'The Haunting of Abney Heights' was a strange book, one I didn't really enjoy. There was a lot going on which often, I feel, didn't make sense. Meg is a genealogist who has been employed to uncover the mystery of two patient at the former Abney Heights Asylum. The novel is told through a series of diary entries from Meg and Dr Wood with modern day featuring throughout. Meg and the dubbed 'Scooby Gang' work to uncover the mystery of what happened to Meg and Lucy. Who were they really? Were they simply companions, or were they something more?
I felt like some of the threads weren't fully explained, like the marks on Lucy's neck. There is no mention of vampires throughout the story yet it seems odd that it is hinted at throughout that Lucy herself is a vampire. I found the ancestral link quite odd as well and it felt too convenient. Lastly, it strongly reminded me of 'The House at Phantom Park' which is similar in that an old house is being converted into apartments. I struggled with 'The Haunting of Abney Heights' and there seemed to be a lot of characters throughout. I also didn't enjoy the third person reflective speech as it often pulled me from the story.

I liked this book. The plot is original. Meg is a great character, well written. I like the mystery, the suspens and how everything turned out. I also liked the British humor, really sarcastic.

I loved the characters and the plot of the story, I will definitely be reading more from this author.

I had to DNF this one. It was hard to get into and maybe wasn’t the book I “needed” at this time.

Thank you for the opportunity NetGally.

This book has a really pretty cover which initially got my attention and then I I started to read the description Below and I only read the first two lines and decided that was all I needed to no I was going to read this book Lol
An old asylum, a hidden diary and a secret that casts long shadows…. AN ATMOSPHERIC HISTORICAL MYSTERY
I was not disappointed I enjoyed this book I found the plot interesting and it Kept my attention. I liked the way the dule timeline was done in 1907 the story is told from diary entry’s and in the present day you follow the story of Meg and her friends.
Thank you to Netgalley for the review copy

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of The Haunting of Abney Heights.
I loved the premise of this book but struggled to finish it.
A few too many characters to keep track of and not quite enough action for me.
The writing is engaging and easy to read but it was just a bit confusing and maybe a little long.
I rate this book as 3 stars.

I enjoyed this book very much and could picture it very easily being made for TV or as a movie. This book kept running through my head at night after I finished reading for the day. The story stayed with me.

It could be that I’m just not in the right headspace at the moment,but I couldn’t really get into this book. The pace was a little slow for me. Will likely come back to it again in future for another go, as is has the mystery and gothic elements I usually enjoy

This novel was a very interesting read. It was part ghost story, part mystery and life in an asylum. The story revealed itself through journal entries and case notes. As you read, you discover the horrible things that went on in the asylum. Some due to the lack of regulations for dealing with mental illness (or what was considered mental illness) and some due to the deviance of men and women. As Meg and her friends dig further into the mystery, other revelations surface that are life changing. When the conclusion comes around the reader is dumbfounded.

Meg, a freelance genealogist, returns to her hometown for a gig. She is researching an early 20th century patient at the former asylum-turned-luxury-condos, and ends up moving into the building for the duration of her work. While Meg is uncovering Ella’s experience as an Abney Asylum patient, she is also forced to uncover the ghosts of her own past. As Meg attempts to exorcize the ghosts of her biological family’s past, her family of choice, a delightful cast of quirky characters, has her back.

The tension builds slowly in “The Haunting of Abney Heights,” but Cat Thomas reminds the reader throughout that something is a little off in both the contemporary timeline and the early 20th century timeline. The atmosphere is dark and moody. The action comes to a head beginning in the last third of the book and is much darker than what I was expecting.

I enjoyed the story and will read more by Cat Thomas. This book would be good for those who like novels with a gothic feel, ghost stories, and early 20th century mysteries.

Content warning: child abuse.

Thanks #NetGalley and #BooksGoSocial for providing an ARC for review consideration. All opinions are my own. The book is available now!

What a delightful read. I loved the plot twists!
Aaaand many other literal references were smartly woven into the story: Dickens, Wells, and Bram Stoker to name a few...
The most curious thing about this book is that it weaves a lot into it, however, is very easy to follow and reads really well and quickly. There is history, there are ghosts, there are gothic thriller vibes, and hints of steampunk even… I mean, I can be a fussy reader, but this was really interesting!

