This story went in a direction that I wasn't expecting and don't particularly like (just a personal reading preference). It started out very interesting and intriguing but got very dark and scary pretty quickly. I think fans of horror would love this but those who are a little wary to things that go bump in the night may not enjoy it as much.

I received an e-arc of this book to read and review from the publisher and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Based on the description, I expected this book to be something different. It was very well written, was not hard to read, and most of the characters had depth to them, but I had a hard time identifying with one the main characters, which can definitely make it hard to stay interested. I don't have to love the character, just understand their POV and with this one, it was definitely difficult to justify a lot of her actions/storyline in my head. Not my usual cup of tea but as I said, it was very well written!

I originally requested this book because I like the concept of people disappearing and the use of social media and cell phones to track people down. And while I may be a huge fantasy, I still need to be able to believe the actions happening in a book. Right from the start I was having a hard time believing the actions behind the main character. I agree and understand with her addiction to social media and why she would stay away from it, that isn't the problem, it came to how she got into Scott's apartment, stayed there, and didn't tell anyone. Also, are you telling me there are people out there that wouldn't top to bottom search their loved one's phone's contents immediately and multiple times when the person they are missing?? The spread out quality of the checks and fear of viewing things, felt like a ploy to expand the book.

I also disliked how every time something creepy and engrossing was starting to happen, we'd flip to a flashback. Every. Time. Then we'd come back and the scary bit would be over and back to the drag we'd go. So yes, there are creepy moments that are awesome, but they'd last a second since we'd be forced back to happier more annoying times. I'm thinking this style of writing just doesn't work for me, but perhaps it does for others.

Weird

This was a very different from what I expected. The writing was quite good, well layered characters, highly unlikable as well. Kate is quite immature and not bright. What odd and ridiculous choices she makes. Painful.

This wasn’t a cut and dry thriller. It went rogue into the “out there” category. Not really my thing and entirely unbelievable but still interesting... Definitely a lesson in this one. I was entertained.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Orbit Books for a copy in exchange for a review.

There is a lot of buzz buzzing about this book and I can completely understand why. Social media and technology is how the story is being told to you and it's genius. I loved it.

I just wish I loved the story as much as the format used.

Overall, I enjoyed the atmosphere of this novel and I’ll definitely be picking up Arnopp's next novel because despite this one flopping a little for me I still have faith and really enjoy his writing. The characters and setting here are what really shined for me, I was just hoping for a little more…oomph out of the ending. This one ended in a way that felt a bit like watching a scary movie and the music is the only thing really getting your heart racing. You know you’re supposed to be thrilled but you’re just not quite there yet. This book has been enjoyed by so many people, so please don’t let my review stop you from reading it as I’m sure if you enjoy reading thrillers you’ll love this book.

Forget about computers taking over the world, instead we should all be worried about our smart phones taking over!

In this suspenseful multi genre book of psychological thriller meets ghost story meets the macabre, you have a recipe for one heck of a ride!

When Kate Collins meets and falls in love with Scott Palmer at a weekend retreat on how to curb phone addiction, and he finally asks her to relocate and move in with him, she is beyond thrilled.

As the date of her move nears, Kate's contact with Scott goes silent. Determined to squelch her fears that she has been dumped, or even that he has died, she packs up and moves her life. But when she gets to his apartment what she finds jolts her. Not only is Scott not there, but the apartment is empty with the exception of his cell phone.

Has the love of her life ghosted her? But why would he leave his phone in an empty apartment? So Kate decides to play detective. She figures out Scott's password to his phone. And that's when the situation begins to get very creepy.

Once into his phone, Kate discovers certain apps which she cannot believe belong to the person she fell in love with. How was he able to hide this other side of himself?

The story gets even eerier as Kate begins to see what she believes is a ghost and she starts to receive strange calls with strange voices from Scott's phone. But she is determined to find the answers and thus begins her obsession with his phone.

The underlining theme of the story is how we have become so co-dependent on social media for all types of entertainment that we are constantly looking down and never looking up. Our phones have taken on almost a human/friend component.

Ghoster was such a great read I was so tempted to flip to the last page, but I didn't and I am glad I was able to wait for the surprising ending which will suck you in!

Thank you so much to #NetGalley #OrbitBooks #JasonArnopp for the advanced copy.

It was one of the most straightforward books when I started reading it and by the end I was demanding more. You know absolutely nothing about what is going on, I assure you. You can guess, but you'll not get it right. It made frustrating sense, but I want more in the end. The twist the book takes is delicious and made my jaw drop. I'll take a prequel or a sequel. Just make it.

Ghoster

by Jason Arnopp

Orbit Books

Orbit

Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 22 Oct 2019

I am reviewing a copy of Ghoster through Orbit Books and Netgalley:

Kate Collins has been Ghosted. She was supposed to move in with her new Boyfriend Scott, but he disappeared with all of his belongings except for his smart phone. Kate knows she shouldn’t hack into Scott’s phone, that she should look at his social media, his calls, his text messages or his Tinder, but she isn’t able to help herself.

