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Lorne Turner Supernatural Thrillers #novella
Forgotten Homeland: An Exmoor Ghost Story: A Lorne Turner Novella
Lorne Turner, a broken soldier, arrives home for the first time in twenty years to an empty, lonely farmhouse on Exmoor.
The coming days reveal the despair of a farm drowning in debt. The coming nights reveal something far worse.
Lorne doesn’t know if the noises, the crack, crack, crack, are the wind ravaging the moor, memories savaging his mind or the ghosts tearing the veil, begging for help.
***
This is a short novella which is an introduction to the Lorne Turner Mysteries. The whispering of Exmoor's dead need justice.
The coming days reveal the despair of a farm drowning in debt. The coming nights reveal something far worse.
Lorne doesn’t know if the noises, the crack, crack, crack, are the wind ravaging the moor, memories savaging his mind or the ghosts tearing the veil, begging for help.
***
This is a short novella which is an introduction to the Lorne Turner Mysteries. The whispering of Exmoor's dead need justice.
58 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 18, 2021
26 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 12, 2024
Introduction to a series
This was a brief novella introduces the reader to Lorne Turner, newly returned to his family home in the wild moors. The wounded soldier seems nothing more than healing body and mind, but is drawn into the mysterious happenings at the local church. He's a complex, interesting character I would enjoy following through future adventures.
This was a brief novella introduces the reader to Lorne Turner, newly returned to his family home in the wild moors. The wounded soldier seems nothing more than healing body and mind, but is drawn into the mysterious happenings at the local church. He's a complex, interesting character I would enjoy following through future adventures.
June 27, 2024
A quiet, peaceful countryside life in the family farmhouse sure sounds nice…but that’s not at all what’s going on here.
Lorne’s character development was handled beautifully. I’m lenient about how much of this I expect in shorter works given the very limited amount of space they have to work with, but no such grace was necessary here. Mr. Talon excelled at packing dozens of facts about Lorne’s personality, tragic backstory, and personal development into nearly every single scene in this novella. He couldn’t have done a better job at making this character come alive in my imagination, and I wasn’t about to stop reading until I knew how this would end.
One of the cool things about the paranormal storyline was how intertwined it was with everything else that was going on: serious financial difficulties, a missing girl, the protagonist’s struggles with post traumatic stress disorder, unresolved grief, and so much more. This gave the ghostly elements of the plot an even stronger reason to be included as it wasn’t immediately clear how much of them were genuinely happening versus whether any of them might have been influenced or even accidentally misinterpreted by Lorne’s already fragile state of mind. He was so preoccupied by his horrendous memories of the war and the physical and emotional pain he still carried from his injuries there that he didn’t always know what was happening around him, after all. This is something I’d especially recommend to readers who may not typically be into ghost stories but who are open to trying an excellent example of what this genre can be like.
I also appreciated the fact that not every conflict was wrapped up neatly. While I did feel a sense of closure about some of the short term conflicts, there is still ample room here to dig deeply into everything that can’t be fixed in a few dozen pages. Some problems need much longer periods of time to be addressed, and I’m glad that nothing that required such extensive work was brushed under the rug. What an exciting way to begin a new series.
Forgotten Homeland – An Exmoor Ghost Story was utterly perfect.
Lorne’s character development was handled beautifully. I’m lenient about how much of this I expect in shorter works given the very limited amount of space they have to work with, but no such grace was necessary here. Mr. Talon excelled at packing dozens of facts about Lorne’s personality, tragic backstory, and personal development into nearly every single scene in this novella. He couldn’t have done a better job at making this character come alive in my imagination, and I wasn’t about to stop reading until I knew how this would end.
One of the cool things about the paranormal storyline was how intertwined it was with everything else that was going on: serious financial difficulties, a missing girl, the protagonist’s struggles with post traumatic stress disorder, unresolved grief, and so much more. This gave the ghostly elements of the plot an even stronger reason to be included as it wasn’t immediately clear how much of them were genuinely happening versus whether any of them might have been influenced or even accidentally misinterpreted by Lorne’s already fragile state of mind. He was so preoccupied by his horrendous memories of the war and the physical and emotional pain he still carried from his injuries there that he didn’t always know what was happening around him, after all. This is something I’d especially recommend to readers who may not typically be into ghost stories but who are open to trying an excellent example of what this genre can be like.
I also appreciated the fact that not every conflict was wrapped up neatly. While I did feel a sense of closure about some of the short term conflicts, there is still ample room here to dig deeply into everything that can’t be fixed in a few dozen pages. Some problems need much longer periods of time to be addressed, and I’m glad that nothing that required such extensive work was brushed under the rug. What an exciting way to begin a new series.
