It's an excellent mix of humour and horror with a good dose of horror and a lot of fun.
Gabby Hutchinson Crouch delivers an entertaining story, entertaining and gripping.
The Rook are a lot of fun, quirky and fleshed out. The setting is quite creepy and it's perfect for a horror novel.
I expected something lighter but I loved it even if it wasn't a good idea starting it before going to sleep.
I look forward to reading other stories featuring these characters.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Wish You Weren’t Here by Gabby Hutchinson Crouch is an unusual story about The Rook family who are ghost hunters. The story is fast paced and the writing is certainly amusing with incredibly funny descriptions which are almost out of this world! This is a great read, one that will take you away from your own reality into another realm of demons, ghost and everything else that is scary and almost unbelievable. While performing their ghost hunting strategies we learn about each of the characters and they are amazingly unreal but at the same time utterly believable.
If you’re looking for a fresh story where you are immersed into another world then this one is recommended for you.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher Farrago books for a copy to read and review.

Many families run a business together, it’s just that the Rook’s business is a little more unusual than most. Still, the family that hunts ghosts together stays together, which is why they’re on Coldbay Island – to deal with a troublesome ghost before they move on to the next job on their busy schedule. Unfortunately, the ghost has other ideas, and the island is looking increasingly deserted. And Brenda’s had a bad feeling about the East Midlands since the nineties, and that feeling is getting worse, and worse…

Having not come across Gabby Hutchinson Crouch before, I wasn’t too sure what to expect, but I quite liked what I found. The closest I can come to a comparison is to imagine what Ghostbusters would have been like had it been written by Christopher Moore around the time of Practical Demonkeeping.

Wish You Weren’t Here is entertaining and comes with just the right amount of humour and snark. The family business set-up is novel and quirky enough to set it apart from similar novels by other authors, but two of the characters – mother and daughter – came across as so self-centred and unpleasant that they detracted too much to be evened out by the father and his ‘friend’, or even the Polish son-in-law. It has left me with a burning need to search out ‘Delicje Szampańskie’, though; a cherry version of Jaffa Cakes sounds absolutely divine!

The novel still makes an interesting start to a series and is probably enough to make the reader want to read the next instalment. In the meantime, I think I’ll give the author’s Darkwood series a go.

I received an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As I began this read I thought it would be surprising and funny but as it went on it became more and more sinister and violent
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc

Wish you weren't here by Gabby Hutchinson Crouch is action-paced, fantasy horror fiction and interesting characters that you cannot help but love.

Freak occurrences are happening in the seaside town of Coldbay. Things are being thrown into air, town is becoming dead and toilets are being thrown in the Church of Coldbay. Tired and Scared Reverend Grace calls "special cleaners" that helps cleaning Ghosts.
Enter the Rooks family, Richard Rook and his clairvoyant wife Brenda, who seems to have drinking problem and also think something is off with the world since year 2016. Their lovely son Darryl who inherited the clairvoyant qualities of her mother and his husband Janusz who does accounts and is real sweetheart. And amazing ghostbuster of adopted daughter Charity who is fond of Carbs. Frankly, who isn't fan of carbs!? And there is our friendly demon Murzzzz.
As the Rooks family try to help the Reverend meanwhile uncovering secrets of their own existents, they starts to discovering much larger problems, more ghosts and demons. The Rooks soon enough realise that there are much much bigger force behind the misery of town and there is no escaping from it but getting through it and ghost-clean the entire town.

The writing flows in this fiction, All the characters are excellent, quirky, flawed and interesting. Here, Murzzzz deserves an honorary mentions and I cannot wait to read more of Murzzzz and the Rooks. The entire plot and the unknown narrator had me guessing from the very first page.

Wish You Weren’t Here is a fun, ghostbusting romp set on the very haunted fictional Lincolnshire Coldbay Island. The Rooks, a family of ghost hunters, have been called in by the local vicar to deal with some weird goings on in the church and end up dealing with more than they bargained for.

An entertaining, humorous read with engaging characters. I’ll be looking out for the second book in the series.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.

Well, that was rather more body horror than I expected from lovely Gabby Crouch!

