The Haunting of Blackwood House Paperback – December 19, 2015

After reading The Haunting of Gillespie House I thought I found a new author to follow. Now having attempted to read another Coates book and finding it lacking as well as Blackwood I've had another opinion surface.Not worth the effort.A washing machine, dryer and television with no electricity? House empty for a couple decades and yet no electricity? Really?Mara goes into the sitting room and thinks the lounge chairs look more moth-eaten than the day before, it's been a month since, it's made mentioned a few times within chapters 8 and 9. In chapter 10 it's 2 weeks.The inconsistencies are more than can be ignored. It makes it distracting to, having to back track and recheck what I thought was going on.

I love haunted house stories and this one was right up my alley. It was one of the spookier stories I've read and thankfully, it didn't rely on gore to make it scary. The pace was excellent--the story moved along very well and in fact, it was one of those books you just have to keep reading to find out what happens next. Sometimes, I did get a little irritated with the main character because she was often childish and mean-tempered, but over all, I mostly liked her (I really liked her boyfriend, though--he was very likable and reasonable).A great read for folks who enjoy old spooky houses. :)

First off, I've become very interested in reading this story. I have seen a fake documentary film on Amazon and thought: "I wonder if they ever made books of Blackwood." Normally I shop for S.K. and Halloween short stories yet, while browsing books on Amazon, I came across this one and decided, why not and see how this book goes... Well for starters, it's an excellent book in the paranormal genre. Every page is a thrill and really scary for me. I've envisioned what the writer described and I won't lie...I had my lamp on 😳 I won't give away any plot details here but this book has me looking over my shoulder a few times, even my cats are making me yelp 😂 I highly recommend this book. I give 5 stars! Darcy Coates...great writer. Please consider this book on your next purchase! Beware...you never know who's watching you... 👀😅

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.Pros: Darcy Coates does a great job of telling an intriguing story with the help of one or two characters while allowing the history of her ghosts to carry the story. The story of Blackwood house is creepy enough that I had all the lights in the house on but not gory enough that I worried about having nightmares. The story is fast paced and the flow is good right up to the end. I liked the first part where we get to know Blackwood house and are introduced to its ghostly inhabitants along the way.Cons: I had a hard time liking Mara. Being independent is one thing but she's over the top. I couldn't relate to her nor did I feel any sympathy for her. No young woman is going to stay in a large creepy house in the middle of nowhere with no electricity and a dead cell phone and no car. It was unbelievable.If the story had been more tightly woven it would have been more suspenseful. Throughout most of the story we have a young woman who is stubborn, head strong and most emphatically does not believe in ghosts, then all of a sudden there's a familial connection to the house and all sorts of spirit activity. I realize we are suppose to figure out the house along with her but a few more clues woven in would have made it more alluring. Sometimes leaving a few threads threatening to unravel adds more texture to the intrigue.Also, towards the end of the book, right when the action should be ramping up...we take an 'I love you break' which includes a seriously long make up discussion and then some ghost chasing, keystone cops, muddle into the middle of the scene. It was really distracting.I would have given the story 4 stars if not for that last bit. I would blame that on poor editing though, not poor writing.There is a loose thread that I suspect will lead to more stories involving Mara. I hope this is the case as this could end up being a fun series.That said I enjoy reading Darcy Coates.

Very torn about this book. The writing was fine. The author has a strong voice and command of the language.However, I have to agree with those who weren't smitten with the main character. She was annoying. I think the author wanted her to come off as strong and independent but...she came off as sad and stubborn. It was hard to feel sympathy for her. I just wanted to smack the chip off her shoulder.And the interactions between her and her boyfriend were very awkward. Didn't have a real feeling to them at all. I kept envisioning them as 15 or 16 year olds. That's how they acted. Not like early to mid-20s. They came off as super immature. (Although, the boyfriend did come off much more sympathetic and like a sweetheart.)I found the story very contrived. Too much about the plot twists was convenient. I also didn't find much about it scary.BUT for all my criticisms, the author kept a pretty good pace going. But I have to admit I forced myself to finish it. And when I learned it was intended as the first in a series? I groaned. Sadly, I won't be continuing the journey with these characters. Wish I saw whatever it was that so many others had seen it.I am not giving up on this author, however. Curious about the Gillespie book. I'll read that next.

