Neil Spring

I picked up this book in a charity shop drawn initially by the cover and then by the blurb which showed it was based on the real life ghost hunter Harry Price. I had enjoyed an ITV one off drama some years ago about his famous investigation of Borley Rectory and wondered if this novel was connected: subsequently I realised that the book was number 2 in a series, and that the first book had indeed provided the basis for that drama.

Unfortunately it did not live up to the initial promise. The story is told by Price's assistant Sarah (who appeared in the drama and in book 1 - I don't know if she was a made up character or not) who is in her 70s in 1978 and is writing down the story for the benefit of posterity, after the village in which it is set has just come up in the news again. Back in 1932, a journalist friend approached her to ask if she could persuade Harry to help the army investigate a series of seemingly supernatural happenings which have unnerved the army personnel based there. By this time she was estranged from him, having had a child in secret and given him up for adoption given that Price was married and to have a child out of wedlock was an enormous stigma for both mother and child at that time. She had just met him, seemingly by coincidence, at a cinema which she had gone to investigate, as she was psychically drawn to the place.

The upshot is that they both travel to the village of Imber, a real life place (but in the book a change is made from the actual history - the village was taken over by the army in WWII, not WWI as depicted). She goes by train and is stranded by a line blockage, having to set out on foot the rest of the way. Enroute she encounters a strange boy and also a man who helps her by giving her a lift. Both prove to be important in the rest of the story though I won't say any more about the plot.

I found the characters unappealing sadly. Price is an arrogant boor and Sarah is a colourless wet blanket. I didn't find the mystery behind the various supernatural manifestations convincing or the triangle between Price, Sarah and her journalist friend. Also, given that she marries the latter according to the 1978 framework, it is odd that she settles on a man whom she views as betraying her as badly as Price.

A major problem I had was the sheer number of anachronisms that constantly jolted me out of the story. There are a number of places where expressions were used that just would not have been used in the 1930s such as "Tell me about it" or it was "a tough gig". Ambulances did not have sirens at that time - even cursory viewing of old films and even 1960s TV series would have shown that all emergency vehicles at the time used clanging bells. And there were several mentions of metres when the metric system did not start to be used in the UK until 1973 - a woman in her 70s just would not use it. There were other things too which I've unfortunately forgotten, having not managed to write the review while the book was still fresh in my mind, but it just did not come across as well researched for the period.

The style of writing is also quite plodding and I didn't therefore find the story suspenseful or spooky at all.

Given these issues I found it quite a chore to finish it. I only did so to find out what happened but I can't say I enjoyed it and so can only give it a 1 star rating as I didn't like it.… (altro)

I didn't realise it was the second novel in the series when i started this book but luckily it works as a standalone novel.
Sarah Grey, a paranormal investigator is brought back to work with Harry Price to investigate the possible hauntings and occurrences in the 'lost' village of Imber on Salisbury plain.
It was a surprise to find out that this book is loosely based on real life events, Imber is a real village, a village 'borrowed' by the army after the first World War to practice manoeuvres and was never returned to the residents leaving it abandoned for all these years.
Each winter, on one night only, the former residents return to visit loved ones buried in the overgrown churchyard but on this years pilgrimage things take a different course, putting everyone in danger. But danger from who or from what?
As their investigations take them both to some chilling conclusions, both supernatural and the explainable it delivers some surprising twists and turns along side the gothic spooky atmosphere thats created so well.
Perfect for a late night spooky read and a great take on a good ghost story.
I will certainly be hunting down a copy of book one in the series as well as any that follow.… (altro)

3.5 *

On the 1st November, 1943, the 150 residents of Imber, a village on the Salisbury Plain, were ordered by the Ministry of Defence to vacate their houses – Imber was needed for army training in view of the planned invasion of Continental Europe. Most villagers did not put up any protest – they felt they were doing their part for the war effort and, in any case, they were promised they would get back their homes once hostilities were over. Not that leaving Imber was easy – the village blacksmith of forty years cried his eyes out. Ominously, he would be the first person to die after the evacuation and would return to the village only to be buried there. The war finished but the residents were never allowed to return to Imber, which remains, to date, army property, its buildings crumbling due to decades of shelling and neglect.

It is a poignant story and one which has inspired contemporary composer Giya Kancheli’s eerie choral work "Little Imber". Imber is also the setting of Neil Spring’s latest “ghost novel”, The Lost Village. As the author himself admits in the introduction, he has, for plot purposes, changed the date of the evacuation from 1943 to 1914, but he otherwise remains remarkably faithful to the background story, even managing to weave into his plot certain historical details and characters (weeping blacksmith included).

“The Lost Village” is a sequel to “The Ghost Hunters” and, once again, features (a fictionalised version of) real-life ghosthunter Harry Price. When the Army requests Price to investigate some strange apparitions and supernatural goings-on at Imber, he is reluctantly joined by the narrator, Sarah Grey, previously his assistant, lover and, secretly, the mother of his child. They make a strange team – Harry consistently and almost irritatingly sceptical; Sarah, who is possibly psychic herself, more open to the possibility of the existence of a spirit world. But their new assignment will make Price rethink his certainties whilst bringing Sarah face to face with some personal demons.

At around 500 pages, this novel is definitely a slow-burner and, at times, I found myself wishing that the book had gone through some more judicious editing. That said, its length gives the author enough space to build a ghostly atmosphere whilst developing the “human” stories behind the supernatural derring-do. In the last chapters, then, the plot really picks up and becomes decidedly Gothic – apart from the supernatural elements (including a chilling seance scene), there are every Goth’s favourite tropes: crumbling buildings, foggy graveyards, hidden family secrets, madness, and obsession. As well as a concluding action sequence which could grace a Hollywood blockbuster. This could make a fun club read for Halloween.… (altro)

I found The Ghost Hunters to be pretty awesome, but this book was fabulous! I was thrilled to learn that the Ghost Hunters would get a sequel and I was even more thrilled when I got the book to read. And, what a book. From the first page was I hooked and the story kept its hold on my wall the way until the end. You don't have to read the first book, to read this one, but I would recommend you do that to get to know Sarah Grey and Harry Price from the start, how they met, how Sarah started to work for him and what went wrong.

The Lost Village is a captivating tale. I was curious to learn what the connection between Sarah and the village. And, is Imber really haunted? And, what has the movie theater that is said to be haunted to do with everything? Is there some connection between the movie theater and the village? Sarah and Harry reunite to solve the mystery of Imber. But, their past is between them and the village is not a very peaceful place. This case could be the end of them...

Neil Spring is a very talented writer and I sure hope that he will write at least one more book about Sarah and Harry. Although, to get this one was more than I hoped for and it was very bittersweet to turn the last page. It's an extraordinary tale and I recommend it warmly!

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!… (altro)