Smithy by Amanda Desiree is a very subtle book. It is an epistolary novel, that is, it is composed of reports, diary entries, letters, interviews and transcripts which together provide the narrative. The subject matter of the novel is an experiment that took place at Trevor Hall, an old, sprawling dilapidated mansion where a group of grad students and a professor explored the possibilities of teaching sign language to a baby chimpanzee. The author ably constructs the intricate, daily routine of the house while weaving in a sense of unease through very small unusual elements. The subtlety lies in the ambiguity of the strangeness - accidents, or something else?

Smithy is the chimpanzee, though his real name is Webster, but the affectionate Smithy became the term of common usage in the novel. With him, we are introduced to a cast of students who live and work with him/. At first, things go well, as the characters are entranced by the huge mansion they are living in. A bit of time is spent on introducing the cast and indicating their different personalities. A significant portion of the first part of the book is spent in discussing the first phase of the experiment - sign language training and the mostly positive experience of the characters with Smithy. The epistolary style helps, as it presents the reader with a range of points of view - from the developments of the project through bulletin board entries, to the internal monologue of characters through letters and diary entries. Occasionally later interviews and book excerpts are spliced in to lend flashes of hindsight. As the book progresses, the daily routine is interrupted more and more, in unpredictable ways by a series of small incidents that range from being a bit strange, to unusual, to quite frightening. The scientific temper of the team is strained as these incidents help to open up incipient rifts. As personalities clash, and the inexplicable rears its head, the students and professor have to question their root assumptions.

This is a book about denial. Time and again, the characters are confronted with incidents that question their basic assumptions, including about their own safety. And repeatedly these are ignored. The author uses this element of denial to highlight how expectations about and investment in the project lead to a systematic neglect of basic investigations and precautions.

I really enjoyed this book. The pacing was fairly smooth, the epistolary style lent texture and depth to the story, and the subtlety and ambiguity of the uncanny elements leaves much to the fertile imagination of the reader. Ultimately, many questions are left unanswered, but this is by design. The author presents all the elements needed to paint the full picture, and leaves the brush lying in the open so we may fill in the grey spaces.

The story of smithy is so well crafted, it instilled a sense of rare terror and sadness in me: mostly because I am sensitive to the plight of animals, and know of many sad stories of human owned chimps.

There are different ways the book tells a story, through letters and transcripts. It is fleshed out spooky story, one that actually scared me and made me uncomfortable which is rare. I would suggest this to those who are more accustomed to serious horror, with little humor and more darkness.

I want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an ARC to read, I will be buying this book when it releases!

Almost made my DNF pile several times. I like several parts but others bored me. I wasn’t a fan of the layout either. The last 10% got really good.

I've Gone Ape Over This Book!

But, first of all, I need to say that I am extremely POd at some reviewers who included spoilers without warning that they were doing so. --- Bad, bad, bad! Don't do that! --- If there is a twist, do your best to hide what it is, especially if the synopsis has done so.

Fortunately, I didn't read these ahead of time and so the sense of dread was allowed to grow until I read about 40% of the book, when things exploded into full-blown terror. This book is exactly the sort of intellectual horror I like best. Like the late Michael Crichton, the author has crafted a book with a technical framework that allows the educated layman an estimation of scientific validity, instead of the more familiar creature or haunted house story that could be scary and thrilling, but usually not surprising or original. I wish I could give it ten stars!

Amanda Desiree's use of journal entries, diaries, letters, media articles, and interview transcripts to reveal the characters' interplay of egos, flirtations, and in some cases, limerence, was distinctly effective and revelatory in combination. I couldn't help but sympathise with all of the young researchers. The contrast of their emotional and action-driven chapters with the drier, clinical material served to heighten this reader's emotional involvement while the cleverly camouflaged foreshadowing drove up the creep factor to fever strength.