I very much enjoyed the Darkwood series and have been known to chase customers around to get them to try it (not really; I did follow one, but we were going to the till for her to pay, so...) This is rather darker and more grown up, and I'm not sure I'd give it to kids the same way. It's still funny, but not every-other-second funny.

There's some very clever story telling here, and bits of language that made me think 'this is absolutely Gabby.' I did kind of feel like I'd dropped into the middle of the story at the start, but as it went on things started to fall into place. I was a little confused by parts of the ending, but I'm sure they'll be cleared up in the next installments (which I can't wait to read. Is this a trilogy, does anyone know?)

Fantastic, clever, funny, not really spooky - maybe creepy? - read, with a great hook for the next part. I can't wait.

'Wish You Weren't Here' is the start of a new series for this writer, a very quintessentially British series given that it's set mostly in that kind of small, depressing, slightly seedy seaside town that many people living in the UK will know better than they want.

It's urban fantasy, based on the idea of a family who go around dealing with ghosts and demons, all with baggage of their own one way or another - the mother, for example, is an alcoholic in denial - coming across a job that's actually them biting off much more than they can chew. An actual hellhole, to be precise, set in a small town where there are loads of ghosts, people who try to escape are killed in various ways and all that seems to be left is a grubby church that nobody uses and its vicar.

It was a fairly enjoyable read, though I found some of the characters more annoying than endearing and the set pieces a bit drawn out at times. There was one particular scene early on where something happened I hadn't come across before in urban fantasy but I was left hoping for similar inventiveness later on, only for it to be absent. I can't see myself picking up the next in the series, not when there's so much else out there to explore.

Wish You Weren't Here was so much fun! Ghostbusters but with a quirky family. Gabby Hutchinson Crouch is a wonderful writer. Her characters were super great. Paranormal-comedy-horror is my new favorite combination and she nails it!

I definitely enjoyed the book, but I’m also a little confused by what I just read. But I think that’s the point? It definitely leaves me with more questions than answers and I enjoyed it enough to search out her other series.

Fun And Frolics..
Meet The Rooks! This family are certainly dysfunctional but, more than that, they run a business in ghost hunting. Fun and frolics abound in this fast and funny first encounter. Entertaining and enjoyable, doesn’t take itself too seriously and with a colourful and eccentric cast of characters. A promising start to a new series.

I’m just going to say right here and now, I am going to love everything Gabby ever writes. I can tell. She was well on the way to New Favourite Author status with the Darkwood series and now she has cemented it with Wish You Weren’t Here! I am SO glad there are going to be more books in this series! I am SO far from done with the Rooks!

In the Darkwood series, Gabby had me fall in love with a spider. Yes, arachnophobic me. This time she had me shedding tears over a demon. I mean, if that doesn’t show some damn fine writing, I don’t know what does.

The Rook family have varying degrees of psychic abilities, except Darryl’s husband Janusz. He’s the accounting whizz. Mum Brenda and son Darryl can see the ghosts, daughter Charity can send them on their way, and dad Richard, well, he’s host to a terrifying demon, who is part of the family. When a routine ‘cleansing’ for a client, of a church that’s being trashed by ghosts an alarming amount of times, goes wrong, the family need to pitch in together to try and save the town.

I absolutely loved every one of the members of this family and Darryl and Janusz are couple goals. Brilliant banter, ghostbusting and family secrets that can make even the most serious situation rather awkward, Wish You Weren’t Here was an action packed, super fun ride from beginning to end! I am dying for book 2 already!

Well that was an adorable and fun tale about ghosts and demons! The Rook family is so much fun and I truly enjoyed this book. Looking forward to the next one. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy

The Rooks are a family of ghostbusters, they are called out to Coldbay Island to sort out a small problem for Reverend Grace Barry, an invisible presence is continuously wrecking her vestry, all her good China had been ruined. So far so simple but all is not what it seems in eerily deserted Coldbay larger forces are at work and it turns out Coldbay is not the kind of hellhole you were expecting.
This series has all the hallmarks of Crouch’s Darkwood series but it’s pitch is a little darker in tone, none of the family are particularly charming except for Janusz who married in and so doesn’t count. They are however entertaining and absolutely riddled with issues, they are darkly funny and I love a bit of bickering it reminds me of my own family. Janusz, naturally, is the best our very own Polish Disney Prince who does the admin. It’s no wonder they all love him, I mean he remembers to bring the biscuits.

