The Ghost Hunters is one of my absolute favourite horrors and I was so happy to discover there was a second book. The Lost Village was just as good as the first. I just love how eerie the writing is. I read too much horror to scare easily but I just Spring's work!

I didn't realise it was the second novel in the series when i started this book but luckily it works as a standalone novel.
Sarah Grey, a paranormal investigator is brought back to work with Harry Price to investigate the possible hauntings and occurrences in the 'lost' village of Imber on Salisbury plain.
It was a surprise to find out that this book is loosely based on real life events, Imber is a real village, a village 'borrowed' by the army after the first World War to practice manoeuvres and was never returned to the residents leaving it abandoned for all these years.
Each winter, on one night only, the former residents return to visit loved ones buried in the overgrown churchyard but on this years pilgrimage things take a different course, putting everyone in danger. But danger from who or from what?
As their investigations take them both to some chilling conclusions, both supernatural and the explainable it delivers some surprising twists and turns along side the gothic spooky atmosphere thats created so well.
Perfect for a late night spooky read and a great take on a good ghost story.
I will certainly be hunting down a copy of book one in the series as well as any that follow.

Last year I reviewed The Ghost Hunters which introduced us to Harry Price and Sarah Gray. Harry investigated paranormal activities and spent most of his time debunking frauds and opportunists. He and Sarah were invited to Borley Rectory (England’s most haunted house) and, if you have not read The Ghost Hunters, then you can find out in that book what occurred.

If you have read The Ghost Hunters then it may help to understand that The Lost Village takes place during events in The Ghost Hunters. There are some spoilers over how Sarah and Price’s friendship has twisted through the time they have known each other but both books are easily enjoyed as stand-alone tales.

The Lost Village in the title is Imber. A village standing on Salisbury Plain and a settlement which was cleared by order of the British Army to allow them to use Salisbury Plain for their operations. As it would not be safe for the Imber residents to remain in their homes they were made to leave – relocated against their will – and are only permitted to return one day each year.

The annual “return” day is fast approaching but the army are worried about the safety of the residents as there are strange things taking place in Imber. Things which they cannot rationally explain. Sarah Gray is approached to visit Imber by an old acquaintance, she is asked to persuade Harry Price to visit the village with her…his skills are required.

Neil Spring is rather excellent at building up the tension in his story telling and I found The Lost Village atmospheric and frequently chilling. Good supernatural thrillers have been too thin on the ground of late but I’d highly recommend Neil Spring’s books; he hits the perfect balance of great story and creepy chills.

When reading this I did not realise it was the second novel in the series. That said it did not take away my enjoyment of it. From the start it was really interesting and I enjoyed the twists and turns. I will definitely read the rest of the series.

Very loosely based on real life events, this is an atmospheric and chilling ghost story that ups the ante for Neil Spring's Ghost Hunter series. Set in the real life village of Imber, a village 'borrowed' from its residents by the army after the first World War to practice manoeuvres and never returned, Sarah Grey is reunited with ghost hunter Harry Price as they are asked by the army to debunk mysterious goings on. In doing so they open up a whole horrifying can of worms with chilling consequences both supernatural and explainable. Sarah already has a connection to the village, through her father who served in the army and upon arriving in Imber she suspects that Harry knows far more than he's letting on. Set in the winter months, the atmosphere matches the temperature as most of the action is set at night time making what Sarah and Harry see more open to interpretation.

Neil Spring is an excellent writer of ghost stories. He uses words to paint chilling pictures at points and the plot is skilfully woven and keeps the reader guessing. Sarah Grey is no shrinking violet either and its a joy to read such a well written female character when it would have been so easy to have Harry Price be the narrator. Ironically the real life horrors in this book are scarier than the supernatural ones and the author pulls back just when it seems the story might tip over into the melodramatic. The ending is a satisfying on, though it does leave me to wonder whether there's room for another book in this series. It would be a shame if there wasn't as the characters have excellent potential and as I mentioned earlier, Neil Spring really can tell a good ghost story. Read this now while the nights are still long.

I received a ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.