I suspect that this author has another pen name, and I'm curious about what else she's (or he's or they've) written. The dramatic and feminine-sounding last name seems as deliberately misleading as the plot and, partly because of it, I seriously underestimated this book's impact. The very last page was like a punch in the gut.

Thank you, NetGalley, Inkshares, and especially Amanda Desiree, for giving me the opportunity to read this advance reader copy. The honest, wholehearted, and enthusiastic recommendation I'm giving is more passionate than usual: I feel honored to endorse this book!

Smithy is a slow-burning haunted house tale - told entirely through mixed media - featuring group tension, dread, and a young chimpanzee. We meet Webster (soon to be nicknamed “Smithy”) at the beginning of a psychological study. Dr. Piers Preis-Herald and a somewhat ragtag group of students will live with Smithy, and attempt to teach him ASL. They move into the dilapidated Trevor Hall in Newport, Rhode Island, and the study begins.

Through journals, diary entries, and transcripts, we see the day to day life in Trevor Hall. Smithy gets smarter (and stronger) by the day. Tensions rise over issues with the study, money, and the strange occurrences that begin happening around the house. Smithy starts acting out, signing strange words and reacting to something the handlers can’t see. This twist on the classic “child/pet seeing ghosts” is so well done and very refreshing.

This book really astounded me- I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did! Like all my favorite haunted house stories it moved slowly, but kept enough dread in the background to feel unsettling. Add in the ticking time clock of a growing chimp (seriously, chimps are scary!), and I didn’t want to put this book down. At the beginning I was afraid that all the characters would get confusing, or muddle the waters. They all come to have their own voices, and the author handled them all beautifully.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a good haunted house story, especially if they’re looking for an interesting modern take on it. I read this as an ebook, and I’m thinking the experience of reading the physical book would be even better to really make the most of the mixed media aspects.

*I received this book as an eARC from netgalley in exchange for my honest review!

While there was a lot to like in this book, all in all, it just never quite got anywhere.

The research is evident in the setting and plot. The ambiance of Newport in the 70s and the feeling of the mansions as odes to almost offensive wealth make you feel like you are there. The history of Smithy, how the researchers are working and interpreting his “speech” references Nim the Chimp and Koko the Gorilla with a critical eye to where that research failed. My favorite part was how well the author captures working in research. If you study doesnt feel like you are trapped in a house with the seven stupidest people you know pretending to be brilliant, you probably aren't doing science. (Just kidding, but not really.)

However, all this work just doesn't really make anything happen. The book spends so long building the big reveal that by the time the protagonists get there, the reader is already over it. Even when the story looks like it is coming together, there is no real resolution. All you are left with is a bunch of people who failed at the scientific method and an animal that acted, well, like an animal. This book always felt like it was heading somewhere good, but then...fin. Lastly, the epistolary format is interesting, but also makes it clear that this is a filtered version of events, so even if the reader suspends disbelief for the horror, it is hard to really engage with this as a scary story.

I really enjoyed the way this story was told. Diary entries, letters and memo really developed each character beautifully and kept me interested. The research study felt genuine and the haunting aspect was vague but intriguing. The ending was upsetting but worth the read.

This was a really unique and interesting concept. It was well written and the structure is refreshing, switching from diary entries, to newspaper clippings, and video descriptions. However it is quite a slog. I was 60% through the novel before anything actually started happening. Once the horror aspects do begin, they are few and far between

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Caution: spoilers!

I was drawn to this book both by the cover art and the description. Who doesn't love a good ape/ghost crossover? I would give this book 3/5 stars.

I am a bit torn about this book. To start, I was not expecting the entire book to be excerpts from journals and diaries, letters to friends and family, and video transcripts. I wasn't crazy about the idea, but it ultimately had no bearing on my opinion of this book.

Smithy is such a sweet and beloved character, that I wanted to reach into the book and help him when things were scary. I find it a bit irritating that we never see whether or not Smithy is normal after leaving the house. I don't like that the ghost's identity, purpose, and further actions are never tied up for the reader. The book ended abruptly, without really explaining anything.

