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The Gye Journals #3
Unquiet Spirit
A haunting on F staircase in St. Thomas's College, Cambridge bitterly divides the college, and the Cambridge branch of the Psychic Investigation Unit (PIU) is invited to carry out an experiment. The main opponent of the plan, Professor Hawkridge, insists on being present when for the nocturnal investigation by the 'ghostbusters', only to drop dead of a heart attack.
Now the college is really in trouble. The press has a field day, Hawkridge's widow threatens to sue, and St. Thomas's is swamped with tourists who want to sleep in the 'haunted' room.' Sir Joseph Zuylestein, the College Master, asks Dr. Nathaniel Gye, a parapsychologist, if he can make some discreet enquiries with a view to closing the whole sorry business — the affair could not have come at a worse time, as St. Thomas's is about to accept a major donation from a publicity-shy billionaire. But Zuylestein has another reason for wanting everything hushed up — he has received anonymous letters indicating that the undergraduate Tom Sutton, whose unquiet spirit supposedly haunts F staircase, did not commit suicide ten years earlier, but was murdered.
Now the college is really in trouble. The press has a field day, Hawkridge's widow threatens to sue, and St. Thomas's is swamped with tourists who want to sleep in the 'haunted' room.' Sir Joseph Zuylestein, the College Master, asks Dr. Nathaniel Gye, a parapsychologist, if he can make some discreet enquiries with a view to closing the whole sorry business — the affair could not have come at a worse time, as St. Thomas's is about to accept a major donation from a publicity-shy billionaire. But Zuylestein has another reason for wanting everything hushed up — he has received anonymous letters indicating that the undergraduate Tom Sutton, whose unquiet spirit supposedly haunts F staircase, did not commit suicide ten years earlier, but was murdered.
- GenresMystery
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
32 people want to read
About the author
Derek Wilson
125 books98 followersDerek Wilson has been a writer of historical fiction and non-fiction for 50 years. His much acclaimed prize-winning works have largely centred on 16th and 17th century Europe. He has used various pen names for his fiction, his current Thomas Treviot Tudor crime series being written under the name D.K. Wilson. The first 2 books in this series - The First Horseman and The Traitor's Mark are based on real unsolved Tudor mysteries and have received enthusiastic plaudits. Readers have favourably compared this innovative series with the books of C.J. Sansom and S.J. Parris.
Recent non-fiction triumphs include The Plantagenets, Holbein: Portrait of an Unknown Man, and Charlemagne: a Biography.
Derek Wilson graduated from Cambridge and spent several years travelling and teaching in Africa before becoming a full-time writer and broadcaster in 1971. He has frequently written and appeared on radio and television and is popular as a public speaker having appeared at several literary festivals,British Museum, Hampton Court Palace, The British Library and other prestigious venues.
Recent non-fiction triumphs include The Plantagenets, Holbein: Portrait of an Unknown Man, and Charlemagne: a Biography.
Derek Wilson graduated from Cambridge and spent several years travelling and teaching in Africa before becoming a full-time writer and broadcaster in 1971. He has frequently written and appeared on radio and television and is popular as a public speaker having appeared at several literary festivals,British Museum, Hampton Court Palace, The British Library and other prestigious venues.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 24, 2008
Coming in at about 187 pages, Unquiet Spirit is a very quick read. It is a mystery, and its main character is that of Dr. Nathaniel Gye, Paranormal Investigator. Gye is a lecturer in parapsychology, and hosts a unique television show as well.
The story opens with a paranormal investigation unit in Cambridge doing their thing on a staircase in St. Thomas College, reputed to be haunted enough to scare away several students who lived in a particular room over the years. The team is visited by its main opponent, a Professor Hockridge, who demands that he be there while the investigation is being made. Hockridge thinks the paranormal is hooey - and is there to watch the team carefully. However, as the investigation proceeds, Hockridge suddenly falls & dies. The death is labeled as natural (a heart attack), however, there are some who do not believe it. Simultaneously, the college is on the brink of receiving some major funding, and the Master is worried that scandal based on some sordid business of 10 years earlier might seep through and make its way out into the open, possibly permitting the college's benefactor from making his donation due to the notoriety of the case, which seems on the brink of being blown wide open with Hockridge's death. He begs Nathaniel to look into events both ten years earlier and currently.