When she starts looking into his phone the trouble starts. Strange, phone calls with someone whispering from numbers she doesn’t recognize. Unexplainable Scratch marks on the walls. And the sinking feeling that she’s being watched.
Kate refuses to leave the apartment – she’s not going anywhere until she’s discovered what happened to Scott. But the deeper she dives into Scott’s digital history the more Kate realizes just how little she really knows about the man she loves.

I cannot recommend this book to anyone under the age of sixteen due to intense language and subject matter but I find this song to be worthy of three out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Started strong, and made for a brilliant read. Enjoyed the plot and really gets you thinking, Look forward to more by this author.

I was intrigued from the first page and any time I had to put it down I couldn't wait to pick it back up. I kept wanting to understand what happened to Scott Palmer. I thought at first he just left Kate but as the twists kept coming I realized that wasn't the case. I didn't think the book was creepy or scary but actually having finished it, made me realize we all have our nose in our phones too much of the time and that our phones emulate "the master". Were they dead the entire time?

3-4 stars. I enjoyed this book overall, but also struggled with how it was written too, I think the characters tended to do things that sort of took from the story, but it was still one I had a hard time setting down and enjoyed. I think it was really important with so much online dating, social media use today. I really got the chills in many places. Overall, I think most will enjoy this read and get some good thrills and chills!
Will make sure I buzz it up!

Ghoster had me hooked at first, but the further it went - and the more outlandish it became - I quickly found myself losing interest. Some will enjoy this - I'm not a big fan of paranormal/ghost stories but that's just me!

Even though I met my husband online, the dating world has changed so so much since then that this novel had me from the start! Imagine meeting the guy of your dreams, planning on moving in, only to have them "ghost you" totally to the point of emptying the apartment prior to your move in date?
Throw in some mysterious paranormal stuff, other disappearances and you have a rollicking decent read. I enjoyed it, and can safely recommend it, but it definitely won't be for everyone.
Good read, good time, and easy read - I personally didn't love the ending, but I understand it.
Thank you for the ARC!

Kate Collins is a paramedic from Leeds who is moving to Brighton to live with her boyfriend Scott, an IT specialist.
The day of the move, she becomes a bit nervous, she is unable to reach him by phone.
When she arrives at the flat ahead of the moving truck, she finds it empty. No signs that Scott has ever been there, until she finds his mobile phone abandoned out on the patio.
Having already given notice at her previous job and apartment, she has no choice but to move in anyway and start her new job.
Kate solves the pass code on Scott's phone, and begins to decipher any clues he's left on it, trying to clear up the puzzle he's left behind.
While she's investigating in his phone, spooky things happen at his place. Wood chips mysteriously appear on the floor, from gouge marks on the door and strange sounds wake her up at night.
Then the story goes off into the supernatural and otherworldly, with ghosts materializing.
I was very entertained by the first half of the book. It kept me on my toes and the chapters would end with a cliffhanger so I would have to go on to the next one right away to find out what happpened.
When it began to get too far out, it became less believable and less interesting for me.
The author put too many different things in the story so it was kind of a chaotic jumble.
A great beginning and a satisfactory ending, with too much going on in the middle!
Thank you to Orbit for the e-ARC via NetGalley.
3.5 stars rounded down to 3 stars.

Rating: ★★★☆☆+

Synopsis

Jason Arnopp – author of acclaimed cult hit The Last Days of Jack Sparks – returns with a razor-sharp thriller for a social-media obsessed world. Prepare to never look at your phone the same way again . . .

Kate Collins has been ghosted.

She was supposed to be moving in with her new boyfriend Scott, but all she finds after relocating to Brighton is an empty apartment. Scott has vanished. His possessions have all disappeared.

Except for his mobile phone.

Kate knows she shouldn’t hack into Scott’s phone. She shouldn’t look at his Tinder, his calls, his social media. But she can’t quite help herself.

That’s when the trouble starts. Strange, whispering phone calls from numbers she doesn’t recognise. Scratch marks on the walls that she can’t explain. And the growing feeling that she’s being watched.

Kate refuses to leave the apartment – she’s not going anywhere until she’s discovered what happened to Scott. But the deeper she dives into Scott’s digital history the more Kate realises just how little she really knows about the man she loves.

Review

Thanks to the publisher and author for an advance reading copy of Ghoster in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this ARC did not influence my thoughts or opinions on the novel.

Ghoster shows just how social media and technology are shaping our lives, whether we allow them to or not. A cautionary tale about believing everything you see online about an individual and becoming over-connected to them, Arnopp doesn’t pull any punches and cuts right to the chase. Ghoster is the much-needed thriller for a society that is obsessed with smartphones and instant gratification.

