Excerpt: “The Unquiet House” by Alison Littlewood (Jo Fletcher Books)

Alison Littlewood’s latest novel, THE UNQUIET HOUSE, is due to be published in the UK by Jo Fletcher Books on April 24, 2014. Here, for your reading pleasure, is an excerpt…

Chapter Seven

Emma didn’t know when the house had changed. She had been sleeping, but when she awoke she had a sense that she had been listening to it all along, or if not listening, sensing it with her body, finding its rhythm, attuning herself to its ways.

She pushed the covers away, feeling too hot under them, but outside, the air was bitter. There was a sharp barrier between the two and once she’d crossed it, it was too late; the chill delved inside, embracing her skin, furrowing along her body, finding her spine, her legs, her feet. The room was dark, everything grainy and silver. The ceiling looked a long way off and the corners were dark, as if a child had sketched the room in stark black lines. She sat up and realised that the cupboard door was hanging open once more. How ridiculous, she thought. Monsters in the cupboard, like in a story. And then she saw the man standing quietly next to it.

Guest Post: “Post six. Sweet and Dandy: Toots and the Maytals (Chapter: Six days later - A conversation about Ska)” by Celine Kiernan

Into the Grey is a ghost story about twin brothers, Pat and Dom Finnerty, whose lives are turned upside down by the loss of their home and by a subsequent haunting. The book has quite a few chills, there’s quite a bit of political history in it, much exploration of death and loss – but there’s also a lot of love and kindness in it, a fair few laughs and a lot of bravery. I thought I’d have a bit of fun with that side of the book on this blog tour, so these posts will be all about music! Why certain songs feature in the story, what they mean to me, what memories are associated with them etc . Into the Grey is set in the Irish seaside town of Skerries in 1974, all the songs featured are evocative to me of both that time and that (very real) place. As you will see, they all speak very much to the story, too, and to the characters and the rather desperate situation with which they find themselves entwined.

Capsule Review: “Ghost Story” by Jim Butcher (Orbit)

Reviewed by Emma Newrick

Harry Dresden finds himself in his most difficult situation yet, near-helpless to protect those he loves

The previous novel in Butcher’s cult Urban Fantasy series, Changes, saw Harry finally land himself in a situation that taxed even his well-practised ability to outwit, escape or incinerate the ever-growing forces of darkness that beset Chicago’s only wizard PI. Fans were left with a cliffhanger ending that suggested Butcher could be drawing the series to a rather final conclusion.

A turning point in the series, Ghost Story will please fans of the Dresden Files, who have come to love the characters and especially Harry, who is forced into self-reflection.

[BE WARNED: Major Spoilers for the previous book follow immediately after the break!]