Unfortunately this book was not for me, it was a bit slower than I would like and it just didn't hold my attention. I am sure other people will love it!

I started this book filling good anticipation since I’ve rated the previous book in this series a 4. However as I read on, I just could not accept the logic of certain scenes throughout the story.

1) In the early part of the book, the author writes out Ellie’s thought process as she struggles to relate to who Olivia Beaumont is. I felt that thought process was much too mature and sophisticated than what an 8 year old’s should be.

2) Jordon and Callie were friends, he helped her fixed up the rest of the Beau Rivage mansion. Their friendship was destroyed when Jordon shouted mercilessly at Callie for giving Landry his contact details. The next time they contacted each other was when Callie came over to see if he is alright with his twins missing. And suddenly they are enamoured with each other and became lovers? The development of their romance is bizarre and lack depth.

3) Mark Streater came back… just like how Mack Thorn did in Forgotten Men. I see similarities there. He came back for revenged on Callie. What I don’t understand is, how did he thought that holing up in the Arbor would help his revenge ideas? We first came to know Mark holed up in the Arbor right after he has attended daytime tour of the Arbor. But we also know Callie and Jordon hooked up only after his twin girls went missing- way past the time Mark toured the Arbor. Unless Mark had a ghost telling him “yo. Stay in the Arbor cos that’s how u kill Callie when she ends up hooking up w Jordon. Oh, don’t worry abt them being enemies nw, things will change 360deg once the twins go missing which they will soon”. So yeah- very illogical to me. I really wanted the mysterious man to be Charles Perrault or Bruno Duval’s unknown son coming back to stir trouble, that would have sounded way more exciting and logical. I felt like the author just threw Mark in for the sake of creating a tie in to previous novel and to come up with the least effort to create a villain simply because Mark already existed

4) The last quarter of the book was heavily laden with “all talk and no show”. What I mean by that is the author going “Callie does this, Callie does that, Callie spoke to Landry about this and about that”. There were very minimal character speeches, and the author is just telling us in third person pov who’s doing what. I find it very hard to relate and very hard to the book. I felt like the author got excited writing the first part of the novel and towards the end, he loses steam and just wanted to get it done and over with.

5) I felt that Landry’s shift from investigative reporter in Forgotten Men (book2) to a ghost hunger/investigative reporter in this book is sudden and doesn’t link up. He started out as a deputy investigating crimes. Not ghosts. And even in his debut crime solving in Forgotten Men, he did so on as he was motivated to solve cold crime cases at the prison, not to hunt ghosts. So… what changed?

Though I appreciate the nice twist that Anne Marie sacrificed herself in exchange for the twins (very heartwarming ending), I can’t help but rooted for the twins to have gone permanently. Because… what else could have made this story more interesting and impactful? All the Bayou Hauntings books so far had a happy ending. It would be nice to have a change for once.


If you truly wish to understand this book, I feel that you have to read book 1 and book 2.

I really loved this book in a new to me author. The characters and location really and to the story. I can't wait to read the next one. This book keeps you guessing until the end.

This is the third Book in the Bayou Trilogy. I was unaware this was part of a trilogy before picking the book up but that doesn’t create a problem though I would usually start from book 1 but that’s my error.

A Ghost story almost kind of crime thriller hybrid, this atmosphere filled gothic tale is a well written and easy read that would suit fans looking for a paranormal thriller.

With inviting protagonists and a great setting and haunted houses it has all the elements of a classic ghostly tale

Eerie and Creepy with enough twists and turns to entertain this is good read for the dark winter nights

This is the third book in this series, which I was not aware of when I requested it. I didn't struggle understanding what was going on. Easy to jump into it but I am sure it would be fun to read them all from the beginning..Heads up, you won't enjoy these characters. At all. Even a little bit. I didn't mind Lauren or the girls, but the rest of them? Had I not wanted to know what happened, my dislike for the whole bunch of them would have made me put the book down. The story line is very good, however.

