I am ashamed to say that I haven't read anything by Stuart Neville for years ... I have no excuse other than I must have had my head stuck in the sand or developed short-term amnesia because I forgot how much I enjoyed reading his words.

This is a sad and tragic story told from the perspective of two women, Sara and Mary, and from two timelines, the present and sixty years ago, with all 'action' taking place on an isolated farm in Northern Ireland.

This is not a story full of joy or happiness but rather there is an overwhelming sense of darkness and sadness with a foreboding undertone from start to finish that is intense and certainly keeps you on edge. Having said that, it is also a story of strength, survival and hope amidst a backdrop of abuse, control and gaslighting.

I admit this isn't a story for everyone and I can't say I enjoyed it given the nature of its content, however, it was an excellent read that had me hooked and took me through so many emotions that many books don't do nowadays that I can only recommend it to others who enjoy dark, psychological thrillers with a little of the supernatural thrown in to enhance the overall feel of the book.

Thank you to Bonnier Books UK and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.

The Ashes - dark and brooding, the book is told by Sara and Mary, a past and present of the houses tenants.

Mary was born in the house, so she knows. Though she doesn’t know 100% who her parents were, it could have been Daddy Ivan, Daddy George or Daddy Thomas, as Tam as they called him. She grew up living in the cellar with Mummy Noreen and Mummy Joy, not sure which one really was her Mummy either. But the Daddy’s locked them in the cellar and they were allowed out during the day to clean, cook and help out with some jobs on the farm.

Some 60 years later, Sara finds herself living at the newly renovated house, that her husband Damien has moved them to, away from Bath were they used to live and nearer to his family. His Dad Francie and his Mum want to keep an eye on them. Sara feels trapped, just like Mary did. She’s scared and doesn’t want to be there, a red stain keeps coming back on the kitchen floor, no matter how hard she tries to remove it.

A lifetime of fear meant Mary stayed in the house with her memories and kept her secrets. But Sara can’t live with the shadows and ghosts and needs Mary to tell her the real story of what happened at The Ashes.

A beautiful tale of parallel lives, told by two characters who’ve never met before, but whose lives are entwined for eternity.

This story was very good. The reader’s interest is sustained through a variety of separate plots. Highly recommended.

I've never read anything by Stuart Neville before but I feel that this will change in future. Neville is such a talented writer and I am in awe of the way he creates an oppressive atmosphere throughout this novel. I felt incredibly claustrophobic as I read about the way the women in this novel were treated and the conditions in which they were forced to live. It's definitely not for the faint hearted as there is a great deal of violence, although it's never included needlessly and it adds to the sense of foreboding that surrounds the house.

Each chapter in The House Of Ashes is narrated by a different character and this allows Neville to link the past and present seamlessly. It also gives us insight into the way each character is thinking and feeling. The sense of helplessness in the women is almost tangible and I felt sympathy for them the whole way through. I will be thinking about them for a long time. However, it is not only the women who gave me strong feelings as I was reading. The male characters are very well written and they definitely got under my skin. I was constantly looking over my shoulder whilst reading.

The tension in the novel increases dramatically as we reach the ending. I was desperate to know what would happen to the women and how their story would end.

More than 60 years separates the two principle narrators in The House Of Ashes, and yet, the themes remain the same as the astonishingly high figures of women murdered, which has remained unchanging throughout the twentieth century, and still show no sign of decreasing.

Mary, the old woman who appears at Ashes House, trying to get in and insisting that it is is her home and that she needs to be there, collides with Sara, the young woman whose husband has moved with her, from Bath to his native North. She is symbolically and literally scrubbing what she believes is a dark, rust, maybe blood stain of the flagstones in the house her father in law, Francie, has built for her and his son Damien.

The clash of past and present, the spilling of blood onto stones which have already born witness to so much, is where the story proper starts, and as we get to know Sara and Mary, other voices begin to tell their tales.

Noreen and Joy, who were both represented as mother figures to Mary during her youth, also tell their tales of punishment, violence and ultimately, death at the hands of men who saw them, wanted them, and took them. The last narrator, Esther, is another child out of time, abandoned from circumstance and death, brought to bridge the gap between almost teenage Mary, and the worn out women these men , the three 'Daddies' , have kept hostage.

When the world was slowly retuning to itself in the post war period, the rural areas of the North Of Ireland, however, seem to remain untouched and run by their own set of rules where what goes on in the farms, remains there. People *kind of* know what is going on, but they do not look too far into the dark shadows of the barns for the truth of the women brought to live with Ivan, his sons George and Thomas (aka Tam).

It is here that Esther, a girl with no home, is brought on the pretence of being a housekeeper. Through her eyes, and Mary's, we gradually become aware of the horror of their existence, and through Esther, we see the link between the then and the now. Esther's fate is tied up with Mary's which is tied up with Sara's.

In Sara, Mary has fallen, literally, into her life at a time when both women need each other. Mary is running out of time, and feels the need to protect 'the children', those whose children, she cannot say. The sole survivor of a family massacre, and subsequently, a fire, she lives in a care home, the subject of village pity, misunderstanding, and an awkward co-existence .