Really spooky stuff, but kind of felt a little haphazardly conceived at times. I liked it but didn't love it. The characters are diverse and have lots of different ways they play off each other, but they don't all feel fleshed out and some plot points come seemingly out of thin air. Fun, but not amazing writing.

Historical fiction, part murder mystery and the Abney Asylum in 1907, Sounds a bit haunting but trust me it is not a scary story. But this old asylum is not=w a luxury apartment block and Megan our main character is there to unravel a mystery from long ago.

Now having said all that it wasn't really the book I had expected it to be. I was hoping for some ghosts from the past, a mystery that carries on into the now and I wasn't expecting romance. It just didn't work that well for me I'm afraid.

It is somewhat interesting but didn't really grab me, it didn't take me on the journey I wanted to go on. It was a bit slow and sometimes confusing. Was written quite well but it just wasn't the book for me!

I didn't end up finishing it. Couldn't hold my attention, but still thanks for the arc to the publisher.

Reviewed for NetGalley:

With the beautiful cover and description, I expected a spooky, thriller about an old asylum.

Well yes, the asylum plays a role in the past and present perspectives, but it left me feeling underwhlemed.

I also didn’t love the dual perspectives.

i went into this book thinking it would have a horror theme to it but i was mistaken its more a gothic mystery which i still found fascinating. i love the way this flows between the characters and timelines, each character starts coming to life the further you read.
this is a slow burner for me which makes a nice difference for me, it kept me just interested enough to keep going when i needed to do other things. this is my first book by this author and i can see myself wanting to read more from her.
Thank you to Netgalley/BookGoSocial/Cat Thomas for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5
This book follows our main character Megan who is currently working on an old case for a woman named Betty, to discover what really happened to her distant relative all those years ago whilst she was in Abney Heights insane asylum.

This story was definitely different, and I did enjoy it. It just wasn't my favourite.

I found myself getting slightly confused now and then with all the characters and how different and unusual they all were, and it was definitely quite slow and dull at times.

I did however love the actual premise of the book and all the different exciting pieces the group worked on. Diary entries, news articles etc. It also had a slight spooky vibe which was fun.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this to review.

First up – the cover art is gorgeous and eye catching.

Second up – I see Goodreads users are describing this as horror and I can’t help but feel this may put potential readers off if horror isn’t their thing. Conversely, horror fans will be left disappointed. I would describe this more as a very solidly written Gothic mystery.

This is the first book I have read by Cat Thomas and I love her writing. It’s the kind of writing that you somehow instinctively recognise as British. It’s understated yet conveys everything it needs to and implies a little bit more and that really appeals to me. I like the way the story is told too, in two time frames. The contemporary story is told in the first person by Meg, a middle aged divorcee who is none too happy to be back in her childhood neighbourhood, with its accompanying bad memories, due to work commitments. The Edwardian era story unfolds mainly through the journal entries of Ella, a young woman who was a patient at the asylum, and of Doctor Woods, the psychiatrist who was treating Ella and the other patients.

I liked the characters too. Meg has a difficult childhood back story which she is being forced to revisit both by being back in the place where she was so unhappy, and by also having to deal with a trunk of her mother’s belongings which she has been able to avoid until now. She gains a small but dedicated group of supporters in the course of her research and I liked the dynamics of the group, the Scoobys as she nicknames them.

What I felt was lacking, considering the title, was a real feel for Abney Heights, the building which had originally been an asylum. We were led in the direction of it being creepy but I never felt that sense of unease which would have added to my reading experience.

I did see the twists coming, but it didn’t detract from the story, and there was a completely wild card chapter near the end which I definitely didn’t see coming.

This book really didn’t do it for me and it took me over a week to read which shows how tough I found it to get into it. About 2/3 of the way through it did begin to pick up and I started to enjoy it only for the ending to be really, really silly and utterly rushed.
It could have been a great piece of historical fiction but gothic horror or ghost story it definitely wasn’t and the eventual plot undid any good the research on the time period and London’s asylums had done.
2.5 ⭐️

I love a good haunted mystery especially if they include insane asylums. This book went between present time and diaries from those from the insane asylum. I really enjoyed this book and found myself reading way into the night and morning. If you like a good mystery with a twist you will enjoy this book! I want to read more from this author in the future. Thank you NetGalley for this gifted copy.