Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Night After Night
Night After Night
Night After Night
Ebook593 pages10 hours

Night After Night

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

A spooky supernatural thriller by the author of the Merrily Watkins series

Liam Defford doesn't believe in ghosts. As the head of a production company, however, he does believe in high-impact TV. On the lookout for his next idea, he hires journalist Grayle Underhill to research the history of Knap Hall—a Tudor farmhouse turned luxury hotel, abandoned by its owners at the height of its success. The staff has been paid to keep quiet about what happened there, but the stories seep through. They're not conducive to a quick sale, but Defford isn't interested in keeping Knap Hall for more than a few months. Just long enough to make a reality TV show that will run nightly. A house isolated by its rural situation and its dark reputation; six people—known to the nation but strangers to one another—locked inside; but this time Big Brother is not in control.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 1, 2014
ISBN9780857898715
Night After Night
Author

Phil Rickman

PHIL RICKMAN lives on the Welsh border where he writes and presents the book programme Phil the Shelf on BBC Radio Wales. He is the hugely popular author of The Bones of Avalon, The Heresy of Dr Dee and the Merrily Watkins Mysteries.

Read more from Phil Rickman

Related to Night After Night

Related ebooks

Thrillers For You

View More

Related articles

Related categories

Reviews for Night After Night

Rating: 3.633333346666667 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

30 ratings4 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    As a reader of Phil Rickman's Merrily Watkins series, I've come to admire him for his ability to create a true sense of unease, of chills down the spine, of things just glimpsed out of the corner of the eye. He does this, yet keeps the story grounded in the real world. He does that again in Night After Night. As Grayle Underhill begins her investigation into the 500-year-old Knap Hall, Rickman was succeeding brilliantly at making me very uneasy about the ancient Tudor farmhouse. In fact, I was reminded of one of my favorite novels, Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House. I couldn't wait for all those celebrities to be locked inside that house-- and this is as close as I'll ever come to liking reality TV!Unhappily for me, I found my sense of unease to abate quickly. The story goes into quite some detail about choosing the celebrities and preparing for filming, which I did find interesting, but all that detail took away from the unsavory history of Knap Hall and the feeling that unspeakable things were about to happen.Instead of things going bump in the night as I'd hoped, the story centered on all the secrets of the celebrity inhabitants. True to Rickman's usual style, the "scary stuff" was all rooted in the real world, but without that carryover of unease and dread to buoy the story, I felt a little bit let down. Night After Night is still an engrossing read, but the wow factor was missing for me.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    If you like a ghost story, this is a book for you. I found it different from his others but once the story was set and pacing picked up, I wanted to know what happened next! His usual atmospherics and fascinating characters kept me intrigued and ambivalent which is as it should be in this story.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Phil Rickman is a skilled and original writer of tales about the unexplained and things that go bump in the night. I've read all the Merrily Watkins novels and am starting on the others. I suspect that editing by his wife Carol, also a writer, contributes to the female voice being so authentic. If I could change anything in this book I'd remove the written interpretation of the American voice. It was distracting and not in a good way. I'm waiting for the next Merrily Watkins book which is due out soon.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    There's no such thing as a lousy Phil Rickman book, so most of his works start out at four stars with me on here. But as good as Rickman is at the Merrily Watkins supernatural mysteries, I've always believed that where he really shines is in the stand-alone horror novels like December. Like December, Night After Night is a very modern collision of pop culture and ancient secrets, a collision that Rickman handles flawlessly and with a characteristic subtlety that makes the creeping dread hard to walk away from even to get some sleep. Outstanding ghost story that blends a very British restraint with an almost American horror sensibility. A must-read for fans of the genre.

Book preview

Night After Night - Phil Rickman

Aeabook_preview_excerpt.html}ے#Ǒڌ4ڎ44U7[l6= YL0/㗬s<"3pvml.q_/kݗ_×ŶjbQ!a;Įiۦ٧_.}wo1t"48~i<~WŻ?~|ʾyGbqj2v}qڇU_bhUbCb۵ sѵ_C[ė/V`?(~(mQV&te,Mlb_|K0p{ }o>}6"\<~x(6+Eeܶ]чsPzR_Jz>:>a;ۗ؝&ii[=gž*LjI湉??BGl!=E/Gsǯ?6Tl^m抜j.4+ǮG_ju W8af^5۸U{ ?6eg>ǀWuw<m#.9c$Ѽ*LҎyt}iӮOq- hon~ƌyC6gS=vZI} gJvp>L0#_| a&p6~l9œ a87ПLPۍ=іP}{̪[I=8l }i9c9`1mig[M4xi^ܐE&چhm$&kH}zNv?ģľSr匝<znik{y\ǻ:6asϟpYlPP< k >69^:#^ 6m<'\dB|[hS-Wj#ѲU=8࿡'[M9zboI4 `4fqJ;<i~m twՅjb#|&l|gRA͎G][}mCLNŔF;JZ#/p.9^ұOmkGl:1)$u&1ר&ήj X-T$]re"Pm:!ڤnUeĺؙ1Aƨ&lbܵ#9[3;Sde.jؚơzoã}tuWg~oam[#7:Ǫ?p4{1X*{:3^ 3_\[S=ݢ:<Np ̲zsJ)٣}`6emr8Xdk[|bVU/b葮pҶ<T9@Iftq8w{|3U)6{b}c)a/6o$S;0Bvbqmݎcq=%lr%(=<&W)֌ kQFF2Ɂ0煉i6Y:+MA )ŕZ@`B٪=‰qpg][ͦ]x@0"sޒ{9#ƃxǶyX!tMQtj$qK؍.mUZNpUR}nL+2۲/=6؍GmYY2 )Ez&H, tjwi~S7+{9  8\FNO\1YӈL%]d\sHHs4qܙۙ+[冣yBg`8R.WfO;M1G{]La3R=lc߶e;I Ep[N+"2996fT%cmڂfr|7h.1Z}{XE]+ vc]h%1uُii3}F4pr]A! |MRDZ޸K 00a_\ƺ^05s@|4楝 I빧'wx3jwIox8߃pc>׶NμW>e?g@05D۲~h=`ތ 2` vn^LM`Q'wRZe@-ަg'\.#K4 6p}[ƙQ SJ*HP]QpNv28Cru#J2CYTmL%BcHr,]Y(s ZSúF|_oʁ3/O3SXr^j[,8BhZu8ZR%[ؘUƏ%0ɞO?v/K; 19j|;~,u1 DlMiM)CLHH|eBj{/DeLsU+Ahh>y}y2)x[zd'2~ m~t̳4њ> G/ؓvoZ{;.6,{U `k3X %q(ٟiNu]5smNI.p;0fLZ#Zo5EǕ 7@D݌]imN)-Rp8p*>h 8ҵYYbMٞ([H񳥹`o.ޔ/FcOsjcM ;џ +U5r OJ/ht!X~oȑkKGx#qo&BkcМk+WҤRhvd5OewAh55z]&AkjG[j׸TrΜ,A ~c5Ք-Y3&0 B0)K@NB%'iO6 EN|3kU@LryPI9{:,O$  "ve]N&С6G${{ 5oVȑ#2Ckn1t&0/4"jfB2'ilX\\\߳mպ,8.1ZT6<0m )-f>djўUj7\N@M60ѧPHSt(Q~v-i6̌#kd݀bEQ{G[!&i6;"bĺ+Vu):nL'ð 8Se" YN R"$G hlkZ'2|-췽TQ߄M@L -t:<0qsAn)Cٓ%^n57ُ:SbqS7CCr"kQz5w|8e^7ʂgo|FPˆH"IKE*t|}f/,ݖȜL!1xsd P> jS)QM#ÀPSJˇv+m3Hs6ٜasx2_}Vup'|DB:׶6h޸i#x8^JdnL`[/lfZX\L3H-xL5zq 1m)>a8Np|OY`$ nLIKf!^GE(v&7-tw.޷04G;MO9&_&Q~` 1 &dG)j'ϒgw'kКNp,}>:x Z!tr!'3@pj]2?eګ͡\1;>=2OͳmwMK*smlŸ$j  d=Z d(|fC5ƺ (s!)l"is~QhYmalTKLxۼsN l=):dT-ffo(6pOpM"aeҟ&!^Mt#yBebaH\sxt_}I|IIscӜ6mE! w|2O%l hm/s0 #͌Nz1#~lw55P5}oDBƮy%1eͱ"fVKgbu=k"nTYK'X`-iPrcU& NL̫^#.v;BQH0!~ ،Ɓ)=wst8 z;,?"[$~+OvڸK$!)7KGܔ'+ ol7#mnjX3!7zp5RG&ˤk$/ۈ]EHs?\ͦK4@=Sp #B^;L): j1/I֌a-$ [B}oR/!YuQB~gUkWaA/3R <ݔ>,2V|? 2dn=U<*W~]ŏ4>~B9Ulm]*2̔M}1dX$ӵV]0 AMMڣI=je&S s*FQn_2ΩJmd-׵áujnE2T/Qٳ.O)9.USoM:es {YvHU-L*Ƃrcq͒dDLd f24m6^~? k?\DBw6Oٴ|'ya*R6l३'e{LUR.8 9m)Q\PJ( D'B&TLclc^NnDHu㸈A3zVgP]`6%Ϸv^4ڪgM\9T t_*K$pPXm @=&źn7'ĴPV97FړM@9d1dhC)sQ z^qj ~R.iH]끠d̃M<Mp%4G$!)I@NDI ^< ,bqXlƲu?,p 䕋y~bq%/Pm ֦f?DVm@JBT&FڐgУf;B:욦6EҞk;pH`FDJ :j""`l"ߤ<0X>2;zS)CVXsF?̮B21l'Fh-wb50K^۝TēRޫqvU*\~>@) \ᇧ벷gW6Bndcr%!G*xU*ϑ;dV'hñ+fBF~:} {qGG t"GQ,gbwIt"JjYZTҝ'IE&-L@(}JLDQ^%NԴuH/J"0St@8*_V5Z` !6-a eJ  xP"c6TRcfv0[f${W"4-TՆ!Kg&}):�o'ri \NU(v$~y#4㢪ofF ]Z~f&Nqό/rkeFπ IDW~%y#@ڳWqN*k܎6p!kE$g2 /3,. "{VW6HٹFڡedS{(EȃԱ܉؅GJ^VXLAQY"ҳHK =b2d!n4>bVdknp)"Sǃ!l/6A&X.9u|@2+#W2ń`cF%?;J8È G@r;|cA}bj:QBkT(߲v5ƼYH&ICr"P%p5mVQ0 5E+ؚѮA;}fQ0('WvaP.1aϫ>'7+ၓX:$L< `QY$4w "C 2@"sRۛ :(eMx/a,` m#Llr|džI*9^8ڡ<2uvMai.Q_0a'еo|עZ:DfP'Fe7H豽d/>Lq %PbiO,)H{.A"!bWIrpo~E f`FnEϭ=_I Kye}bQyKw#G͉?,^Ph|8[=NA#+ phw)|u(Fu'ij#%a2dCpPkɃЩ~ceD4T<u8<55gXuY*v|~9'GY}7I`7wo ̾DM]Sd]9-xr"/V;' Hxs*Z gËCu?SI%(ZBN4g*g(S7>8>2"R)^ Zj:30?KQz)P?($.@Dy*L֬Ui׋ yuyVD*6>{8S/3HD6rǁ䀴nO}$ `V&M%`WlGy{# GC>5[tTϳaZq[m @{-SHJt1LO.c_- Pя6] ;ARgmΜLS}!e;%;D5nǦg A;˞hP0f t9u͕ ZXtDw \xa` Y m_7nG&μ `EPϪTOf*))ǁ:\S퇉7tՑ͈2__UGHyAX]wG|ӋY4ƋӲݤrD%J,|W`6"0{rV^'98\͏֭A~5/sB @XjQtk"ѠWvr;;ߴ)_ZhQI<*9^[[1R* ۘn:XG6lQx$6~qa]KN;YgyԃijnĦl9ޥ39kV6oXLצXgݏ#E b;'lj<(T6^Y1vE|ҹɻ.