I love haunted house books and the idea of an empty nursery that's been sealed up for fifty years definitely motivated me to pick this one up. Unfortunately, the writing style didn't work for me at all and the further I got into the plot, the less it held my interest.

The Nursery is the third title in The Bayou Hauntings series. Other than the lack of any knowledge about main characters Callie Pillantro from #1 and Landry Drake from #2, readers won’t feel like they’re missing out on anything by reading this as a stand-alone. Callie is a haunted B&B owner and Landry is a ghost-hunter with his own documentary show. I don’t know if these two characters have encountered each other in the previous books, but they do in this title.

Our supernatural mystery starts with the scene of a tour around The Arbors, a house (more like a mansion) owned by architect Jordan Blanchard, who lives there with his twin daughters and whose company operates in the same house. One of the tour highlights is a locked room for which the keys aren’t able to be found. This mysterious room (not so mysterious due to the title) isn’t able to be forced open due to the specific instructions left by the previous owner Olivia. The tour was reaching its end when they discovered one of their group was missing, only to look up at the tower and see the tourist in question struggling as if fighting off an assailant and (as expected) fell over the balcony to her death. This exact tragedy had played out before at the very same spot, only starring one of Olivia’s husbands.

Landry was trying to find the next haunted property for his show and was directed to The Arbors by his friend Callie. At first, Landry was rudely turned away by Jordan. Eventually, Jordan had to ask for Landry’s help when his twin daughters found the key to the locked room (that -surprise- turned out to be a nursery/playroom containing two cribs) and ended up missing. The only explanation left was the supernatural. Their only clue was that Jordan’s twin daughters had befriended an adult woman named Cherry, who only the twins can see.

I haven’t personally had much experience reading supernatural thrillers so, to be frank, I’ve no idea what makes a good one. The horror factor isn’t extreme, neither is the scare factor. The mystery of it is simple and there are plenty of clues but as a reader, I couldn’t figure it out. In terms of plot, it is not overly complex despite involving two timelines (the present and the events during Olivia’s lifetime) so it’s able to tie up nicely.

Dark mystery that sucks you into a different place. A nightmare where no one wants to be. Good read. Can’t put it down. Wondering where it’s going to go And which way to turn

Upon the iwner’s request, a house stayed empty for fifty years after the owner’s death. Finally, a father with two twin daughters buys the house. There is a locked room inside the house and there seems to be no key. A dark nusery that seems like it was never used.

This story was amazing! The twists and turns on every page, the beautiful writing style, the compelling storyline and the great characters are some of the things I loved about this book. I love horror books, and this one definitely did not disappoint l.

You can find this review and all of my others over at www.readbookrepeat.wordpress.com.

Landry Drake is an investigative journalist and ghost hunter. He crosses paths with a young woman called Callie Pilantro when he wishes to learn more about her haunted house and the ghost that she lives with. Callie, however, is not interested in sharing her story, or her spirit's. She does have a lead though, a close friend of hers, architect Jordan Blanchard has recently purchased a house called The Arbors in St. Francisville, Louisiana, and he's been experiencing some strange things. Landry decides to approach Mr. Blanchard about his happenings, but is shot down rather fiercely, Jordan has twin daughters who are 8 years old and does not want the publicity that Landry's work will no doubt bring down upon the Arbors. However, as things start to ramp up and the strange happenings begin to get stranger, Jordan is left with nothing else to do besides start investigating the history of the house, and the strange recluse woman who lived their prior. The woman who made stipulations in her will that the house was not to be sold until she'd been dead 50 years, and that the locked room on the second floor is never to be disturbed. What will become of Jordan and his daughters?

When I originally requested this, I was SO excited because I absolutely LOVE a good haunted house ghost story. I was disappointed though when I realised it didn't send to my kindle, at least, that's what I thought. It had actually been sent to my kindle under a different name so sat there for AAGGGEESSS, before I realised it was actually there. So here we are. I powered through this story, as I said, I love a good haunted house story, and this one was enjoyable. I did have a couple of issues with it though...

The narrative was very monotonous and clinical. There didn't appear to be a flow as the story was more telling than showing, if I'm honest it was ALL telling, there was no showing in Thompson's prose at all. Things didn't really 'lead' anywhere so to speak, one paragraph the character is thinking of doing something, and the next they're doing it. There wasn't any story telling, at least for me there wasn't, it was all very blocky and 'this thing happened and Joe is thinking about this. Now Joe is doing the thing. Now this is happening. Then this happened' it was very...I'm honestly not even sure of the word I'm looking for, I guess monotonous is the best term for it, for lack of a better word. This did detract from the story a bit for me, in the first half odd of the book anyway. By around half way through, I'd become used to the clunky story explaining so it didn't jar me out of the story as much.

Dialogue was also given a weird treatment here. You have your normal dialogue between characters denoted by the " " signs, but then halfway through a conversation at times, the dialogue would switch to being told by the narrative, instead of being carried out in conversation by the characters we were simply told what the response or statement was. I found this an odd quirk of Thompson's writing, but as I said, once I got used to it it didn't jar me out of the story that much, though I can't say I'm a big fan of the writing style of the piece, it just didn't gel well for me.

The story itself was incredibly well thought out. At first I thought that we would be following Landry's investigation, however the story was told mostly from Jordan's side of things, I won't say point of view as the story is written in third person, not first, but we see most of the happenings from Jordan's side. It does switch between other characters here and there which I found didn't jar me out of the story and it wasn't hard to follow what was happening or who's side we were seeing things from. The mystery was incredibly well done, and I take my hat off to Thompson who was able to create an eerie, well thought out mystery, and not just one mystery, there is two and I didn't even realise until a character pointed something out. I'm not going to go into detail because I found it a lovely twist that added a bit of spice to the story and complimented it nicely.

The characters are written well enough, they each have an individual voice and distinctive personality, but I'm just not too sure that I enjoyed the character of Jordan as much as I possibly should have. When he finds out who Landry is, the first time they actually meet, he is abrasive, brash, rage filled, and rude, I understand that he doesn't want his daughters in the spotlight, but I found his character flaw was massive anger management issues, he flew off the handle so easily that at times he was a hard character to like. I found that Thompson wrote the thoughts and actions of the 8 year old twins well, the thought patterns that were expressed and the worry over things was well executed and believable for the character's age. The characters weren't stand out amazing, but they were well written enough that it made for an enjoyable enough story.

All in all, this story probably didn't live up to my expectations, I thought I would have enjoyed it more. However, the story did drag me in and keep me turning those pages in order to find out what was going to happen next. Not a stand out star of a read, but definitely a page turner and enjoyable enough once you get past the telling prose and odd dialogue choices.

I really enjoyed this mystery. It is the third in a series, however, you do not necessarily have to read the others to understand this one. This was an enjoyable haunted house mystery that threw in some love and family along with it.

Another 5 star book by Bill Thompson! I absolutely loved it. A man and his twin girls buys a house that is not only cheap but it wasn’t allowed to be sold for 50 years after the owners death with one provision don’t open up the locked door or make any changes to it at all. The girls hears a voice that tells them where the key is for the door and they go to their dad. Then comes the adventure with Landry, the tv ghost adventurer and others from the previous books. Can’t wait for the next one!

Thankyou to NetGalley, Ascendente Books and the author, Bill Thompson, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of The Nursery in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.

Well, it looks like I need to binge read Mr Thompson's books, especially the other 2 books in the Haunted Bayou series. Trust me, that is something I am eagerly looking forward to.

I loved reading this book. The storyline was well thought out and written with intriguing characters. The setting was well drawn and captivating. There were certainly plenty of chills to keep you glued to your chair. I could not finish this book fast enough. Was well worth the sleep deprivation. 4.5 stars.