There is very little in the range of the paranormal here if that's what you're looking for. At the very heart of this book is a decent mystery, and the parts of the book that focus on the mystery are very well done. I will be really frank here and say that I figured out half of it way early in the book (a who and a how) -- thankfully there was a dual mystery so I kept reading. What prevents the entire book from being much better (imho) is the interaction between Nathaniel and his wife Kathryn. I realize that authors have to make their characters seem more human, and I can appreciate that Wilson probably felt the need to do so, but the scenes between husband and wife are just flat and it was all I could do not to skim these parts. I think the mystery aspects might have been a bit more fully developed had he not felt compelled to throw in some tension between Nat and Kathryn.
Other than this minor complaint, it was a decent book, and as of today (Feb 2008), the last one in the series. If he writes another, I'll probably buy it. Who would like this book? Readers who like mysteries set in the world of academia, or in England, or those who want a quick whodunit read.
The story opens with a paranormal investigation unit in Cambridge doing their thing on a staircase in St. Thomas College, reputed to be haunted enough to scare away several students who lived in a particular room over the years. The team is visited by its main opponent, a Professor Hockridge, who demands that he be there while the investigation is being made. Hockridge thinks the paranormal is hooey - and is there to watch the team carefully. However, as the investigation proceeds, Hockridge suddenly falls & dies. The death is labeled as natural (a heart attack), however, there are some who do not believe it. Simultaneously, the college is on the brink of receiving some major funding, and the Master is worried that scandal based on some sordid business of 10 years earlier might seep through and make its way out into the open, possibly permitting the college's benefactor from making his donation due to the notoriety of the case, which seems on the brink of being blown wide open with Hockridge's death. He begs Nathaniel to look into events both ten years earlier and currently.
There is very little in the range of the paranormal here if that's what you're looking for. At the very heart of this book is a decent mystery, and the parts of the book that focus on the mystery are very well done. I will be really frank here and say that I figured out half of it way early in the book (a who and a how) -- thankfully there was a dual mystery so I kept reading. What prevents the entire book from being much better (imho) is the interaction between Nathaniel and his wife Kathryn. I realize that authors have to make their characters seem more human, and I can appreciate that Wilson probably felt the need to do so, but the scenes between husband and wife are just flat and it was all I could do not to skim these parts. I think the mystery aspects might have been a bit more fully developed had he not felt compelled to throw in some tension between Nat and Kathryn.
Other than this minor complaint, it was a decent book, and as of today (Feb 2008), the last one in the series. If he writes another, I'll probably buy it. Who would like this book? Readers who like mysteries set in the world of academia, or in England, or those who want a quick whodunit read.
May 6, 2011
A bit slow, but engaging all the same.
March 22, 2024
4.3
I definitely enjoy this reading. The characters were alright, there wasn’t much to description on every character just on the ones with the main focus. To be honest I had the wrong idea of what this book would be about.
Based on the cover and the title I though it was going to be more on the paranormal side but unfortunately that was not the case. I would consider it a murder mystery genre. I did dislike the idea that whenever a big secret was found or a great detail discover the author didn’t give further explanation it would just start back up with the next day (or chapter), Like we wanna know what you found!!
It was a small enjoyable book. 😊
I definitely enjoy this reading. The characters were alright, there wasn’t much to description on every character just on the ones with the main focus. To be honest I had the wrong idea of what this book would be about.
Based on the cover and the title I though it was going to be more on the paranormal side but unfortunately that was not the case. I would consider it a murder mystery genre. I did dislike the idea that whenever a big secret was found or a great detail discover the author didn’t give further explanation it would just start back up with the next day (or chapter), Like we wanna know what you found!!
It was a small enjoyable book. 😊
April 25, 2016
This didn't deliver what I was expecting & I felt it was written in a rather old fashioned way. I have to be enthralled by a book in the first few chapters & I wasn't. I actually gave up near the end.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews