The Haunting of Abney Heights by Cat Thomas

Wonderful mystery with a Gothic touch, highly recommend it

I love stories involving the supernaturally infested asylums of previous centuries. Throw in a bit of drama, haunting and geneology and you have a great story. The timelines matched up and each chapter revealed a new dimension of the story. A really fun read.
Thank you NetGalley for providing this copy. The opinion expressed here is solely my own.

Good writing, good storyline and full character descriptions. The only reason I gave three stars instead of four is because I was expecting a spooky story but it was more of a mystery, a good one I’ll admit but I really expected creepiness etc.
The book was a bit of a slow burn but I did enjoy the characters and the way the plot thickened, I just wanted a bit more horror.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me a review copy of The Haunting of Abney Heights.

This book was good, the writing was good, the story was good. It just… wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted a lot more creepiness and thrill from it than I got. I was interested in the genealogy storyline, but found myself wanting more from the “haunting” part. I feel that if I had picked up this book expecting a mystery rather than a ghost story, I would have been a lot happier. I will definitely pick up this author’s books in the future with different expectations!

This was a difficult book to stay focused on. There was no connection for me with the MC, and the plot didn't grab me for too long. This took effort to want to pick up, rather than starting something else.

A fabulous Edwardian murder mystery with a modern day twist. Meg is a compelling protagonist with an intriguing back story. I enjoyed the multiple timelines and points of view, and the book was well plotted and paced. Great gothic elements and depiction of the treatment of (perceived) mental illness at the time.

An old asylum, a hidden diary and a secret that casts long shadows.

A lovely and dark contemporary/Edwardian mystery! What does this mean? A novel full of ghosts, academia research, danger, dark history, personal drama and uncovering truths. A bit of a slow burn but you will keep turning pages in suspense.

Each of the characters are well developed and the story was extremely well done.

You will enjoy this read if you get lost in mysteries, dream of investigating haunted asylums and appreciate dark academia research.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am a genealogist so the family history storyline caught my interest. The book really has 2 stories. There is a current day where Meg as returned to London for a research job of an old mental hospital that has been converted to apartment. They are organizing the building history for an archive online. Meg is avoiding her relatives and reconnecting with old friends. But she also takes on a somewhat related job of looking into a couple of ladies that were confined in the building. What happened to them and why did they die so young?

The story is told from different points of view. We get parts of the current characters as well as the historic documents. An interesting book with a surprise ending. A good read!

This is the first time reading this authors work and it won't be the last! I was hooked from the blurb and it kept me hooked until I put it down. I loved the humour throughout and the banter between characters. I loved the twists and turns and how jam packed the story was with them. There were so many parallels between the dual timelines and I enjoyed having it told through the communication methods of many characters. A winner! Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a temporary copy in exchange for an honest review.

A great read. Lots of interesting twists towards the end. I enjoy reading about mental health in the “old days”. Attitudes about women, at that time, come across in this read. Ghosts, family, friends … lots of mystery. Definitely worth the read.

I was given a free copy for review purposes.

This was a pleasant surprise. Not so much traditional ghost story; rather, dark and atmospheric with a hint of proper supernatural stuff going on at an old, refurbished asylum in London. Megan, a genealogist/archivist, has been asked to look into the history of the building by the development company. Odd things are happening (electricity eps cutting out, for example), and the flats are not selling as quickly as anticipated.

Megan begins a search which brings up some very dark happenings that occurred at the asylum, back in 1907 just before it was closed. These particular issues are likely to disturb some folks, so trigger warnings would be a good idea for this book (child abuse in particular).

The story is told in two timelines, one from the secret, coded diary of a patient at the asylum at the time, Elle Murray, who also died there under tragic and disturbing circumstances, along with another patient, Lucy, who Elle had fallen in love with. Megan finds the key to decoding Elle’s diary and along with it, the dark secret the asylum holds.

There is a good, diverse group of characters, past and present, and the story is good. Once I got into it, it was a steady read to the end. Because of the subject matter(s), this won’t be for everyone, but it was well done, especially with regard to the two timelines and how they interacted with each other.

Enjoyable read, if not one I would usually choose!

Starting off strong, “The Haunting of Abney Heights: A Gothic Mystery” by Cat Thomas follows the mysterious death of two women in an asylum in North London. I expect gothic fiction to have a slow burn, and this work did not disappoint. With an explosion of an ending, this novel was atmospheric and gave off a creepy and eerie aura. However, I personally wasn’t a fan of how close the twists were to the end. I wish they were incorporated a bit sooner and in turn made the ending feel rushed. It was clear that the author and team spent a lot of time with their historical research, which I appreciated. The novel does its best at being a Gothic Mystery, but I found myself feeling it dragging more often than not. Thomas created a great work, but I wanted more depth to the characters, that way I would feel more attached. I would recommend this book to any fan of Gothic fiction. Thank you NetGalley for the read in exchange for an honest review!

this was such an amazing book! i'm so thankful to netgalley for letting me read this one early! it was so much fun and intriguing!! what a fun, fun, fun read!!!!

DNF at 47%

This book was just not working for me. The writing style was extremely hard for me to read and overall I was slowly losing interest in this story.

The twists and turns in this one! Kept me on turning the pages and on the edge of my seat. Highly recommend.

Atmospheric historical fiction with past and present times lines. There was intrigue and plenty of spookiness with the Edwardian asylum setting. I enjoyed the writing style but I found myself wanting a little more from the story and ending. Nevertheless, this was an enjoyable read.

3.5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review.

I went into this book expecting a horror story, and that is not what this is. However, it is a slightly eerie mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed!

This story takes place in 2019 and is told through the eyes of the genealogist Meg, and also through various journals and news articles as she discovers them. Meg, along with several friends, is trying to piece together the details around two young asylum patients’ deaths.


I really enjoyed the authors writing style, it made for an easy read. I didn’t want to stop reading until I knew every detail about Lucy and Ella!

Special thank you to @booksgosocialgroup and @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

Meg returns to London to research the mysterious death of two former asylum patients. Oh, she’s also staying in said asylum. As Meg begins to deep dive into the history of the seemingly progressive institution, she learns there were some questionable practices at play beneath the surface. Is that why the women were silenced? And, bigger question, were they silenced or did they actually die by suicide or accidental fall? As Meg continues to learn more about the institution and unravels the truth of the past, she is forced to reconcile truths in her own life.

This had me pulled in from the start. I am a sucker for a gothic story, and I LOVE asylum based mysteries for some reason. Unclear on why – maybe I detest sleep free from nightmares. Anyway, this was a solid combination of a surface mystery as Meg digs into Ella’s, Lucy’s, and the asylum’s history but also as she’s forced to face her own. The way this all came together and those missions collided was so satisfying. This had a satisfyingly eery and gothic vibe and I’m glad the original sneaking suspicion I had about how Ella and Lucy died was proven incorrect. I highly recommend for those who enjoy a creepy mystery/suspense read!


TW: abuse, manipulation, sexual abuse, blackmail, murder, and possession


⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 - 4.5/5

Billed as horror but would disagree. Should be categorised to a different genre. Story was fine and written well but unfortunately wasn't what I was expecting. Would be enjoyed by historical/ mystery readers.

I wanted to like this book much more than I actually did. Although the story is good I found it a bit slow at times.

If you like mystery meets ghost story this might be the book for you. I just ended up not being able to really get into the whole story. In fact almost completely through it (65% on my Kindle) I shelved it as DNF (but will try it again later).