I came to hate the character of Doctor Piers Preis- Herald. He was emotionless, without empathy and compassion. He began by taking the study so seriously that nothing could convince him to stop it, and ended by selling Smithy to researchers, and apparently just cutting his losses. That, to me, was absurd.

Aside from some grammatical and editing errors, this book was worth reading.

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

“Smithy” is one of the most fascinating books I’ve read in a while. Told in an epistolary form, It’s a slow burn of the highest order and one that never really erupts into flames, but kind of just keeps you simmering. Page by page filling you with a sense of unease and dread. A group of budding college scientists with an ego driven womanizing professor at the helm embark on a study to see if a chimpanzee, Smithy, can truly learn language and communication. They move the team into a old mansion and begin to teach him sign language. Sounds simple enough. But Smithy begins to sign things that don’t make sense or signing at something or someone that can’t be seen. Bit by bit things begin to unravel. What I loved was how much we get to know all these characters. They all truly become friends and you feel like you’re one of the housemates for a while. With their letters and diary entries it makes it all click and is a nice hook into these characters. I also loved Smithy and ached for him deeply. For me, “Smithy” was ultimately a story about language and communication and how we relate to each other and how those failures impact our lives and beyond. In the midst of trying to see if an ape can communicate we are shown constant struggles of humans to communicate effectively with each other that creates chaos, confusion, doubt, and horror. This book is not gonna be for everyone, I’m sure many will be bored after the first 100 pages, but for me I couldn’t put it down. I breezed through its 500 pages like nothing and I was incredibly intrigued by what it was saying. With a cover like that I’m sure many are wondering, is it scary? Yes and no. It’s creepy, it’s eerie, there are brief moments that chill the blood, but I wouldn’t say scary. I’m not quite sure it’s even horror. It feels like a genre all its own! Very unique! It was endlessly fascinating though and I’m still torn on the ending, but wow this one is unlike any ghost story I’ve read and I think someone is gonna make one hell of a movie out of it someday, because the base premise is just gold. Give it a shot. I’m glad I did.

Smithy is a haunted house tale like no other. It follows the journey of a chimpanzee and a group of college students’ as they navigate sign language and ghosts.

The genre of found footage horror in books is fairly new to me, however I love it so far. The jumping between journal entries, interviews, memos and diaries kept the reader engaged and alert.

The character building was wonderful. I felt invested in Smithy, in Ruby and Jeff’s budding romance, in Wanda’s power plays and in Gail’s naïveté. I felt myself cringe every time Wanda would try to insert her opinion, awkwardly, into the group. I felt happiness when Ruby finally got to move in with Jeff even if it was under terrifying circumstances.

Where this fell a little flat for me was in the amount of detail in regards to the scientific study on Smithy. Some may find this intriguing, but I was more interested in the haunted house and the “dark woman”. It is a horror story after all.

I would have loved to see the story of the ghost and the history of the house fleshed out a bit more. The scenes of horror were terrifying and led the reader to down many avenues of thought regarding the ghost. That storyline never quite played out and the reader was left wondering.

Overall, it was a really unique take on an old horror trope. The “found footage” writing style fit the story perfectly. Read if you’re a fan of parapsychology, science and a spooky haunted house setting thrown in!

In 1972, renowned researcher Dr. Piers Preis-Herald brought together a group of collegiate researchers to study the inner lives of man's closest relative--primates. His team would undertake their study by raising a young chimpanzee and teaching him American Sign Language. The primate selected was born chimpanzee #710642 at the Kohlberg Center for Primate Research. He would eventually be known to the world as Smithy.
Nearly fifty years after the Smithy Project ended in tragedy at Trevor Hall, the question remains: Was Smithy a hoax? A clever mimic? A Rorschach projection of humanity's greatest hopes and fears? Or was he indeed what devotees of metaphysics have claimed for so long: a link between our world and the next?

