The Haunting of Henderson Close: Fiction Without Frontiers

Written by Catherine Cavendish

Narrated by Caroline Guthrie

Ghosts have always walked there. Now they're not alone....

In 1891, Edinburgh's Henderson Close is a seething mass of humanity, poverty, crime, and degradation. Even murder. Miss Carmichael is a middle-aged spinster, living in the prosperous New Town. She regularly takes food, money, and clothing to families living in the Closes, deep within the slums of the Old Town.

In the present day, Henderson Close, having been buried under the foundations of newer buildings a century earlier, is a major tourist attraction. In the depths of Edinburgh, an evil presence is released. Hannah and her colleagues are tour guides who lead their visitors along the spooky, derelict Henderson Close, thrilling them with tales of spectres and murder. For Hannah, it is her dream job, but not for long. When renovations begin to extend the location, the Auld De'il is released from its devil's trap - and even the spirits are afraid.

Who is the mysterious figure that disappears around a corner? What is happening in the old print shop? And who is the little girl with no face? The legends of Henderson Close are become all too real, and the ghost stories told by the tour guides begin to take on a sinister reality.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Flame Tree Publishing
• Release date: Jan 10, 2018
• ISBN: 9781787581067

Reviews for The Haunting of Henderson Close

[irenecole · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Over 100 years ago a brutal murder took the life of Miss Carmichael as she made her way through Henderson Close in an attempt to do a good deed for one of the many residents living in squalor and poverty. Now it's a tourist attraction where people pay to walk through the eerie abandoned neighborhood and hear the dark history and morbid tales of a bygone time.
When Hannah arrives, recently divorced from her cheating husband and looking for a fresh start she is excited to begin her job as a tour guide. That excitement soon turns to anxiety and fear when ghostly figures from the past and evil creatures make themselves known.
I would recommend it not just to those who enjoy ghost stories but gothic hauntings and historical fiction as well.
I received an advance copy for review.

[booknookretreat7 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was great suspense ghostly mystery!

A small backstory:

Hannah finally has found a job that suits her as she becomes a tour guide in the small town of Edinburgh. One of the suburbs, Henderson Close has lots of history but it is also known to be surrounded in ghostly mystery as there is even an area where a woman was murdered back in the 1800's and some people have witnessed the woman's ghost.

Hannah along with a couple of other tour guides have a feeling though that something is not quite right in Henderson Close as they are always feeling watched and they feel cold drafts throughout the area. As time goes on, Hannah starts not only feeling that there is something different she is transported to the 1800's almost as if she sees it in a dream, but she is awake when it happens. That not only spooks her but it makes her wonder why she is having the experience.

Hannah finally finds out that there is an evil presence that has invaded Henderson Close as it has been unleashed upon the town and she will have to figure out how to contain the presence before it consumes everyone within the town.

What is the evil presence that has been unleashed? Why is Hannah being transported back into time? What is the mystery that surrounds Henderson Close? No spoilers here as you will just have to read the book!

Thoughts:

This was a great ghost story that was just weaved with lots of mystery and suspense along with the gothic feeling of the haunting. The more I became wrapped up in the mystery the more I wanted to find out what was causing the haunting. There are chapters that go back to the 1800's that tells the story of why the area is surrounded by mystery. Normally I am not fond of time jumps but it was not every other chapter - the story in present time would be about three or four chapters and the story in the past would be maybe one chapter, so I was able to keep up with what was going on in both time periods.

The story starts out a little slow, but that is because of the world building, but once I reached the 35% mark the story just took off as more things started happening with the character Hannah. Then the story became a little more fast paced at the 50% mark and I was flipping through my kindle pages quick as I wanted to see what was going to happen next. Giving this one five "haunting" stars!

[angelajmaher · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this. It's intriguing, entertaining, and it's great to see someone other than a teenager tackling the forces of darkness. I have a few little issues with it, but nothing big enough to spoil the enjoyment of the story.If you like ghosts and demons and things that go thump in the night, this is a good choice.Many thanks to Flame Tree Press for the ARC. My review is my honest opinion.