This book was fine, but it wasn’t my favorite by a long shot. It seemed to just have too much going on between the flashbacks and backstories, that when it got to the stuff that was happening in real time it seemed rushed. I would be interested to read from this author in the future but this one wasn’t for me.

This could have been a fantastic classic Halloween read, but too many different aspects were thrown into this book and ended up with chaos.
This is a real shame as the first few chapters had me hooked and I was really excited to see where this journey was going and eager to learn more about the paranormal duo.
You didn’t need to cram so much different elements of horror in here to make it interesting. It drowned the development of the characters.

The protagonist, Eric Thompson, is a once famous paranormal investigator, now trying to remain relevant after a grisly tragedy that cost his crew their lives and the disappearance of his partner. One last effort to reclaim his esteemed celebrity - a visit to a decrepit English manor where all manner of happenings have occurred.

I went into this book with high hopes - and for the first few chapters, it absolutely delivered. The author sets the tone beautifully and crafts an immersive and chilling atmosphere that had me hooked immediately. As the book progressed, however, the tension was starting to slip, subplots were introduced but not followed through, and moments that should have been terrifying were too vague to land with impact leading to an overall feeling the story was unfinished.

To be clear: this is not a bad book. The writing style is solid, atmosphere consistent, and the premise had real potential. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy campy, theatrical, and gory horror.


Thank you NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing for this gifted advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

"A gory, supernatural campy horror set in a haunted English manor, The Haunting at Morsley Manor follows a troubled paranormal investigator uncovering terrifying secrets that blur the line between the living and the dead. Perfect for The Haunting of Hill House fans and The Woman in Black.

World-famous paranormal investigator Eric Thompson's career took a nose-dive after a particularly gruesome case which left most of his camera crew dead. His partner and best friend also abandoned Eric, leaving him floundering.

He is soon approached by a mysterious woman who has purchased the supposedly haunted, but previously off-limits to paranormal sleuths, Morsley Manor. To drum up publicity about the house, she hires Eric to perform and host a paranormal investigation on the premises."

As he ventures over to England to uncover the darkness bleeding through the veins of Morsley, horrors begin to spring from every corner and Eric soon begins to realise that not all is as it seems..."

I'm just saying, if you're into the paranormal and everyone you work with dies gruesomely, wouldn't that just make you more popular?

My reaction to the book was lukewarm. Although the initial chapters were engaging and suggested a rich atmosphere, the story ultimately failed to deliver. In retrospect, the book had unrealized potential.

Thank you NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing

2 Stars

The premise of The Haunting at Morsley Manor had all the makings of a great horror story: a disgraced paranormal investigator, a notoriously haunted English manor, and a promise of blood-soaked secrets. Unfortunately, the execution didn’t live up to the setup.

The opening chapters were strong and hinted at real atmosphere, but the book quickly lost its footing. Instead of leaning into the eerie backstory of the manor, the plot spiraled into a jumble of ghosts, gore, clowns, dolls, and demons that felt more chaotic than chilling. Rather than building tension, it often read like a checklist of horror tropes crammed together.

Character development was also a struggle. Eric, our lead, had potential, but his arc never felt fully fleshed out, and the supporting cast was mostly one-dimensional cannon fodder. This made it difficult to care when characters died—something that undercut the supposed emotional weight of the story. The dialogue, too, was stiff and occasionally unintentional comedy (“spirit friends” being a standout).

I’ll give credit where it’s due: the lore of the manor itself was intriguing, and there were flashes of genuine creepiness. But overall, the book felt underdeveloped, more like a rough draft than a polished gothic horror. If you’re just after gore and camp, there’s some fun to be had, but readers hoping for atmosphere, strong characters, or a coherent haunting may come away disappointed.

Paranormal haunted house stories are my favorite genre. I was intrigued at first by an investigation taking place in an English manor. It would seem to be the perfect setting. Unfortunately the writing was not able to conjure the ambience of such a setting or stir fearful suspense.

It was also difficult to feel empathy for the characters who were developed in a cliched uninteresting way. It’s described as campy, yet I didn’t find it humorous. It is gory if you like that sort of horror.

Thank you NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing for this eARC.

Thank you to Netgalley for my ARC.

I truly wanted to love this story, but unfortunately, it didn't feel well-developed. The plot became difficult to follow when it veered away from the haunting of Morsley Manor, and it seemed like too many different events were happening all at once. A lot of scenes had me confused and I didn’t understand the villain’s motives. I wish we had more character development and background, it felt very rushed.

There was very little development regarding Eric's gift, and the actual haunted house was a minor aspect. It seems the author was unclear about their goals, resulting in a disjointed story overall.

I didn't love it, I didn't hate it. Aside from this, I'm struggling to pinpoint how I feel about it.
It definetly is a different take on a haunted house, and went the complete other direction of where I thought this would go. As other reviewers mentioned, this book is indeed full of plots, but personally I didn't mind it. In fact, I found it quite nice that there's always something happening.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley.