Yes, there are some typos and some inconsistencies but not enough to be distracting. I saw one reviewer was upset that there was a TV, washer/dryer but no electricity... well, yes because the electricity wasn't hooked up. The capability for electric was there and that's why the one character was going to hook up a generator for power. Apparently, the reviewer didn't understand. All of that aside, the thing that bothered me most was that I couldn't connect to the main character because she was constantly trying to push her boyfriend away. Her need for independence and to be rid of spiritualists got to be annoying. The ending was a let down also. This book has not spoiled my opinion of the author though. I've read other books by her and would continue to do so.

Sorry to be at discord with most of the reviews, but it is definitely not five stars. I wish I could divide it into two reviews - one for paranormal aspect, another for main characters. The paranormal is OK - a haunted house created by a sick maniac who stays there after his death. Some decent twists of the story. Atmospheric. Read at night it may be mildly frightening. Some good finds - I liked the dark invisible threads connecting to the various spirits. Happy ending is predictable and disappointing, but I could live with it. Now: main characters. Where do I stat? The heroine is annoying to say the least. She is just plain unpleasant, lonely, stubborn borderline, unable to keep friendships, jobs and relations, unable to forgive and accept other people's weaknesses. And she ends up with a Perfect Boyfriend. Lo and Behold: Neil, every dissatisfied woman's dream. Big and strong, carpenter with muscles and some money, blue eyes, big shoulders, non-swearing Christian with a charming mother. Caring and all-forgiving to the point of sickly sweet. Always appearing at the right moment to save lives and serve tea. Loves Her to bits, of course. That is it. A couple of insignificant mediums are thrown into the mix close to the end. They are so indistinct that you actually struggle to remember what they are there for. Minus one for characters, folks.I found myself skipping pages near the end.

This is the first book I've read by Darcy Coates, I thought, on the whole, it was very good, it has all the elements of a good haunted house story, it's a creepy, sinister, page-turner. An isolated old house, with a dark history, no electricity, no phone, no transport, our heroine lives there alone, in lots of darkness, all great elements for suspense. It's light on characters, but that worked for me, if I had to make a criticism, I did find it unbelievable given everything that happens at the house that it takes so long into the story for Mara to accept the house is haunted, even given her upbringing and background, for me at least, that let the story down. 4.5.

A decent ghost story, but I found the characters difficult to warm to; a man who constantly wears his heart on his sleeve no matter how badly he's treated, and his crazy, self centred girlfriend who treats him, and anyone else who doesn't agree with her on any level, like crap. I quickly became bored of how in love they were, and her boyfriend, Neil, just sounded like a every bored housewife's unrealistic fantasy. Their constant adoration of one another, regardless of their sexless relationship, wore thin by the middle of the book. I also struggled to understand the Anglo-American mix of language used. Where is this story set? The language used is part British, part American, and the house is clearly an American house, so it became confusing. Scary in short bursts, but the horrible characters and their sickly sweet relationship ruined it.

I thought this book was absolutely excellent, it kept me gripped to the very end and I couldn't put it down,I usually read just before I go to sleep at night but reading this book I had to force myself to put it down just to get some sleep, I kept wanting to read more and more, if you like scary ghost stories then I recommend reading this and because I enjoyed it so much I have downloaded another book by the same author.

This could have been a great Ghost story and the author does manage to create some scary moments but these are infrequent. The book, at 40 chapters, is way too long to be able to sustain continual interest (I could easily put it down), the characterisation is dreadful, the attempts at romance pitiful, the ending comes out of nowhere (i.e. there is nothing that even hints at the conclusion through the long meandering storyline), the epilogue has been lifted from the ending of Beetlejuice and the main character Mara is arrogant, self satisfied and malicious in her treatment of other human beings - which is tagged as being an independent female. I stuck with it because of the 5 star ratings - it's a bit like a bad movie that you can't believe you are watching but keep going because you believe it is about to get better. If Darcy Coates could learn the art of brevity I am sure she could be a terrific author of supernatural books.