Forgotten Homeland – An Exmoor Ghost Story was utterly perfect.
February 8, 2023
Book 107 - Joe Talon - Forgotten Homeland
This was another lovely little free novella…have discovered that if you google free books for kindle there are loads…some…well…most are pretty poor but sometimes there is a little golden chicken nugget…this is one of those.
A former soldier suffering from PTSD returns home after the deaths of his parents…I know what you are thinking…doesn’t sound too uplifting…but it really is…
Lorne Turner saw some horrific scenes when fighting in Afghanistan…and now has to readjust to the old family homestead. He discovers mounting debts…nightmares that plague his sleep about the war and of a girl screaming. With just a touch of the supernatural to keep me intrigued…I quickly read through this book in a day…
A girl is missing and what is causing the nearby old church door to bang in the storms…night after night…especially when it is properly locked and secured each day ?
Rather than ‘solving’ the PTSD by the end of the book…and although other issues are dealt with…it is a very real telling of how people deal with PTSD…just because you take them from the situation does not mean the situation leaves them.
Great characters…beautifully described rural setting…and another in the series to come…can’t wait.
This was another lovely little free novella…have discovered that if you google free books for kindle there are loads…some…well…most are pretty poor but sometimes there is a little golden chicken nugget…this is one of those.
A former soldier suffering from PTSD returns home after the deaths of his parents…I know what you are thinking…doesn’t sound too uplifting…but it really is…
Lorne Turner saw some horrific scenes when fighting in Afghanistan…and now has to readjust to the old family homestead. He discovers mounting debts…nightmares that plague his sleep about the war and of a girl screaming. With just a touch of the supernatural to keep me intrigued…I quickly read through this book in a day…
A girl is missing and what is causing the nearby old church door to bang in the storms…night after night…especially when it is properly locked and secured each day ?
Rather than ‘solving’ the PTSD by the end of the book…and although other issues are dealt with…it is a very real telling of how people deal with PTSD…just because you take them from the situation does not mean the situation leaves them.
Great characters…beautifully described rural setting…and another in the series to come…can’t wait.
March 26, 2022
Forgotten Homeland is a very good introduction to the Lorne Turner Mysteries. After twenty years away, Lorne returns home to the family farm. Unfortunately, there are ghosts that will not rest, ghosts seeking justice. Lorne will need to follow the clues to help put the ghost to rest. A great supernatural thriller. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
January 4, 2025
Enter Lorne Turner, a former sgt major ,retired who returns after his parents had died. Suffering from PTSD he has inherited an old farm and many debts plus his mental instability. One night hen hears banging and streams coming from the local church. Is his imagination or something else he is afraid to confront. However, he is forced by habit to investigate but what will he find? An excellent short story by Joe Talon. Well worth reading.
July 5, 2022
I was so into this book, I was surprised when the next page I turned was the last one. The novella is about an ex SAS solider who has seen his share of death and damaged bodies. He returns to his family farm to heal. He hears noises in the night and doesn't know if it's real or PTSD. I will definitely read the rest of the series.
August 19, 2023
I love how Turner gives his perspective on what's going on in his life. It makes me want to know more and my investigation mind will follow him to the very end to the know the truth. My suspects list is ready to go and I don't discriminate ghosts and spirits together. I will be adding this book to my book collection of favorites. Iler.
November 29, 2025
Lorne Turner
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the Lorne Turner books. I’m a sucker for messy heroes and a good spooky story. Wonderful twist on, “It was a dark and stormy night”. This will post under my husband’s name. I’m his wife Rose.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the Lorne Turner books. I’m a sucker for messy heroes and a good spooky story. Wonderful twist on, “It was a dark and stormy night”. This will post under my husband’s name. I’m his wife Rose.
February 10, 2022
Excellent short read
I really enjoyed this insight into Lorne's past, with the added bonus of ghost story thrown in. Looking forward to reading more from Joe Talon
I really enjoyed this insight into Lorne's past, with the added bonus of ghost story thrown in. Looking forward to reading more from Joe Talon
September 18, 2023
A short good novella of A SAS sergeant home from wars to his ancestral home. And a tale of ghosts. Coming home is as hard as a ghost story. But its well done.
November 17, 2023
This is a 4.25 🌟 read rounded ⬇️ to 4 🌟.
December 7, 2024
Nice short ghost story for 0.99 cents. Will def. check out some more books by this Indie writer.
August 11, 2024
Joe Talon sure knows how to build up the suspense that makes you hold your breath until the very last minute when you met it all come out. Love his books. This novella was great to give us readers a deeper insight into Turner’s life.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews