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Member Reviews

First off I want to thank @netgalley & @camcatsbooks & @powerlibrarian for my free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this one. I listened to it, it was amazing. The narrator was fantastic at doing all the voices for the different characters, and there are quite a few. Her emotions and feelings were felt through her voice.

It was such a refreshing take on ghost stories. Reading the story from the ghosts perspective, I loved that. Rachel the main character was so easy to get attached to, with all her past struggles, what she dealt with and her mental health. She was easily relatable. I loved that the setting was close to my home in Ontario, that some spoke French which is my main language at home, it just made me feel even closer to the residents.

I loved getting to know all the residents of Thorwald Place through Rachel. I was so invested in all of the neighbor's stories. It was truly heartbreaking at times. I loved the multiple timelines as well as the jumping to and from one apartment to the other.

Throughout the whole book there's twists and turns that will keep you guessing. I truly enjoyed this one through and through. I am definitely going to be reading more from Helen.

If you want a paranormal thriller with secrets overload definitely try this one out !

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If you like slower mild mysteries this is the book for you. I didn't like the main character and would have rather had a book solely based on any of the side characters.

Over all the story was written well and all the plot points wrapped up in a bow at the end. But for me most of the twists and suspense fell flat.

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I really like this story. I'm still not sure if I believe in ghosts, but if they're real I hope that it goes something like this story did. So much going on in this condominium complex and I glad I was able to learn of the conclusions.

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This well crafted murder mystery/thriller/ghost story, told from the perspective of the victim, is a great read. The main plotline is unique, and running alongside this are several sub-plots, which all have something interesting happening. It is not difficult to become captivated by this story - I was certainly engrossed from beginning to end. I'm tempted to comment on the implausibility of so many residents having dark secrets - but I guess you can never know what happens behind closed doors .....

Overall, this is a fast paced story, which is full of misdirection and surprise. This isn't my normal read, but I did enjoy it and am excited to see what the Author comes up with in the future. Many thanks to NetGallery for the "Listen Now' - I wasn't expecting to like this book so much, therefore I am highly delighted!

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Written in the perspective of Rachel Drake, who is brutely murdered in the beginning of the novel, a ghost who is forced to follow the elevator she died in and the adjacent rooms on the floor it lands on. In these rooms we meet the seemingly normal tenants who, behind closed doors, hold many secrets. Rachel seeks justice for herself and tries to help her fellow residents along the way.

The narrator for this was really good and did an amazing job on keeping me intrigued with subtle voice changes for the different characters. This story also holds variety of really interesting subplots and just exquisitely interesting writing. I loved looking into the different residents lives and learning about their big array of secrets. You just can't get bored, I was sucked in and needed to know what happened next - there's a perfect balance of spooky, creepy horror and mystery/thriller making this impossible to put down. I will definitely be checking out any of Power's other works.

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I listened to this book on audiobook. I found it very interesting and well written. This mystery adventure kept me on my toes from the beginning. The narrator was very good as well which can sometimes make it break a book. I would recommend to other. It was a scary read to me which I love and included suspends and had me wondering what was happing next. Great book and narrator

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I really enjoyed this book.
It had all the aspects of a thriller novel, but it was done in such a way as to stand out in an over-saturated market of books that have a tendency to all feel the same.

Rachel Drake's death was only the beginning. Her Spirit In the afterlife, tied to the place of her murder trying to find out who killed her is the hook that got me to pick up this book. The writing and the playout of what happens next were well done and one I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good thriller.

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I enjoyed the concept of this book although I did find it a bit slow at times & lost track a bit with all the characters. Well worth a read though & look forward to more by this author

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This gave AHS Hotel vibes, albeit MUCH tamer. Written in the perspective of Rachel Drake, who dies shortly after the novel starts, we follow her as she drifts throughout the confined space of the elevator and adjacent rooms. In these rooms we get to meet fellow tenants who have SO many secrets. It’s juicy, y’all. This was so much better than I expected. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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Thank you Netgalley for this audio edition of The Ghosts of Thorwald Place by Helen Power.

Rachel is terrified. After putting herself in hiding, it seems her stalker has finally found her and is making threatening calls to her employment. But Rachel will have the unique opportunity to find out who has been wishing her harm and who is innocent AFTER her murderer has finally gotten to her.

This is a story of a haunting, except for the ghost is in search of answers and justice. Rachel sticks around long enough to know who has been terrorizing her all these years, as well as helping other residents of her apartment on the way. I was instantly hooked and I loved the mystery side, as well as the humanitarian side. It's side, dark, but also very fun. Great for October!

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Rachel is a volunteer for an abuse hotline and although she’s used to creepy people calling with death and sexual threats she’s never had one that knew her name and not “Rachel”… Her real name! Despite living in an affluent secure high-rise she is alarmed and quickly packs a bag. She is on the run from the man that murdered her husband and she is so frightened. Unfortunately she only makes it to the elevator where she is murdered… But by who? Instead of transcending to the afterlife she instead is tether to the elevator and it’s surrounding areas but you can only leave it when the elevator isn’t in motion. This is how she begins to get to know her previously unknown neighbors and the more she learns about them the more suspects she has to who murdered her? I listen to the audiobook and enjoyed this way more than I thought I would and I really thought I would like it but I absolutely loved it. She has some really shady neighbors and we get to know all of them as the sea in the ending is one I kind of thought coming but not really… Good either way it’s a fun journey to the end and the end is really good. I love this book and highly recommend it I’ve never heard of this author before but will definitely be looking for more books by her and although this book has paranormal aspects to it The book is a very serious one and isn’t campy at all. This is a very original take on hauntings in one I seriously enjoyed. I received this book from NetGalley, cam cat books and I P B A but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

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The Ghosts Of Thorwald Place - Helen Power

Audiobook review

I'm getting more into Audiobooks, I find they help me broaden my reading of other genres outside my normal. I'm increasingly open to paranormal elements and ghost stories so this fitted in nicely.

Rachel Drake's husband was murdered, she has run away from her old life and lives as a 'shut in' in Thorwald Place a luxury apartment block. Until she gets murdered that is.

After dying in the elevator her spirit is tethered to a small range of movement, she travels up and down with the elevator and can walk through walls into the apartments.

Who killed her? Will she ever find out who killed her husband? Is she doomed to an eternity in spirit limbo? It's a sprawling murder mystery, with ghosts!

There's a lot of characters, plenty of little subplots, lots of observations on the lives of the residents. There's a clairvoyant, a teenage goth who wants to summon demons and there might already be a few resident ghosts in the darker corners of Thorwald Place.

The narration by Rachel Fulginiti is very good, clear and distinct and varied between the many characters. She captures the fear and creates tension very well.

There are some really good darker chilling moments. I liked the voyeuristic spirit limbo aspects, the paranormal chills, the atmosphere and the varied subplots, probably more than the mystery elements.

Very enjoyable overall and I'm pleased I took a chance on listening.

Thanks to Netgalley and CamCat Books

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Thank you to the author, narrator, publisher and Net Galley for providing a free e-audio copy in exchange for my review.

I love ghost stories. I hated this book. The overall premise of the book told from the victim's ghost's POV is interesting, and Rachel/Kay has this whole backstory. But she's SO judgmental! Chapter after chapter is the character's ghost watching the residents of her apartment building and judging every single thing they do, the choices they make, the way they dress, what they do. Minute after minute of an audiobook listening to this much judgement on a person's life, their weight, their downtime, their reading material - it's too much!

Interesting idea, but this needs some help. Sorry, but I have to rate it 1 star - I really, really hated it.

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This is definitely one of my favorite books for the year. The plot was interesting and it didn't disappoint. There was a lot of characters for an audio book but I eventually could remember who was who.

For just a ghost spying on people's lives and only catching glimpse the characters had a lot to them and were equally entertaining to learn about and heartbreaking.

There is also such familiar horror elements that added a creepy factor laced in this dark apartment complex.

There are so many secrets to unravel and twist left and right.

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Wonderful narration, subtle changes in voice to indicate character change. Beautifully interwoven story with various characters and plot lines that intersect! Fabulous book!