While the premise had potential, I found it difficult to keep up with all the different elements happening in the story. There was a lot going on at once, and I struggled to stay fully engaged with the plot and characters.

A potentially intriguing plot is lumbered with a clunky writing style and bland characterisation, although the sentiment behind Morsley Manor is sentimental enough.

I was intrigued by the premise and wanted to know more about Eric's relationship with the paranormal. The use of secrets and layers nesting in each other was a fun twist and the characters could have been more interesting . That being said, the big plot twist was not my favorite because I felt like there was more there to be explored and I didn't really understand the motivation behind Michelle's character.

I feel like the characters were very one-dimensional and weren't well developed, they weren't very likeable either and I didn't really care if they died or not. I did enjoy the backstory of Mrs. Morsley. The writing also felt like the author was rambling on a bit too much. Overall I feel it had potential but it fell flat for me unfortunately.

Thank you NetGalley and Rising Action for the opportunity to read this ARC

The gist:
Erin Thompson, paranormal investigator with a knack for sensing spirits, is trying to bounce back after a tragic case left his crew dead and his partner/best friend abandoned him. Enter a mysterious woman, named Michelle who purchased the infamously haunted Morsley Manor and wants Eric to come and film a special. The manor has a deep history of murders kidnappings and possession. As he dives into the gig, he soon discover that this case is unlike anything he has seen.

This book was interesting. The first two chapters were legit creepy and had me peeking over my shoulder. The tone seems demonic and evil spirits. The build up was interesting. About 50% into the book there is a major plot twist and the entire vibe shifts even becomes idle for awhile. The book turns shifts from haunting to a slasher at this point. The slashings were average but the internal drama with two characters was stretched a little too much. The characters were not developed enough for this and it took away from good potential scary moments. I wish the book leaned into more of the hauntings and evil spirits instead. I did like that this horror made use of a creepy clown, possessed doll, deranged physician, and creepy attic. If your vibe is shallow characters, creepy haunted objects, and gore then this may be a good spooky season read for you.

The scariest thing about Morsley Manor isn’t what you see—it’s knowing the house has been watching you the whole time.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

The book had a great beginning and really pulled me in. It follows Eric a paranormal investigator who pulled away from investigating after when years ago one, investigation went terribly wrong and his crew was killed and his partner fled without explanation. He receives an invitation to investigate the infamous “Morsley Manor” and with some reluctance jumps back in and sees it as his chance to resurrect his career.

I really loved the backstory of Morsley Manor. Mrs. Morsley finds her husband has killed their children, so she beats him to death and then kills herself. There was definitely a creep factor to the story, but it really just fell flat for me after the first few chapters. The characters were not very likable and we weren’t given much of a reason to care when they died. I guess I connected most with Eric, but even he could have been more developed and I just wasn’t that invested in him.

If you’re looking for just some gore without much character development this may be the book for you.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I was very intrigued about the book by the summary on NetGalley page, and jumped at the chance to read it. The book drew me in pretty quickly from the start. It seems like a lot of horror books are divided into thirds. The first third I devour quickly, the middle third is a bit idle, with the final third bit being a fairly breakneck race to the conclusion. I felt the characters were interesting enough, but the events in the book triggered the middle (slower) third early than most, and that drag was a little more noticeable, like there was some struggling to find ground to move forward. I didn't dislike it, it was just slower than most and the eye of the storm longer than most. Setup was great and the finale was 'ok,' but not enough for me to give additional stars to lift it over the ho-hum middle bits.

I’ll give a 3 🌟 just for how quickly this drew me in. The prologue and the first few chapters were *chefs kiss* but the story faded from there. Eventually it just began to drag out but it started hot.

2/5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing Co. for an ARC!

Once again I feel bad about giving an ARC a low rating, but this was just not good. There was great potential with the set-up: a paranormal investigator who is traumatised by his last encounter is dragged back into the scene when a haunted English manor claims another victim. Cool as, right? Except it was way too underdeveloped.

The characters were all one-dimensional and flat as boards. I could not connect with our protagonist, Eric, in the slightest and found his POV to be boring. He had no nuance, and his internal conflict was not compelling in the slightest. His attachment to Poppy came out of NOWHERE and was so … weird. He was basically her boss and was mostly attracted to her innocence and youth like pls no. Don’t do that.

All the other characters were just there. Michelle was awfully written and so bizarre. Who makes decisions like this? I’m pretty sure she’s an actual psychopath. Everybody else was just cannon fodder.

It was like watching a bad horror movie, which can be super fun! But, in this case, it wasn’t. The writing was terrible and the dialogue was incredibly stilted. NOBODY SPEAKS LIKE THIS.

I’m keeping a star for the interesting world-building and ideas but the rest of the story was really meh ☹

This started really intriguing for me and the first few chapters had me invested. I like that it has short chapters and some interesting characters. As the story progresses, it kinda turned scooby-doish (which I honestly don't mind). It was a bit all over the place and the ending was ambiguous so I'm not sure if there's a sequel to it. Overall, I found this to be entertaining and I flew through it. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the arc!