The Ghosts Of Thorwald Place
By Helen Power
TW: Violent deaths, ghosts, domestic violence, brief reference to severe self harm by a child; pet death
The Ghosts Of Thorwald Place combines a murder investigation and a ghost story into a fascinating tale that examines clues in the physical and astral planes.
A man is murdered, and his widow is murdered a few years later. The police force, a rogue cop, and a long-lost relative are all working toward the resolution of the widow’s case. Meanwhile, the widow’s ghost is using her limited access to her apartment building to discover who killed her and what her purpose is now that she’s dead.
Like the movie Rear Window, our protagonist is limited where she can go and how she can interact with the building’s residents. She’s trying to figure out who killed her while learning dark secrets about the residents and other ghosts inhabiting the Thorwald Place building. I loved the narration by the ghost, especially since the author gave her sensible limitations that kept me guessing. Unwrapping each resident’s secrets added a rich complexity to the tale.
The biggest test in a mystery is whether the resolution makes sense. Are the loose ends reasonably tied up? Is the killer(s) plausible based on the clues? Was the investigation interesting enough to keep my attention? In The Ghosts Of Thorwald Place, the answer is a resounding yes.
The book is not for the faint of heart. The trigger warnings at the top of this review must be respected. The secrets of Thorwald Place are warped enough to make you question your faith in humankind. Side effects of this book include agitation from noises in the dark, diminished interest in your Ouija board, refusal to learn Latin, and an overwhelming urge to avoid the basement.
I heartily recommend this book to fans of well-written murder mysteries, ghost stories, and Hitchcock movies. It has the feel of a detective novel, but the ghostly investigation makes it rise above. Pardon the pun.
I heartily recommend The Ghosts Of Thorwald Place has the feel of a detective novel, but the ghostly investigation makes it rise above. Pardon the pun. @helenpowerbooks @BlackthornTours Share on XThanks to Blackthorn Book Tours for providing me a review copy of the book.