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Wow! This book The Ghosts of Thorwald Place has every creepy nuance one wants to read in a horror story! It was great! I listened to the audio version and the narration was wonderful! Artistic and clear! No kidding, this book has it all! Weird people, lots of scary and not so scary ghosts, creepy people, an assortment of all kinds of humanity! It was a quick audio book and loads of fun to listen to. Thanks to Netgalley and CamCat publishing for the arc…. Loads of scary fun!

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*received for free from netgalley for honest review* I really liked reading this book! ngl it was nothing like i expected and i say that because for once i actually read the description lmao but i really liked it, would recommend.

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A fun mix of mystery and horror; would make for a great beach read or sick day. The first-person narration can be a bit slow, but overall the book moves along at a good pace.

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The Ghosts of Thorwald Place
by Helen Power, narrated by Rachel Fulginiti

Rachel Drake has been hiding since her husband was murdered. Her nice multistory apartment building has elevators, a gym, basement storage, and a concierge. But what it can't do for Rachel is keep at bay her fear that her husband's murderer can find her. She's changed her name, cut off contact with everyone she knew, and never leaves the apartment building. She does hotline volunteer work from her apartment and has made only one friend and she keeps even him at a distance.

And then she is murdered in one of the apartment elevators and her life becomes a different sort of nightmare. That elevator is now the center of her life...I mean, death. Tethered to that elevator, she goes where it goes, her leash only so long. But the things she learns! The secrets her neighbors were hiding! She isn't the only one living a life of agony and grief. She isn't the only one who felt threatened, was threatened. And Rachel is sure that one of her neighbors is her killer. But what to do? How to communicate with the living and how to avoid the dead and the dark, shadowy thing that looms over everyone?

You would think that living in a fancy, expensive apartment with all kinds of amenities would be a nice, safe, existence. But this story shows that danger lurks around every corner and in the homes of most of the people that Rachel now watches. There are so many potential murderers here, the put together wife isn't so put together, the ordinary man is anything but ordinary, even Rachel's own neighbor doctor is hiding something. But every time Rachel gets close to learning something new that elevator yanks her to another floor.

That narrator does a good job of voicing the many characters that populate this story. Rachel appears to be in a hopeless situation, with no way of moving on or communicating with those who need to be warned of their own dangers. It was interesting trying to ferret out the potential killers and finding out that this apartment was never a safe place for anyone.

Thank you to CamCat Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

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Book Title: The Ghosts at Thorwald Place
Author: Helen Powers
Narrator: Rachel Fulginiti
Publisher: CamCat Books Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Members’
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: October 5, 2021
My Rating: 3.7 rounded up!

Rachel Drake has left her previous life after the murder of her husband. She finds a seventh floor apartment block in Thorwald Place, known as Fort Knox because of its strict security- no one can enter of leave without the security cameras spotting them. Then the unthinkable happens. She is murdered in the elevator. She is attacked from behind so does not know who did this to her.
She is out to find who did this! As a spirit she is in and out of their lives floor by floor.
She travels via ‘her elevator’ and comes to the conclusion that any one of them could have killed her.
(There are so many characters` dead and alive; I missed the Kindle highlight feature as I was trying to keep who’s who and what’s what!)

I could not put this down. I love thrillers with twists and turns.
I suspected everyone but really didn’t have a clue whodunit.

Author: Helen Powers tells us her inspiration for this story.
I have also more inside scoop by including the link so that you can view the book trailer.)

Book Trailer link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcI9Ywh8Omk
Author: Helen Powers] tells us that the idea for this story came to her in a dream back 2015 where she was a ghost tethered to the elevator of an apartment building, yearning to visit the adjacent apartments, but every time I ventured too far the elevator would be summoned, yanking me back..
She shelved the book but participated in #Pitmad, a twitter event where authors pitch their novel to agents and editors in 240 characters or less.
That was when The Ghosts of Thorwald Place found a home to haunt with CamCat.

Want to thank NetGalley and ComCat Books Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Members’ for this eGalley.
Publishing Release Date was October 5, 2021

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