The Ghosts of Thorwald Place - Helen Power - ★★★★

AUTHOR: Helen Power

NARRATOR: Rachel Fulginiti

GENRE: Mystery-Drama, Paranormal.

RATING: 4 stars.

In a Nutshell: I didn’t expect paranormal elements to be a part of this ‘mystery-thriller’. But despite some scenes that were a tad too spooky for this scaredy-cat, I enjoyed the book. Entertaining, though somewhat slow. Better enjoyed without overanalysing.

Story Synopsis:

Rachel Drake, who is hiding from someone, has not stepped out of her apartment in the two years she has lived in Thorwald Place, a doorman building for those who can afford it. When Rachel gets a phone call one night, she knows that she has been found and decides to run away. She gets murdered in the lift while on her way to the garage.

Now Rachel’s ghost is stuck in Thorwald Place, tied to the lift. Her reach is limited to the apartments near the elevator. As she gets a glimpse of the residents of the building, she realises that all of them have some dark secret. Could any of them have been her killer? Or was it the person she had been hiding from?

The story comes to us in the first person perspective of Rachel.

Where the book worked for me:

👻 Rachel was a distress helpline volunteer when alive, and this aspect is woven well into her afterlife arc. She isn’t necessarily a likeable character, but she’s good at heart, though a bit slow to get a grasp of things. I liked this imperfect depiction of a lead. She is as human as can be with her judgemental nature coupled with genuine concern for others, all of which is quite ironic as she isn’t a human for most of the story.

👻 There are many characters in the story, whom we see though Rachel’s eyes while her ghost wanders into various apartments. Almost all these secondary characters are complex and even creepy. It just goes to show that humans are scarier than ghosts!

(Of course, you can take this point and turn it on its head as well, saying, "There were too many creepy characters within a single building!" But it added to the fun, especially as each character was distinct.)

👻 Though somewhat morbid, the writing incorporates plenty of humour through Rachel’s comments about the residents.

👻 An amazing ending that kept throwing surprise after surprise my way. Who doesn’t love surprises! The final scene was just beautiful.

👻 I didn’t guess the killer and I enjoyed all the red herrings thrown in my direction.

👻 I loved the diary excerpts as they revealed a lot about Rachel’s personality.

👻 I am a big scaredy cat when it comes to paranormal novels. I like all fictional ghosts to have a rational reason for existence (Don’t laugh!) and a happy ‘ending’. This book satisfied me on that count.

Where the book could have worked better for me:

☠ The level of spookiness was slightly above my comfort level. Of course, this point isn’t a shortcoming of the book per se, but of my limitations as a reader.

☠ I didn’t buy the little girl’s back story. It wasn’t convincing.

☠ Things become farfetched in the final quarter. The need to provide a satisfactory ending to all characters made the story cross logical limits. (Reminding you again, I still loved the ending. So not all was lost!)

☠ One thing I simply didn’t figure out was how agoraphobic Rachel was not at all hesitant about leaving her flat after the phone call. Not once does she deliberate over stepping out! So the agoraphobia felt more like a decorative label than an actual phobia.

The audiobook experience:

The audiobook, clocking at 11hrs 18 min, is narrated by Rachel Fulginiti. I enjoyed her performance. She doesn’t try too hard to give individual voices to the myriad characters, making them sound natural. Her narration was very easy on the ears, and gave the audiobook the perfect realistic touch. I’d definitely recommend the audio version, especially as the book is on the longish side at 400+ pages.

That said, there are too many characters to keep track of in this story. If you are an audiobook newbie, better stick to reading.

All in all, this was a nice audiobook for me, despite its going over the top at the end. If you don’t overanalyse the proceedings and just go with the flow, this can be a great entertainer.

The book has elements of mystery and drama, with a hefty dollop of the outworldly. The dominant genre here is drama, which worked in my favour. Mystery lovers will also find much to like. (However, horror fans will find it too mild, and horror phobes will find it too scary.)

Definitely recommended to those looking for an unusual light read with paranormal elements. For a debut work, it is quite ambitious, and achieves most of what it sets out to do. I will surely try more by this author.

 

My thanks to CamCat Books and NetGalley for the ALC of “The Ghosts of Thorwald Place”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.

PS: I don’t know why but the cover somehow gives a historical vibe to me, despite the clear presence of the elevator. Is it the font?

Content Warnings: Domestic abuse, infidelity, murder, suicide, human death, brutal animal death, (Well, there are graphic human deaths also, but we readers love animals more.),… Y’all, treat it as a horror story and prepare yourselves accordingly!