The lost village by neil spring.
Many years ago, soldiers entered a remote English village called Imber and forced every inhabitant out. It remains abandoned . . .
Each winter, on one night only, Imber's former residents return to visit loved ones buried in the overgrown churchyard. But this year, something has gone wrong. Secrets are surfacing, putting all who come near Imber in danger.
Wow. An absolutely fantastic read with great characters. I loved sarah. I wasn't sure about price. I certainly didn't expect that. A shocking and a twister of a read. I was mindblown. 5*. Highly recommended.

<i>‘I have a bad feeling I can’t shake. A sense that there’s something deeper out in that village. Something darker.’</i>

After reading Neil Spring's The Ghost Hunters #1 last year, and thoroughly enjoying it, I was very excited to see The Lost Village (The Ghost Hunters #2) available to request on NetGalley. I was over the moon when I was accepted to read more about Harry Price and Sarah Grey's adventures into the paranormal.

Unlike other books about ghostly goings-on that I've read, Spring gives the genre a bit of twist, in that the main protagonists agenda is to debunk and expose fraudsters who <i>claim</i> they can contact the dead.

What we get is a fascinating insight into how far people will go to convince others of the existence of an afterlife, whether it's for entertainment purposes in order to make a few quid, or perhaps merely to 'cover up' something truly sinister and evil that's occurring in this very real life of ours.

Both main characters in this story were absolutely superb, very much a chalk and cheese coupling that works a treat. Price, a bolshy individual with real focus on finding an explanation for <i>everything</i>, and the sweet, but spiritually sassy Miss Grey, doing her upmost to tolerate Price, but not allowing him to manipulate her beliefs in any way. Between the two of them, their paranormal investigations are meticulous and fascinating.

The story itself is written beautifully, it reads with atmosphere and injects dread and fear into the reader. There are some pretty ghastly scenes that are described with just enough detail to chill to the bone, without being unnecessarily graphic or bloody.

Spring has a real poetic ability in setting a scene. I was transported to the lost village of Imber every time I picked this up. The bleakness of Salisbury Plain and it's typically unpleasant weather all woven into a story of mystery and multiple layers that fitted together perfectly, like a spooky jigsaw puzzle.

<i>'Sometimes I think locations speak to us, like our dreams do. We don’t always know exactly what they’re trying to tell us, but when those messages are imbued with meaning, we sense it acutely.'</i>

This book undoubtedly deserves 5 stars. It is clever, educational, atmospheric and incredibly entertaining. I would recommend it to readers who enjoyed Susan Hills 'The Woman in Black'.

<b>Huge thanks to NetGalley, Quercus Books and the author, Neil Spring for allowing me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review. It was a pleasure.</b>

What a fantastic read, especially for this time of the year as the nights are drawing in and there is a chill in the air. When I received this book I wasn't aware that it was a sequel and was unsure whether to begin this one without picking up the first in the series first, but am pleased I didn't wait as this was perfectly enjoyable without any prior knowledge of characters or their past exploits. The story follows Sarah Grey, a paranormal investigator working alongside Harry Price (based on the writings of the real-life Price) during the inter-war period in Britain, as they are hired to investigate ghostly goings on in the 'lost' village of Imber on the Salisbury plain, a village whose inhabitants had been forcefully removed to provide a training ground for the military. A village that was never returned to its rightful owners. This setting provides an atmospheric backdrop for paranormal exploration, and also for exploration of the frequently fractured relationships of the characters. The story is very skillfully told, and keeps the reader guessing. Very much looking forward to delving into this authors other writings.

The Lost Village by Neil Spring

At the outbreak of the Great War in 1914 the army evacuated, forcibly even, the village of Imber on Salisbury Plain. Its manor, houses and church were turned over to battle training, their walls scarred by bullets, the surrounding woodland pitted with bomb shells, everywhere the dangerous remnants of war. But every October, for one single day, the villagers are allowed to return to Imber to have a service in the church and pay their respects to their loved ones who lie buried in the graveyard and who, for every other day of the year, have been abandoned.