Well worth a read.

I haven’t picked up anything by this author, Bill Thompson before I decided to read this novel, THE NURSERY. I selected this because I liked the interesting premise however I wasn’t initially aware that it was the third in a series when I originally chose it.

A house has sat empty for fifty years as its dead owner requested. There is a locked room with no key and a single father with eight-year-old twin girls. A dusty, dank nursery from long ago that no child ever played in.

There are eerie things going on at The Arbors in St. Francisville, Louisiana. Architect Bart Blanchard is joined by his friend, Callie Pilantro and paranormal investigator, Landry Drake, to learn the secrets of a domineering matriarch whose two husbands died in bizarre ways. As they discover more secrets in the house, someone is watching from a hidden room at the very top of the huge old mansion.

The intriguing story-line totally captured my attention from the start as I found myself transported into The Arbors. I was totally absorbed all the way through, until the fulfilling conclusion.

The author’s writing style was very appealing, brilliantly encapsulating the core of the scenes that I was visualising whilst reading. Bill Thompson’s special way with the prose made this complex and enthralling horror story very unique to me. Overall, THE NURSERY is a very worthwhile read with loads of scary moments and plenty of atmosphere. Don’t read it in the dark, on your own!

Thanks to NetGalley, Ascendente Books and the author, Bill Thompson, for my complimentary copy of The Nursery. My honest review is entirely voluntary.

Man oh man! This book was lit. I enjoyed it so much. I’m a scaredy-cat too so now I have to go to sleep with my tv on or I’m going to be thinking about Olivia or Anne-Marie. This book was a trip. I mean there was so much. You can kind of see the things fall into place early on but the story telling just makes you want to keep reading it anyways. I enjoyed every bit of it. I did not see the end coming. I highly recommend this book.

I wish I could say I loved this book but I couldn't get into the storyline or the characters at all. I have tried to complete this book many times over the months but just can't get through the entire book.

Do you love a scary story? Well then, you are going to LOVE this book! Don't read this one with the lights off...

Jordan found the Arbors home one that could not be passed up. Fabulous older home, with an even better price tag. He is a little hesitant when he first sees the amount, only because there is no way that the house could go for that price. When they move in, there are very few restrictions on this historic home, but Jordan is about to discover the consequences of messing with things that are best meant to be left alone.

Discover the horror that awaits in this idyllic home in The Nursery.

Ya'll, no lie - I could NOT put this book down! I ended up stopping work this afternoon just to finish reading! I was hooked from the start and this book did not disappoint. Get ready for a fabulous adventure, and a night of sleeping with the lights on!

Bill Thompson has taken tried and true horror setting and given it new life in this story of a man and his two daughters. The Nursery has all of the elements of a horror story that you should not read just before bed and the added characters of a movie crew that researches ghost sightings. Add the two together and it's a race to the end of the book to see what's going to happen. Bill Thompson ties in the characters from his other series, a feat that gives us hope of more to come.

This book was third in a series. I thought it looked interesting, but I have not read the other books. I was lucky this series the books are easy to jump into when not read in the correct order. The book was a little creepy for me which I love. But it did refer to things that must have happened in the other books. I didn't enjoy the characters as much as I thought I would but overall the book was ok for me. I was just hoping for a little more from this book. I was looking for more. But I do love books about haunted houses. *This book was given to me for free at my request from NetGalley and I provided this voluntary review. *

Creepy, well written and amazing!

After a month long reading funk, I decided to try and start of going back with books I don't read as much. I'm a very Fantasy girl. So with The Sculptor and The Nursery in my TBR lists, both in the Thriller and Horror theme, something I enjoy but don't read as much I decided to give it a go!
Starting light, I know.

And wow did this book hook me in! Bill Thompson really did set in a creepy house, and creepy ambiance with this book! Which I just found it the 3 one, so of course now I am really wanting to go and find the first two to just understand even more of the world Thompson is building up within this series and characters!