I really enjoyed the storyline in world building in the novel. I also really liked the characters. I thought this was a solid read, and I will definitely be reading more by this author.

It was terrifying imagining a dark and strange entity lurking in the corridors and feeling terrified in my own bed. The atmosphere of this book was eerie and made the hairs on my arm stand up. I really enjoyed this novel.

What a great ghost story. I wish I would have read this around halloween. It keeps you in a state of horror.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Poisoned Pen Press for a copy of this book for an honest review.

I usually really enjoy Darcy Coates, and mostly everything that Poisoned Pen Press publishes, but this one was a big miss for me. By the end, I was hate-reading it. I don't want to give too much away, so I'll just say, it took me awhile to figure out the premise. By the time I did, I really didn't care. I didn't like the characters or the story. It didn't read a scary to me, it was clunky and boring with really no action to speak of. I know a lot of other horror lovers dug it based on the creepy atmosphere, but it was a big flop for me. Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book thrilled me. It’s been a long time since I enjoyed such a page-turner. Unlike with many other horror stories, I was very impressed by how charming and lovable the characters were, and how smart and rational they were. The twists and turns of this book combined with its super spooky arc made for a scary, delightful read.
Full review on my YouTube channel.

This book had a lot of potential but didn't really capture my attention. There were a few good twists but it just felt like it has been done before. Nothing new.

I don't know why it took me so long to read this book - it was fantastic.

Leigh Harker lives a solitary life in a house far too large for one person. She goes to work alone, comes home alone, eats dinner alone, and watches TV or quilts alone. This is how she likes it.

One night, her idyllic sanctuary is invaded by an "Intruder" - truly, a ghost of nightmares with gray hair, warped hands, dead eyes, and a mouth full of decaying teeth. Y'all, this creeper *climbs the stairs* towards Leigh's bedroom. No thank you. Finally, Leigh is forced to retreat to her living room, until she decides enough is enough - she's going to "confront" the ghost. And whoo boy - what happens next?

Darcy Coates's interpretation of haunting is creative and original. As the story unfolds, you begin to understand that all is not what it seems. The author throws in some red herrings to keep the book moving and the reader guessing. The house itself is its own character - its spooky setting creates such a foreboding atmosphere, it sometimes feels like the house is acting on its own.

If you're a fan of ghost stories with substance - no haunting just for haunting's sake, but an actual "reason" - I highly recommend this book. Personally, that's how I deal with scary stories - I like there to be some kind of resolution, and this book has it. It does take awhile to get there (not in a bad way!), and when the story is finally wrapped up - let's just say my mind was blown. Simple explanation but yet one that I never saw coming.

4.5 stars. This was a very unique ghost story. I was definitely not expecting it to take the turns it did. I loved Leigh and I loved Sara, their dynamic was very loving. The creep factor was nice, too. Perfect level of spooky to keep the book moving. Very atmospheric.

I absolutely adored this. Equal parts creepy and emotional, it reminded me of why Darcy is the queen of "cozy horror" and why I've loved her work for so long.

Another masterpiece of horror by Darcy. You can never be disappointed picking one of her books!

Thank you #NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for giving me the opportunity to read this!

I'm very late to the review, but I found this average. It's about the characters experience with a haunting, and the descriptions of dread, antiquity and decrepitness are wonderful. However, perhaps there's too much emphasis on the direct experiences, i.e. one long-winded nervous self-narration. I would have enjoyed more out of haunting context and character development to bring contrast, novelty and substance to the story.

This is a book about a haunting. I don't have anything clever to say, bc it's exactly as titled and advertised.

This was by no means a bad book, and again- it was exactly as advertised; however, I wish there had been more world building and character development. The haunting was well done and unnerving, but I found that i didn't particularly care about the character outcomes... So it didn't feel as frightening as it might have. I'm sure this will work well for a lot of horror readers!

Thank you so much Negalley & Poisoned Pen Press for the eArc!

Oooo, how delightfully creepy! I'm absolutely addicted to Darcy Coates's books. The horror that she writes is spine-tingling in the best possible way. The Haunting of Leigh Harker is a clever take on the usual haunted house story that Darcy Coates is known for. I'll keep this review spoiler-free, but the word "haunting" is the important one to pay attention to when trying to figure out where the story is going.

The first big twist that sets up the rest of the novel takes some time to get to, which makes for a confusing first third of the book. I had so many questions and wasn't getting any answers, and I definitely got frustrated with the ambiguous creepiness and the lack of answers. But then once the twist was revealed, and the real meat of the novel got underway, I started to understand that that confusion and frustration I felt at first was probably what Darcy Coates WANTS the reader to feel in order to understand Leigh Harker's situation.

