Helen Power (1)

This was a super intriguing and inventive novel. Rachel lives in isolation at Thorwald Place, a luxury apartment building in Canada. She has fled there to live in seclusion following the brutal murder of her husband. When her past catches up with her, Rachel is murdered too, in the elevator. What follows is a ghost story: Rachel is stuck in the elevator and its proximity - she has the ability to venture into apartments close to the elevator and thus begins to explore the lives of the people who lived around her. And man, what lives do they lead and what secrets they have!

Like nothing I’ve read before, I was really immersed in this one. The narrator did an amazing job of bringing Rachel to life and I could not stop listening to this one. Would highly recommend!… (altro)

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.… (altro)

Rachel Drake, the protagonist of The Ghosts of Thorwald Place, is an agoraphobic. She is hiding from the killer of her husband. When she receives a phone call that thoroughly frightens her. She packs a bag and flees the apartment and heads to the garage in the apartment building, Thorwald Place, that she resides in. Her car has been parked for nine months. She never makes it to the car before she is grabbed from behind and strangled. This is just the beginning of the story.

It appears that Rachel is tethered in the afterlife to the elevator in the building, constantly pulled from floor to floor and room to room watching the living. Each of the residents hides a secret, a wife who's husband strays from the marriage, a surgeon who has a locked room in her apartment where she lives along with her son, a man who has a hobby, looking at the apartments across the street with his telescope, a teenager who has an interest in the afterlife and the devil, and a medium who may not be who he says he is.

Each time she is pulled into an apartment, she is able to see more into her neighbors lives. She is also trying to figure out who killed her, her best friend Catalina who has temporarily moved into the building to try to figure out who killed her friend, with the help of Rachel's brother in law who has moved into Rachel's apartment with the explanation that he is there to try to figure out who killed Rachel. Rachel can't have contact with any of these people because she is, well she is dead.

I love a good ghost story and this one is right up there with the best. The writing is top notch and the plot is a new twist on a ghost story. This one kept me turning the pages. I loved it and highly recommend it!

I received the book for review purposes only.… (altro)