It is 1932 and the annual pilgrimage of the villagers to Imber is imminent. But the army has a problem. Its soldiers are terrified of the place and one man in particular has been turned mad by it. The seizure of Imber was a public relations disaster and the army is intent on avoiding any other attention, particularly as the villagers are more then ever set on reclaiming their former homes for good. Whatever it is that is frightening the soldiers must be explained and eradicated immediately. They call on the famous ghost hunter and ghost debunker Harry Price and his assistant Sarah Grey. But the relationship between the two has soured almost irretrievably and both, especially Sarah, have their own ghosts to face. But all of this must be played out in the deserted woods and dark buildings of Imber.

The Lost Village is the second Ghost Hunters novel by Neil Spring. I haven’t read Ghost Hunters and this mattered very little, although I expect it might have provided more information on the breakdown of Sarah’s relationship with Harry. But it was certainly easy to pick up on the mood between them, especially because our narrator is Sarah herself. Sarah begins her tale when she is an old woman looking back, her memories prompted by the discovery of a skeleton in Imber. We are instantly plunged into an atmosphere of fear, secrets and the unexplained. In Imber anything can happen but there is more to Sarah and the novel than just Imber as some of her initial experiences in London are every bit as terrifying to read.

I love a good ghost story and The Lost Village is deliciously teasing and frightening. Sarah is a wonderful narrator. She combines just the right amount of suspicion and superstition to make her seem a reliable yet open witness to these extraordinary events. Harry is another kettle of fish entirely. There is nothing reliable about Harry and yet, as the novel continues, I warmed to him much more than I expected.

This is a great story and it kept me guessing right to the end but the main strength of this enjoyable novel is its mood. Imber is the perfect subject for such a book and there is an element of truth behind it. Imber was indeed evacuated for army purposes but during a different war, the second, but by shifting it back to the first, the atmosphere of loss and tragedy is arguably increased.

As with most ghostly tales you have to bring a pinch of salt to them and I was certainly prepared to do that with The Lost Village. Apart from my one issue, that perhaps it is a little long, I thoroughly enjoyed my frightening experience in Imber and among its inhabitants.

I last came across Neil with his debut novel, The Ghost Hunters, in 2013. I enjoyed it a lot, as it told of a real person, Harry Price, Britain’s most famous ghost-hunter in the 1920’s and 30’s, and created a fictional story about him. Though it was mainly fictional, it had a semblance of reality around it which I liked. I wasn’t the only one. Since then a UK television series (Harry Price: Ghost Hunter, starring Rafe Spall) and another unrelated novel has surfaced. But The Lost Village brings us back to Harry Price, ghost-hunter and his complex relationship with his young assistant (now redundant) Sarah Grey.

Set a year or so after the events of The Ghost Hunters, we find Sarah Grey leading a relatively mundane life after leaving Harry (and after giving birth, unbeknown to Harry, of their illegitimate child.)

When Sarah is asked about a village that she knew her father worked at in her youth, the village of Imber, she finds herself very reluctantly having to work with Harry to solve a mystery. The village is now deserted, its residents forced to leave whilst the Army use the village for training. Imber has never been returned to the people who lived there, although once a year the original owners and their descendants are allowed to return for a remembrance service in the village church.

Except for this year. As the deadline to the next service approaches, the Army are troubled by a number of weird goings-on – soldiers disappear in the village woods for long stretches of time, and return claiming to have heard strange voices. One soldier has been locked up, seemingly insane after dousing himself in petrol after the voices told him to do it. The Army are beginning to get worried and so call Harry and Sarah in to look at it for them.

Harry and Sarah have a week to resolve the issue and debunk the events or else the annual church service will be cancelled, causing major embarrassment for the military involved.

But with their own strained background and strange things happening more frequently as the day of the deadline nears, it looks increasingly more difficult…



Like in The Ghost Hunters and with Borley Rectory, Neil has again taken a real place (Imber village, on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire) but twisted it to fit his story. Unlike Borley Rectory, Imber is still there today, and still has ‘Open Days’, but in reality was only taken over in 1943 as a practice area for American soldiers in WW2, a decade or so after the setting of this story. Some will find it a little annoying that the author plays with facts to present them as fiction, but I think most readers, and certainly those used to such things often in genre reading, will accept such matters quite readily.