Sarah is one of my favorite characters that Coates has ever written, and I loved how much she gets to shine throughout the novel. While this is Leigh's story, Sarah's story is inexplicably woven in, and they both wind up sharing the spotlight. The reader gets to see Sarah's life through Leigh's eyes, which makes for an interesting read. Overall, I highly recommend this book! Darcy Coates has done it again, and I can't wait to read more of her work!

I loved this haunting twisty mystery! Kept me turning the pages from start to finish. I really love Darcy Coates’ work so far and can’t wait to read their next book! Thank you for the opportunity to review this title.

I'm not sure how to view this book. I'm not sure I was the right audience, for starters; I love a good ghost story, and I'm a paid-up member of Jim Harold's Plus Club... but I can't watch a scary movie (I stepped into one of the Halloween movies when it was playing at the theatre I worked in, and stepped back out again about three minutes later - and the scene I caught wasn't even all that scary). I realized when listening to a podcast one night about a ghost that knocked on walls and doors that, if I heard a knock right then, I would probably expire of the terror, so I'm perfectly fine not having any paranormal experiences, thank you. (This was borne out by the time I did have one. Which, as it turned out, wasn't - but I thought it was at the moment, so - no, thank you.) I must have been steeped in Campfire Stories and so on when I requested this book from Netgalley (thanks, Netgalley), and also succumbed to the cover, which is beautiful. But no - I'm not the right audience.

The book jumps straight into the creepiness. I don't know how a hardened horror fan would see it, but for me, it was plenty creepy. I hated it - and kind of loved it - and definitely didn't read it at bedtime. It ticked all the boxes for raising goosebumps. But the creepiness just kept going. And became a little bit repetitive. And the main character started to really irritate me. Again, I've only ever had one pseudo-ghost experience, but when the voice spoke to me I thought frantically about what I was going to reply. When this ghost (or whatever) kept saying "Hello" to the book's heroine, I found it intensely frustrating that she never just ... answered. She never said a word to this entity - not "what do you want", not "you're not welcome here", not even just "hello" back - until well late in the book when things changed. If she had, the whole thing might have been easier for her.

The writing definitely let the story down rather frequently. It wasn't quite one of those cases of "put down the thesaurus and back away slowly" - but it wasn't far off. Reading on my phone makes it harder for me to take notes and make highlights, so I have none for this, but at times the descriptive language went well over the top. I remember one passage in which the threads of the carpet burrowed in between the heroine's toes, and it just knocked me out of the book for a moment, odd as the choice of words was.

But, in the end - and in the middle - the twists the book took made up for a lot of the issues I had with it. The writing may not have been of a style and quality I look for, but the plotting was; the midway plot twist and the resolution were extremely satisfying. It's one of the only times I can think of that the way an author ended a book made me raise my rating - so often it goes the opposite way.

In all honesty, I doubt I'll seek out any other books by this author - but in a way I'm glad I read it, just for the simple satisfaction of the outcome.

The usual disclaimer: as mentioned, I received this book via Netgalley for review.

I'm very late on my review of The Haunting of Leigh Harker. It was an enjoyable read, but I didn't find it as suspenseful as Darcy's other works. I did like how you are left wondering what is truly happening throughout. The ending left a little to be desired for me.

What a great twisty mystery and ghostly hauntings! Kept me guessing from start to finish. Another great read from Darcy Coates!

I truly like Darcy Coates but this one wasn't my favorite. I couldn't get into it nor connect to the MC. Maybe I didn't read it at the right time and I might even come back to it in the future.

This was my first of Coates's work and many of my reader friends who also thrillers and horror as much as I do had been talking about her books. Which was odd, because somehow, I hadn't heard of her yet. So, I picked this one up.

Just as atmospheric, spooky, and sinister as was promised by my other book lover friends, I enjoyed this book! It was as "haunting" as the title promised and I found myself caught up in concern for Leigh throughout the book. Which, is kind of crucial.

The only thing I found a little unbelievable about this book was the big reveal of what has happened to Leigh, mainly because the magic spell of the book was broken by logic and my concern that someone so old could overpower someone so young, quite so easily. However, I enjoyed more than 90 percent of this book.

Loved this book and love the way Coates writes her stories. They completely suck you in and don't let go. This story is haunting and kept me guessing from beginning to end. Highly recommend this book but be prepared to sleep with the lights on.