Book Review
Title: City of Ghosts (GhostWriters #1)
Author: J. H. Moncrieff
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Rating: ****
Review: I requested City of Ghosts because it won the 2018 Kindle Award for Best Horror/Suspense, so I had to read it. As many of you will know I am a huge horror fan so I was expecting a lot from this book and it definitely delivered but it wasn’t the best horror/suspense novel I have read that still belongs to Red Dragon by Thomas Harris.
We follow our protagonist, Jackson, who is tired of being an IT consultant when he gets the idea to write a book about hauntings but not just any hauntings, true hauntings. With this singular goal in mind he hides from the rest of his tour group in order to spend the night in the city of Hensu. This was another aspect of the book I loved, Asian Horror. Hensu is a ghost town created a few years before when the dam was opened, flooding the city. The atmosphere of disquiet and discontent is present from the very beginning and only intensifies as the novel progresses. Something else is strange about the city of Hensu as the Chinese built statues of people being tortured to reflect their soul’s judgement after death. While Jackson is waiting for something to happen he sees a cold, wet, shoeless Chinese girl named Yuèhai and invites her sit by his campfire and this is when things begin to get really interesting.
I don’t want to go into too much depth in regard to the story because that would spoil the experiences for those that haven’t read the book. It isn’t often I do spoiler free reviews but this book definitely deserves one because there is so much going on. The first half of the novel is a little slow as it just getting to know the characters but this is really important for the second half so just power through it because it pays off in the end. As Jackson gets know more about Yuèhai and the ghost city, he learns secrets that some people are willing to do anything even kill to make sure they remain secret. Political intrigue is a massive theme in the novel and I loved it, not only the differences I saw between China and the UK, where I am from but the political difference between different parts of China which was so exciting for me as I am hoping to travel across Asia, specifically Japan, China and Korea in the future.
By the time I finished City of Ghosts I couldn’t believe how well crafted the characters were and how perfectly they blend into the story. The plot is intriguing and really keeps you guessing until the very end but not everything is tied up as I have just learnt there is a sequel to this book I will definitely be picking up in the near future. Overall, I found City of Ghosts to be a superb horror, full of suspense with amazing character, beautiful atmosphere and locations and it really sends a chill down your spine. If you haven’t read City of Ghosts I highly recommend you pick it up as soon as you can.
Buy it here:
Paperback: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
I received this review copy from NetGalley.
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