It reads like a cross between an ancient X-Files and Phil Rickman’s Merrily Watkins series of novels, mixing fiction with genuine places and some real people. There’s a strong sense of English folklore too, turning the plot into something akin to The Wicker Man in places.

The book very much hinges on the tempestuous and difficult relationship between the charismatic Harry and the less confident Sarah. There’s enough backstory to be able to read this without having read The Ghost Hunters, though I would still do so if you can. As with The Ghost Hunters, there’s a big twist about two-thirds through – it didn’t quite work for me, but I must admit though the signs were there, I didn’t see it coming. The ending ties things together nicely and yet also leaves the door open for more books should the author wish to take it further.

As the nights get darker here at Hobbit Towers and the cold draws in, this is a great read for this time of year. Images of creepy, deserted places that feel uncomfortable work well when sat at home in a comfy chair with a reviving hot beverage. The Lost Village does well to evoke such an atmosphere and there’s the odd moment that may make you look at the curtains or listen more carefully whilst around the stairs. Whilst not quite perfect, there’s a lot to like here.

In short, The Lost Village is a welcome return to the world of The Ghost Hunters. It’s accessible and entertaining, with enough to keep the reader interested and the pages turning until the end. Whilst it’s not a total success for me, there’s enough I liked to want to read more.

I found The Ghost Hunters to be pretty awesome, but this book was fabulous! I was thrilled to learn that the Ghost Hunters would get a sequel and I was even more thrilled when I got the book to read. And, what a book. From the first page was a hooked and the story kept its hold on my wall the way until the end. You don't have to read the first book, to read this one, but I would recommend you do that to get to know Sarah Grey and Harry Price from the start, how they met, how Sarah started to work for him and what went wrong.

The Lost Village is a captivating tale. I was curious to learn what the connection between Sarah and the village. And, is Imber really haunted? And, what has the movie theater that is said to be haunted to do with everything? Is there some connection between the movie theater and the village? Sarah and Harry reunite to solve the mystery of Imber. But, their past is between them and the village is not a very peaceful place. This case could be the end of them...

Neil Spring is a very talented writer and I sure hope that he will write at least one more book about Sarah and Harry. Although, to get this one was more than I hoped for and it was very bittersweet to turn the last page. It's an extraordinary tale and I recommend it warmly!

I loved this even more than The Ghost Hunters. Based once again on real events - with a few liberties taken by the author - this is a perfect Hallowe'en read. I love ghost stories but its hard to find one that actually gives me that sense of the other. This did it nicely although as much from the ruthlessness of the living as anything else. The characterisation made it for me. Sarah Grey is fascinating and an excellent foil to the slightly arrogant Harry. Their interactions are perfect. Can't recommend this one enough.

The Lost Village is a welcome return for Harry Price and Sarah Grey, last seen in 2013's The Ghost Hunters. It's told in flashback, as an elderly Sarah sees a vision of the famous paranormal researcher and feels compelled to record the tale of one particular case they tackled together.

Like The Ghost Hunters, this story is set in a real place: the 'ghost village' of Imber in Wiltshire. The background given in the novel is all true: during the Second World War, the residents of Imber were forcibly evacuated so the village could be used as a training area for the army. When the war ended, the locals were not allowed to return, partly due to a proliferation of unexploded bombs and grenades – indeed, this is still the case today. In The Lost Village, these facts make Imber a breeding ground for anger, resentment, and possibly even vengeful spirits. Former residents claim the place is haunted by the Imber dead, angry at being separated from their families. Commander Williams of Westdown Camp, which controls Imber, appeals to Harry after a spate of eerie incidents unsettle his men. One encounter even seems to have driven a soldier insane.

I thought this book, at almost 500 pages, would take a long time to get through, but I underestimated its readability. The combination of an intriguing supernatural conundrum and a real – undeniably creepy – location is dynamite. I loved these characters in the first book and was happy to have them back; Sarah and Harry have built-in chemistry as well as emotional appeal, keeping the narrative afloat as mystery is piled on mystery.

