what-nots. This was an easy enough read and was very digestible. If you've read the first book, which I'd suggest, as in my opinion, this doesn't work as a standalone, then you can guess how this all resolves. I found this entertaining and finished it fast.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
www.beckiebookworm.com
January 1, 2020
I loved this and read it in two days. Probably more because I love Peter James' story telling than it being a unique story...because it isn't!
There is nothing new here in terms of ghost stories but I really enjoyed it and devoured it.
I love Peter James.
Note : this is set in a part of England I know really well which also added to my enjoyment!
There is nothing new here in terms of ghost stories but I really enjoyed it and devoured it.
I love Peter James.
Note : this is set in a part of England I know really well which also added to my enjoyment!
November 9, 2019
A good old horror from Peter James, very much like the first Cold Hill book, with a predictable ending, but I enjoyed it anyway.
July 12, 2020
I really enjoyed this. I didn't realise it was the second in the series. That doesn't matter as it works well as a stand alone but reading the blurb for book 1 some of the characters overlap and it will be interesting to go back and see how everything started.
Cold Hill House replaces an original house that had previously burnt down. Rumours are that no male that lives there survives to his 40th birthday. Jason (and wife Emily) Danes move in and soon learn this. Lots of strange ghostly happenings occur, quite a few that only Jason can see or even remember the next day.
There are some really interesting characters. It's creepy but I wasn't overly scared however it did keep me hooked to the end as you work out what the story is building up to. Overall a good read and I will go back and see how the series started.
Cold Hill House replaces an original house that had previously burnt down. Rumours are that no male that lives there survives to his 40th birthday. Jason (and wife Emily) Danes move in and soon learn this. Lots of strange ghostly happenings occur, quite a few that only Jason can see or even remember the next day.
There are some really interesting characters. It's creepy but I wasn't overly scared however it did keep me hooked to the end as you work out what the story is building up to. Overall a good read and I will go back and see how the series started.
April 1, 2021
Great story. Fast paced. Loved it.
January 28, 2024
Wow a lot better than the first book I think! Really tense
October 4, 2019
When I read THE HOUSE ON COLD HILL by Peter James in August, I was absolutely ravenous for the Cold Hill story to continue. I could not get enough of the completely implacable and inescapable horrors of this very special, nominally quiet, corner of East Sussex, England. Fortunately THE SECRET OF COLD HILL (HOUSE ON COLD HILL BOOK 2) released yesterday (October 3), so I devoured more delicious terror, more food for nightmares and "What if" ponderings, more internal shouts of "Don't buy that house!" and more "Oh those poor tragic characters!!" How scrumptious! If I am ever stranded in a snowstorm I could gleefully reread both Cold Hill books and once again, scare myself silly.
I totally recommend both books in this series.
I totally recommend both books in this series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 480 reviews