This is the first book on the Rooks, and it serves its purpose: it introduces the characters, but, by the end, you really want to read book two to learn more about them.

The family has five (six) members, dad Richard (and the demon who possesses him, Murzzzz), mom Brenda, son Daryll and his Polish husband Janusz, and daughter Charity.
Together, they travel to a nearby island to find reverend Grace Barry, whose church seems to be having some other wordly issues, namely,spirits that throw things around. It seems like an easy project, in and out, until they discover it's not, and whatever is going on on that island brings out some carefully hidden family secrets.

I did enjoy this book, it was fast-paced and funny. Janusz was, by far, my favorite character.

Thanks NetGalley for my ARC of this book.

Creepy things are unfolding on Coldbay Island. Good thing the comical and merry Rooks family are ready for the challenge when the priest summons them for help. Humor, excellent banter, and lots of entertaining action keeps this story interesting. Serious Ghost Buster vibes, a touch of slapstick comedy, and a family willing to stick it out together whatever comes their way. A fun book that doesn’t take itself too serious is perfect to usher in the new fall creepy reads.

Thank you NetGalley and Farrago for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

From the first sentence I knew I would love this book. The tone totally resonated with me, that darkish humour is totally up my alley and made it a whole lot of fun throughout. I loved the tightness of this family, which is only composed of adults, the youngest I don’t think is under thirty, But they work together at their spiritual cleansing business, and as dysfunctional as they are individually, there are brilliant as a lot. Absolutely loved the banter, and totally want to read the rest of this new series. This is a light quick read, think Sean of the dead vibe. Total entertainment, no convoluted plot, probably a bit too much explanation for things that were more than hinted at, at the end, But I’m totally on board, and really look forward to the rest. I will also go looking for the other books from the author and do highly recommend.

Ok, I must admit I was not sure what to expect with this one, but ended up really enjoying it. Mom and dad, and brother and his husband and adopted sister are sent to clean up a ghostly church on a remote area by the sea. Mom and brother can see ghosts, the adopted sister can capture and send ghosts to another plane. Dad has a friendly demon inside that he can pull up at will, and the husband is the keeper of the accounts. Lots of banter and playfulness, as well as a mixture of seriousness. There is an open hell-hole after all, which is not fun. When dad's demon is scared that is not a good sign. Fast paced story and one that was hard to put down. First I've read by this author and will not be my last. Highly recommend this book and author.

When reading reviews you want to cut to the chase - I enjoyed this book. It’s escapism with witty dialogue and some great characters. A plot that zips by and does not take itself seriously. A book you can read in a day and sit back with ‘yeah, that was fun, what next?’

It’s a story of, well, exorcists? Ghost hunters? Family dynamics? All of those mixed together with humour and enough mystery to keep the novel going. The only issue is one that kicks in around the final 3rd with the ‘big bad’ of the novel. Personally, I found its reveal a little confusing, however, this is the first in a series so hopefully it’s explained a lot more in the next book.

Ultimately, it’s a recommendation from me - a palate cleanser from those heavy novels you have lying on the bedside table. Fun times to be had here.

𝚀𝙾𝚃𝙳: Does this story end with death?
𝗖𝗪: 𝗮𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲

In 2016, the community in Coldbay Island is a ghost-inhabited island. The Rooks Family are psychic cleaners. They are far from your average family. Each member of the family has natural abilities to collect evidence supporting the ghost hunting activities. Reverend Grace Barry, a vicar at St. Catherine Church, booked them for spiritual cleansing.

The synopsis of the book caught my attention. It made me thought that this was about a supernatural horror comedy adventure trope. What was the verdict? 🤔

Well, it did not disappoint my reading experience. There was plenty of action. It was fun to follow the quest of the group from one chapter to another. The family dynamics were enjoyable. They had banters in the middle of the intense scenes, which has made the reading process more satisfying. The writing style of the author in horror and comedy dominance was well-balanced.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I am interested to continue the series. I would recommend this for young adults who like supernatural fantasy, adventure and/or with LGBT characters

Special thanks to @netgalley and to the publisher, Farrago Books to enjoy this eARC. All thoughts and review are my own.