Two families, 100 years apart, a sinister haunting: Abberton House by Debbie Ioanna #bookreview #AbbertonHouse #damppebblesblogtours

Two families. 100 years apart. A sinister haunting…
It was supposed to be the dream house for Adam, Catherine, and their daughter, Bella. But dream houses can hold secrets. Settling in to their new home, the family realise they are not the only inhabitants of Abberton House.
A dark past continues to haunt the idyllic Yorkshire home, and those who remain want Adam and Catherine to know the truth. Frightened, Adam and Catherine begin to piece together what really happened at this once perfect abode.
A missing family, an elderly man searching for the truth, and secrets waiting to be revealed, moving in to Abberton House could be the worst decision the family made. 

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Hi and welcome to my review of Abberton House! Huge thanks to Emma Welton @ damppebbles for the invite and to Panther Publishing for the eARC.

It’s been a while since my last Panther tour and boy is it good to be back! I was literally just checking out Abberton House on Goodreads when Emma’s mail popped into my mailbox so of course I jumped at the chance and I’m very happy I did, Abberton House is an entertaining and quick read that hits the ground running, pulling me with it.

Abberton House, North Yorkshire. Built in the mid-nineteenth century and designed to house a large family, it has a look of grandeur about it. In 1916, Abberton House houses a family of five until the man of the house is called to war. In 2016, Adam and Catherine move in with their little girl.

The haunted house storyline in 2016 alternates with the, well let’s call it the origin story in 1916, and I enjoyed both, the former for its creepiness, the latter because I was anxious to find out what exactly had happened in 1916 to bring about the events in 2016.

The first part of Abberton House was the perfect haunted house story for me, as it played on my fears. Bar clowns and spiders, nothing is scarier to me in these types of stories than hearing noises you can’t place or seeing things from the corner of your eye that disappear when you look right at them. Much more terrifying than the monster screaming in your face, is the ghost hiding in the shadows, the old man staring in your window one moment, gone the next, your child’s imaginary friend, the footsteps on the landing when your whole family is downstairs.

The second part of Abberton House morphed into something a little different, it got less scary for me but it was just as good, only in another way. I’m talking in riddles but I’m doing so purposefully as I don’t want to give too much away.

I’m having a hard time categorising Abberton House, which sucks for my spreadsheet but is otherwise a very good thing, as I generally love books that refuse to be crammed into one little genre box. The 1916 storyline reads as a mystery / drama, the 2016 storyline is more thriller laced with horror. The two parts never clash though, they form a coherent whole that was consistently intriguing and fun to read, leading up to a finale that I found very satisfying.

Overall, I had a great time with Abberton House and if you’re looking for a haunted house story that includes mystery and drama and even some sentiment that made me well up for a minute there, be sure to check out Abberton House.