“Smithy”was different from anything I have read before, about 500 pages it is a bit of a sense read. Although the style of which Amanda decided to go definitely made it more interesting and kept my attention. While I don’t think it’s necessarily a horror novel, more on the thriller side, horror fans would enjoy it. Thank you so much to Netgalley for letting me read “Smithy” in exchange for an honest review.

1972- Dr. Piers Preis-Herald acquired a newborn baby chimpanzee, named Webster, from the Kohlberg Center for Primate Research as part of an experiment in linguistics. Dr. Preis-Herald's experiment required Webster being raised in a human environment where he would be taught American Sign Language in hopes that he could master communication and bridge the gap between man and animal.
1974- Dr. Preis-Harald brings together a group of collegiate researchers to further Webster's communication skills in a more controlled environment. Over the next few years the team would live at Trevor Hall, an abandoned and somewhat dilapidated mansion, where they provided round the clock care and training for Webster whom they affectionately nickname "Smithy". The team begins to question their safety as they experience a string of unexplained incidents that appear to correlate with Smithy's bizarre behaviors and the houses dark history.

Smithy is an enjoyable and haunting tale in which a research team believes their young charge, a chimpanzee named Webster, is communicating with ghosts. This is primarily an epistolary novel written through letters, diary entries, excerpts, and archival film footage which slowly reveals the tragic events of the Smithy project, 20 years prior, and questions the validity of those events. Although this started out a bit slow for me, primarily due to the overly descriptive nature of the architectural styles, it does pick up fairly quickly once the team is introduced to Smithy. The events that occur are quite unnerving and eventually escalate to a horrific and disturbing end to the project. This novel blends social sciences, specifically psychology and sociology, animal studies, and the paranormal to create a unique horror experience.

'Smithy' by Amanda Desiree ✔ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
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Thank you to @netgalley and @inkshares for the advanced copy of this book. Smithy focuses on a group of psychology students in the 70's taking part in an experiment to teach a chimpanzee named Smithy to communicate using sign language. The residential study takes place in a long ago disused boarding school and soon Smithy is signing that there is more in the house than just his teachers👻🤦‍♀️
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This book was an absolute joy to read. I adored it! Such a refreshing format for a horror novel, with most of it written as diary excerpts/ clips of interviews and footage etc it was a really different experience to read in this format. I loved the slow build where the reader understood smithy before the teachers did and the aspects of hindsight the writing format could display. Favourite book I've read this year so far!
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This is set to be published 13th April 2021 and I highly recommend if you love horror/suspenseful books👌
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#smithy #amandadesiree #netgalleyuk #netgalleyarc #inkshares #horrornovels #horrorbooks #horrorreads #5starreads #5starbooks #5starreview

One of the most unique and we'll executed horror novels I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

Set in the early to mid 1970s, the story follows a study in which a chimpanzee is taught sign language. The setting is an aging mansion in Newport, Rhode Island.

The author tells the story through excerpts of letters, diary entries and descriptions of research video clips. This format was the perfect choice for this tale and readers will be pulled into the story.

At 500 pages, this is a lengthy book, but the action is so consistent and the story so engrossing that readers will feel it is all too short and will yearn for more.

This is an Indie Author who has an extremely bright future ahead of her. I will be adding her to my list of favorite authors.

Although this book is considered "horror" I feel that it is important to let potential readers know that it is NOT a blood and gore slasher book, nor is it anything like other horror titles. In my opinion, "SMITHY" could just as easily fit into the Mystery, or Thriller genres. If you are not usually a fan of horror, you should give this book a chance. It would be a terrible shame to overlook this incredibly fascinating story just based on its supposed genre.

I predict that SMITHY will be the sleeper hit of 2021.

This book would make an amazing movie and would probably be an instant Blockbuster.

I rate SMITHY as 5 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and I will be spreading the word about this book as far and wide as possible because I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it and was loathe to stop reading it, even to go to sleep.

In short, READ THIS BOOK. You will not be disappointed.

*** Thank you to #NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book. ***