I’d seen a ton of great reviews for Arnopp’s last novel, The Last Days of Jack Sparks, and jumped on the hype train earlier this month. It was a fantastic and horrific story, full of laughs and genuine terror, giving me even more of a reason to boost this one up my TBR. Unlike Jack Sparks, though, I couldn’t really stand our girl, Kate Collins. While I am sure her actions indicative of the society we live in (naive, gullible, every decision is at the “drop of a hat”), I couldn’t help but shake my head at EVERY SINGLE decision she made. Too many warning signs up front, and the fact that she found this guy via Tinder (and apologies to anyone who found ACTUAL love on Tinder; you are the minority) just gives me even more reason for pause.

Having said that, I know the author had to write the character like that in order for this story to make sense and flow the way it did. Otherwise, this book would’ve been 20 pages long. BUT, all of the twists and turns, mixed with the paranormal suspense, makes this a very enjoyable story to read. Every time a Kate unveils a clue, a new rub is formed and floods of information about Scott and his real self begin to emerge. At 496 pages, this may look like a slog to get through, but the author has crafted it in such a way as the pages fly by and you never feel bogged down by the sheer weight of paper.

Maybe instead of being flooded by robot calls on the daily, today’s society needs a good kick to the noggin and their cell phones to be shut off for a couple of days out of the week. I always think about ditching the smartphone for an extended period of time and going back to the ole Nokia flip, but with how connected we are all are via our smartphones these days, it is damn near impossible to do. Social media, apps, email, texts… the list goes on. I can’t imagine a day where I could just leave that all behind (granted I could leave social media right now if it wasn’t for the book blog) but my family and friends would panic if I didn’t respond to a text within a short period of time. Ho sad is that? Before cell phones, if someone didn’t answer their home phone, it meant they weren’t home; it didn’t mean they were dead or kidnapped. It is an epidemic that is far from over.

Overall, while I didn’t enjoy Ghoster as much as TLDoJS, and even with the issues with Kate’s character, I really enjoyed the story that Arnopp graced us with. There are plenty of forks in the road and paths to choose, details to uncover and questions to be answered. I hope you’ll give it a chance as I am glad I did.

Ghoster by Jason Arnopp was just ok for me. I thought it was a thriller but ended up being horror.. For me, the style in which it was written was hard to follow. The overall story was good though. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Well, this was definitely NOT what I was expecting. It was positioned as a thriller, so I wasn't expecting it to end up being horror! As other reviewers have mentioned, you'll definitely need to suspend disbelief for this one, especially if you aren't used to reading books with supernatural aspects. I do enjoy horror novels, so I kept reading.

The book immediately had me hooked, with Kate planning to move in with her long distance boyfriend Scott, only to arrive and find him gone, and his apartment cleared out. I was dying to know what happened and why he ditched her at the last minute! As the story unraveled, I grew more and more frustrated with Kate and her dependance on her phone, which was definitely the point of the book. The writing was great - it had me engaged throughout the entire novel, and the short chapters made it easy to keep reading!

There were points throughout the story that reminded me of a black mirror episode, where we see the dark side of technology and our addiction to it, which was an interesting component. Where the book started to lose me was the last third or so. Things got a little haywire and didn't wrap up in the direction I expected - things definitely got a little weird. I was really torn on whether to rate this one 3 or 4 stars, so I'm going to land in the middle at 3.5, largely because of the ending. I don't want to say too much and give it away, so I'll leave it at that.

If you're looking for a traditional thriller that lives in the world of reality, I'd say go ahead and skip this one, however if you're a fan of books that bend genres between thrillers and horror/paranormal, definitely give this one a shot!

I started reading this book thinking it was about one thing and then quickly realized I was wrong. Dead wrong. However I loved that about it. Initially the story is about a young woman who thinks she has met the man for her and quits her job and moves a few hours away to be with him. Only to find out when she gets there that not only is he not there, but none of his things are there. From there the story takes you on a fun, crazy, and obsessive ride to find out what happened. Some things are unexplainable and hard to believe but thats what makes this a fun read. It is a mystery/horror story. And knowing that going in is helpful. I was sucked in and couldn’t wait to see how it ended. I read this in one day. Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Publishing for the ARC!

I am pleased to recommend this suspense novel from Jason Arnopp. I was intrigued by the premise of Ghoster, and Mr Arnopp definitely delivered! The heroine attends a digital detox, meets a man, starts a relationship, and when she shows up to move in with said man - is "Ghosted!" Our heroine doesnt just give up, she digs in. She refuses to leave the apartment, begins hacking into the man's phone, and makes discovery after discovery. Ghosted is great psychological suspense, and the comparisons readers will make to their own digital worlds will knock them for a loop. The heroine is rather weak at first, however I commend Mr. Arnopp in having her grow throughout the story and leaving me concerned about her fate. I would definitely read more from Jason Arnopp.
4.0
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

I thought the premise of this book was an interesting. When Kate arrives at Scott's apartment the day she is supposed to move in, she find that he is gone and all of his things are gone as well She wants to figure out what happens although this means going back on a smartphone and returning to her hate relationship with all things social media. As she searches through the apartment she finds Scott's cell phone and wants to know what has happened so spends almost all her time trying to solve the mystery. By the end of the book, I really felt that this book kind of fell apart and lost me. I did finish the book, but really did not understand why some of the choices were made.