The disadvantage of this amount of detail is that the plot becomes more convoluted than it needs to be, with a web of coincidences connecting Sarah to Imber. While suspension of disbelief is an obvious necessity for any story involving ghosts, some of the events in The Lost Village stretch credulity to its limits. (I adored the early sequence about Brixton Picture Palace, and wish this had been left to stand on its own.) But there's a confidence to the writing here that wasn't present in The Ghost Hunters.

I hope there are more Harry Price and Sarah Grey adventures to come. If absorbing historical fiction with a spooky twist sounds like your thing, The Lost Village makes for a perfect Halloween read.

The perfect accompaniment to a chilly October evening, The Lost Village blends together fact and fiction to form a creepy tale filled with ghosts and long-forgotten memories.

Most of the action is centered on the 'lost village' of Imber. Found on the Salisbury Plains, many years ago soldiers forced the inhabitants out to use it as a military base in the first World War. Once a year the inhabitants are allowed back to visit former loved ones buried in the churchyard. However, mysterious ghostly sightings that have driven the soldiers mad, and rumors of the church bells ringing on their own have started to occur in Imber, with many inhabitants claiming it's the former inhabitants rearing up to reclaim their forgotten village. Only Harry Price and his former assistant Sarah Grey can unravel the truth. Is this an elaborate hoax? Or the work of the undead?

After a brief prologue involving an elderly Sarah and a ghostly visitation, we jump straight into the action with a younger Sarah investigating the Brixton picture house, which has a notorious reputation for ghost sightings. I found myself feeling as though I was there with Sarah as she explores the dark rows of seats, and there's an almost palpable tension created as she realises that the 'ghost light', usually left on by the last employee to leave on an evening, is switched off. This opening scene was a great introduction to the overall feel for the rest of the novel, which was deeply atmospheric, creepy and filled with paranormal activity.

The plot itself, where we find Harry and Sarah in Imber, is fast paced, with plenty of twists and turns to keep me guessing until the end. Just when I thought I'd figured something out or solved a mystery, the author threw something unexpected in, which kept me on my toes and allowed me to really enjoy this. It's not often I'm taken by surprise by a story-line, and I was pleasantly surprised. I also liked how the plot all linked together - from the picture house to Imber and the elderly Sarah we see at the beginning. It was cleverly done, and showed that all aspects of the story had a purpose and were thoughtfully considered.

I loved the relationship between Harry and Sarah, which was complex and almost love/hate. It's acutely apparent that Sarah is in love with Harry, but regrets from her past prevent her from acting on this. She also knows just how deeply under Harry's spell she is, and hates herself for it. I loved that aspect of her character. I also liked the fact that the author does not try to present Sarah as anything other than what she is - she feels like a 'proper' person from her time period. There's no 'modern' ideologies, which is great, and nothing about her feels forced.

Harry is more complicated a character. As we only see things from Sarah's perspective, it's hard to get a grasp on who he really is and how he feels about Sarah. He often comes across as quite abrasive, and short with people who do not share is opinion. At one point in the story he's also appears to complete drop his own perspectives about the paranormal after one particular incident, which felt a bit out of place for him - especially as Sarah is convinced that it's a hoax.

My main issue with Sarah and Harry was that I felt there wasn't any proper closure between the two characters at the end. I wanted the two of them to talk about their past together, which never happened - and so much was left unspoken that I was a little bit disappointed at the potential that was missed there.

However, I found this an exceptionally well written tale with a great amount of atmospheric detail that kept me enthralled to the end.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this amazing ghost story

and what a story it was...the best ghost/horror story i have read in ages

its very much on par with the early james herbert books that i read long ago...

no spoilers but its one that will keep you reading until you finish, so much happens that you want to know the whys and hows

another author to keep an eye on

This book uses the real story of the village of Imber as its background. The residents of Imber were removed to extend the army firing ranges on Salisbury Plain. In reality this occurred in 1943 but in this book it occurred during the first world war. The book itself is set between the wars.

