This was a great story. It was very well-written and suspenseful. It had a great spooky setting and atmosphere as well as all the things I love about gothic mysteries and writing. Lina and her little brother end up going to their uncle's house because their father dies in a suspicious manner. So, there's a murder mystery and ghosts and you don't know who's who or what's going on. There's of course, the military man, who Lina seems to like that helps her too. I thought I knew what was going on and who the bad guy would be in the end. I thought I had it figured out who the murderer was and what was going on with the ghosts and everything, but the ending surprised me a little. After reading it, I realized how it made sense and I could have seen who the bad guy was and what happened, but for once, I didn't know right away who the bad guy was like I usually do. Thanks to LibraryThing and City Owl Press for letting me read and review this great book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )

This book had it all. It is not your typical ghost story. It is a very well thought out story with well developed characters who have a lot of family drama to sort through, while potentially having interactions with ghosts. Of course every great mystery/ghost story is not complete without the beautifully spooky setting that sucks you in and surrounds you the entire time. I know want to go to Blackwater! We can't forget about the mysterious military man who brings an enjoyable deeper level to our main character. Definitely enjoyed this author and will look into some of their other books!

The setting of the book is sufficiently dark and spooky, but I tend to have a hard time getting into British authors sometimes. If you enjoy ghost stories set in England, you will love this book. ( )

The Haunting of Blackwater: newly orphaned Lina and her younger brother Matteo are forced to leave London and live with their only living relative, their brutish uncle at the family’s country estate. Lina comes of age in a year and hopes to just tough it out until then. But soon she is up against more than her drunk, possibly murderous, uncle. There are ghosts at Blackwater and Lina is determined to defeat them.
Man, I love a gothic horror. THoB was so well done, mixing dread with hopefulness, ghosts with plausible reasons, and overall creating an immersive atmosphere. As I was reading I thought, “Wow, this is like if The Turn of the Screw wasn’t terrible!”
Blackwater was suitably oppressive and I was glad there were some excursions to the village and to London to give the reader time to breathe. My favorite part of the book is that it was not JUST about ghosts. There were real world threats to contend with, mixed with family drama. Mysterious military man Max kept showing up, offering an outside perspective and another person for Lina to talk to. This leaves the reader with the impression that Lina is a sane, competent young woman, which made the threat of ghosts all the more credible, which made the book even scarier.
THoB was a spooky, atmospheric read that I can absolutely see myself returning to.
Thanks to LibraryThing and City Owl Press for the ARC!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A mystery and a ghost story combined, two of my favorites! The family dynamics added to the spookiness of the mystery. The characters drew the reader along on the journey. The historical backdrop of the lead up to the second world war also contributed to the tension of the situation.