Blog Tour: The Lingering by SJI Holliday

Hello and welcome to my stop on the RandomThingsTour Blog Tour for The Lingering by SJI Holliday.

Many thanks to Anne for having me on this tour and to Orenda Books for a copy of the book to review.

The Lingering has been buzzing about the book world and is causing quite a stir so I was really looking forward to reading it. I was surprised that it went in a totally different direction to what I was expecting and I have to say I loved it!

About The Book

“Married couple Jack and Ali Gardiner move to a self-sufficient commune in the English Fens, desperate for fresh start. The local village is known for the witches who once resided there and Rosalind House, where the commune has been established, is a former psychiatric home, with a disturbing history. When Jack and Ali arrive, a chain of unexpected and unexplained events is set off, and it becomes clear that they are not all that they seem. As the residents become twitchy, and the villagers suspicious, events from the past come back to haunt them, and someone is seeking retribution… At once an unnerving locked-room mystery, a chilling thriller and a dark and superbly wrought ghost story, The Lingering is an exceptionally plotted, terrifying and tantalisingly twisted novel by one of the most exciting authors in the genre. .”

About The Author

S.J.I. (Susi) Holliday is a pharmaceutical statistician by day and a crime and horror fan by night. Her short stories have been published in many places and she was shortlisted for the inaugural CWA Margery Allingham prize with her story ‘Home from Home’, which was published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine in spring 2017. She is the bestselling author of the creepy and claustrophobic Banktoun trilogy (Black Wood, Willow Walk and The Damselfly) featuring the much-loved Sergeant Davie Gray, and has dabbled in festive crime with the critically acclaimed The Deaths of December. Her latest psychological thriller is modern gothic with more than a hint of the supernatural, which she loved writing due to her fascination and fear of ghosts. She is proud to be one of The Slice Girls has been described by David Mark as ‘Dark as a smoker’s lung.’ She divides her time between Edinburgh and London and you will find her at crime-fiction events in the UK and abroad

What I Thought

Can you get a better setting than an old asylum in a town full of superstitious witch hunters? Throw in a cult, sorry “self-sufficient commune” who “Embrace the Light” and you’ve got all the basis for a spooky story.

I was really worried for Jack and Ali as they made the move to Rosalind House to join the commune. Creepy things start to happen and they didn’t get the warm welcome they expected. It all leaves you with a real feeling of unease like you just know something bad is on the way. But the more we get to know Jack and Ali the more I begin to worry about everyone else!

I enjoyed the old diary readings from Dr. Henry Baldock’s journal laced throughout that give some background to Rosalind House, it ads to the creepy eerie atmosphere. I would have loved to read more from Dr. Baldock’s time in the asylum.

The development of Ali’s character or perhaps the unraveling would be a more appropriate description, was interesting to see and finding out the reason behind it was even more fascinating.

This was a really good creepy read, it was surprisingly different to what I expected but that made it far more interesting. I honestly could have read more and would be interested in more stories from Rosalind House. A fantastic new read that will give you goosebumps!

Again many thanks to Anne and Orenda Books, all opinions are my own and I am not paid to give them.