Sarah Grey & Harry Price are ghost hunters who appear to have fallen out. I wasn't aware when reading this book that this was the second in a series so there are certain aspects which may make more sense if I had read the first book. However, when the offer is made for them to come together to go ghost hunting in Imber they are happy to work together again. Grey & Price seem to be of the sceptical type and are out to disprove the stories of the haunting in Imber.

This book started well and I was settling back to a good read. I enjoy a good ghost story and have read a great number of ghost stories both good and bad. However, the rest of the book didn't live up to the beginning.

The whole concept of the book got more and more fantastic as it went. As ghost hunters Grey & Price were quite gullible and not very thorough in their investigations. There are a couple of twists at the end which took us down roads away from the ghost story which just didn't work for me. The behaviour of some of the characters was most peculiar and their motives for this big ghost story situation quite unlikely. I apologise for not being detailed but I don't want to give out spoilers.

One very interesting fact which irritated me immensley was the trouble that the author had with distances. Driving between London and Salisbury Plain in the years between the world wars was a lengthy and time consuming journey. The characters seemed quite happy to leap in their cars and make this journey backwards and forwards in a day, at times seeming to take a very short time. I also noticed that the journey from the army camp to Imber village was quite flexible. Readers do notice these facts and writers do need to be aware & consistant.

I found the characters to be quite bland without much dimension. Having said that I may have got a better persepective on their personalities had I read the previous book in the series.

I didn't feel much suspense in this story. There were patches, particularly at the beginning, but the big seance which should have full of suspense and tension was quite lacking.

In all I found this a very mediocre book without the real atmosphere that a good ghost story requires.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

Thanks Quercus Books and netgalley for this ARC.

Horror at its finest. It sneaks up on you of a sudden- chills, deja vu, and that paranoid feeling you don't want to be alone.

I was attracted to this book by the deliciously creepy cover - I do love a traditional ghost story! At the time, I had not read the first book in the series (The Ghost Hunters) but I had seen the ITV adaptation. With hindsight, I should have read The Ghost Hunters first. I have now! There is quite a lot of past history between the main characters, Harry Price and Sarah Grey, explaining their unusual relationship - although the author does cover this in the early chapters.

The Lost Village starts in 1978 when Sarah hears a news story about the discovery of a child's remains in an uninhabited village on Salisbury Plain. It then cuts to 1932, when Sarah and Harry turn up at the same village - used as a training ground by the British Army - to investigate exactly what it is about the place that has got the soldiers so spooked.

The story was far scarier than the first one in the series, quite dark in places, and there are some genuinely chilling moments. While I loved the character of Harry Price in the first novel, here he doesn't seem quite so likeable. And although I can relate to Sarah being fascinated by such a larger-than-life character, I couldn't quite see that there was any more to their relationship than that.

Having said that, I did enjoy The Lost Village. While it didn't terrify me, it was scary enough to raise a few chills. I loved the setting of an abandoned village. There was also a spooky old house, church bells that rang themselves, séances, lots of double-crossing, and a few good twists I didn't see coming. I loved the scene at the end, when Imber's secret was revealed, although the final revelation was possibly a twist too far.

If you're in the mood for a gothic ghost story, The Lost Village makes the perfect Halloween read - but I would definitely recommend reading the first book in the series before this one, to fully appreciate the three main characters and their relationships.


(Rating: 4.5 rounded up to 5 stars)

Thank you to Neil Spring, Quercus, and Netgalley for my copy of this book, which I received in exchange for an honest review.

When I started reading this I didn't realise that this was the second book by Neil Spring about Harry Price and Sarah Grey, although I did remember the story as it was adapted for TV so it wasn't totally unknown.
Harry and Sarah are ghost hunters who have been thrown back together after the army want them to look into strange and ghostly goings on in the real-life village of Imber on Salisbury Plain, this lost village was purchased by the Army during WWII to train soldiers, although in this book the writer has taken some fictional liberties and has set timeline at the time of world war one.
This story though can be read as a standalone novel and I was intrigued enough to look up the history of Imber
afterwards. The book does keep the reader guessing right up to the end but as good as it was I did find it was a bit repetitive in places.

Assured and atmospheric, this series would be an excellent read for horror and crime fans alike