%ybi ~ ²Ϧ\]@??,M{9^+uؐ p3ŧo}Wŧǧw=>*'dӇ\WW^;O îWG}Vm^K/$mfw-E]Œ>yPfZ4Z킺{MgAwKt "h;fv̨TC;Iw{:ާh>0]F9N"kOʲAo\wlL= z&t¨a#JWcfǾ ³X嶓']1xËb Tf Y4t6O: DhOc+G4r5~8f$>Vv#)8:nE3 !<!NEdMu [|3+kMxdcدdKyr׏";nB9D[RRXhIWz5@ \jF:w:mhD?LtLeXM'|W;Mx)t_g 4&,:{ ʶ2kO ku$@u9yyPj7 L/PI5 `٥J/CǢoʉ!ǃFNRh~ )6m i>ޟKgP-v2CUZ@9JGSsΤdRYn0l5֛`bhE+߸MYu !3W9.TG.}Z§8Sf-n4T׮/2_a/{1~eMMRӝuw:aJ WTIr5 ⱯFj0B =\^_py!Z.!'񺌣&Ӓ*WN9<ž*eyɤ]%G0jHˏk/g|߈7vs'^9P$ߡ\{.I/^I▬MR@KN"q6X(Y`8(s-#cAj ɶy4bN}Wˊj1LK#f"ɦ^"?܅GX+HOH rzxc&ᓪRtF;N+|Jf1E{CIz)*QqRSZWEl}l0'EncnNWKT#/KOPYYCqK/5L+OxɀHBC-5]SwsSZ~{5_W ^`,M3*â}zDmz9:Ed(vڲYbՁ:zAW7fXT$|5DZiL8CbMxS/w_鮄MdK>g1:>8ՃmEQ̫d$sM@3!HЂS[9cV$[)L1Du? +~k]W]jd3E/0<=U$LMRe.s{@F38N-$]^j:u˩AE騳S?ƇL0\-él4 }Jr +$/Tf'E];@A]:m9W %K7}wsR!:&4HUҀq ]g5 [A8#Q' /EIwи fśd,WgFD;.a( OJAswsͤv):>=b%Vs?ob5d#@- ]z-/IG\^ޫ^~wxoгM~sCc#yڣ=0SWZm-zݺn||eY] Hj!܊א/o\~IsJplH݁$lOz$2}:DttQ[wV nnrX9zQS'X=s1j~q|Wf`C-G ~,COwc)TQsY)[ gml{G6m]bn^FbS5P~oU8V: |TX'FjNԃZz+m+>S38(/6{ r#d5_Dw4mbX~r !fʫ8F4 .o&u3GUI*OOIrV-5$d"|w[%c(GDYTjR!w'q8nV sVz%5U2]܂覞^&RP+rk` ;R Э.s!9nߍj|Ov"XTQ\=|,[!/uE :,6.uS\ClF+'P_ Q=*0YmrA d̳(FQ@ipBP;&RU}2ZjnW !>W+ ' ڄO">?_蟼`9&Lm߲1\d٘y WֹWLbI/oy}SץxfQYvtve?|EY]]͇l?>xJK:Up귈t Q*w~ķR8~,%2nNaMtjsU*a1EvhȄf$t9E≠_d60\yn2-G*t7],2ɩOTtԫ}5޽$m9l;QyM6cG@xDf%d`YB_ǩ$2q ˽͊j'e`xnL4Yo!_q[a}53_]H\-amMJ{yij¾n|BOo>r%TTv'+!u2/☎.f̭Rу xxqkMF&#" #=gRӛ*`JUCK 83]Nb:.,K$rŊedjW7-q~$)0ׅ챑 }3߼ݓ!l=v chŞ*xR?g gD##qf# jөoR5 Kq4S&,T/]rsXF +%O{^S\\]pP`r.:KHʡB3%nsP6x/ٗY*\fkndvieD)8mT,C),ʉ=; {zRIgQz΋(m:PUb\ׁ8mHZ>Be=p$$6$RtnOl -ָl{*̌ls?~2n י^Ϩ(\a/c7( tNJIv4wFhAǝsN97#D\PWy@*LGW
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1