Sara, ostensibly, has little to leave behind her in Bath and an-on paper at least-exciting future in this house where she might begin to start to live again, yet in her, Mary recognises a fear, one that is all too familiar, a woman trapped by a man. Her response to anyone reaching out to help her is 'He hasn't hit me,' and this rings so very true it physically pains me to type about it. People always say 'Why didn't you leave?', re-victimising survivors of abusive relationships, and I feel it is easier for them to say that than to understand why they stayed. What is wonderfully, and eruditely explained through the novel is exactly the process of grooming, gaining and maintaining control, as well as the way in which we , to an extent, still see girls and women as conduits to a man's goals whether it is to show off the having of a wife, ownership of woman or pro-creating.

The worst -and by that I mean the most affecting-parts of the novel are the ones which Stewart does not describe. He uses Mary's voice to talk about what she can hear, the way they cover their ears from the abuse being perpetuated, the sense of tension which is engendered as you will Sara to escape, Mary to be listened to, and the children, wherever they are, to be found.

The novel is haunted, and haunting, it examines the way in which women were, and are seen as collateral and the ways in which the way they feel powerless is engendered to prevent them from escaping. And by using the vernacular in Mary's sections, you really feel not only the sense of innocence, which paradoxically intensifies the emotions about the way the adults in her life behave, it reminds you of the place that she is in-geographically and socially. With Sara, Mary's collision into her life is a wake up call which rings back over 60 years. Esther was the catalyst, her arrival brings the potential of hope which ripples through the hearts of Mary, Noreen and Joy, and then on down through to Sara.

Deeply moving, powerful and resonant with the most incredible, and formidable female characters, and villains you would happily hoist by their own petards ( by that I specifically refer to their sense of hubris, and also testicles) , Stewart has created an exemplary and  compelling narrative embedded in his native Ireland. Absolutely superb.

*As an aside, I kept being conscious of the use of ashes, thematically and literally throughout the book. Ashes seem to me to be emblematic of penance, the notion of 'sack cloth and ashes', is the life Noreen, Joy and Mary live in as well as the ash trees around them, which gives the house it's name. The ashes stain, and are difficult to remove and a human body can never, not really, be completely obliterated which always leaves some remains. It seems the punishment for being born female is to then try and wash away that mark, that stain, and therefore it feels. to the men in their lives, that their beatings, kidnapping and so forth are justified by that. It's a bit of a stretch but I could not stop thinking about it*

Sara Keane moves to Northern Ireland with her husband, Damien. This is where Damien grew up & his mysterious father lives in the area & has bought a house for his son. Sara soon comes to realise that this is not about a new start, but about isolating her from her friends & family, & Damien has started to become controlling & abusive. The house is almost finished being renovated, but there are mysterious red marks which keep appearing no matter how much Sara cleans them. One night soon after they move in, a old woman knocks on the door & tells them that she lives there & is looking for her sister, Esther. Damien takes the old woman, Mary, back to her care home, but Sara has an uneasy feeling that Mary knows about what happened at the house in the past, & discovers that they have a lot in common.

This is a well-written book, with a thought-out plot, but the misogynistic violence is difficult to read in parts. The narrative alternates between Sara in the present, & Mary back when she was a young child, & personally I would have preferred a more definitive ending. I also don't like being ambushed by animal death, & there was some (mercifully quick) in the first chapter which almost put me off reading the rest of the book. It was worth carrying on in this case, & I will definitely be checking out the author's other books.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Bonnier Books UK/Zaffre, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

This was such an impressive read, the 2 voices/timelines made it all more interesting. I found it very emotional and rather dark, but it was superb!
Thanks for the opportunity to read this ARC, cannot recommend it enough.

My Thoughts: this was a gripping story from the beginning, it’s told from 2 different perspectives and 2 different timelines, it soon seems like the only thing connecting them is the house.. but how?

Sara and her husband have just moved into ‘The Ashes’ an old house that they got cheap because the old lady living there started a fire and it was decided she wasn’t safe living on her own anymore.

Sara doesn’t feel comfortable there, there’s blood stains on the kitchen floor that seem to reappear all the time no matter how many times she cleans it or what she uses, every morning she wakes up early to get rid of them before her husband sees them, because he wouldn’t like that.

Mary is the old lady who used to live in The Ashes, she turns up one day angry and confused asking Sara why she’s in her house, asking her if she’s met the children yet? – but there’s no one else in the house is there? what children?

Mary’s story is mainly told in the second timeline, she’s a child living in horrendous conditions, with 3 dads and 2 mums, shut up in the basement unless she’s needed for jobs around the house, no life for a child, but to her it’s normal, after all it’s all she’s ever known.

Sara and Mary’s stories become interwoven as the book progresses and what follows is chilling but gripping, it’s one of those stories that you don’t want to keep reading because you know it’s going to take a really dark turn but you’re so invested that you can’t turn the pages quick enough.

It’s been a while since a psychological thriller gave me goosebumps whilst I was reading. I would highly recommend this one.

‘The darkest crimes leaves the deepest roots’

My thanks to Bonnier Books U.K. Zaffre for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The House of Ashes’ by Stuart Neville in exchange for an honest review.

This chilling gothic novel is set in Northern Ireland. At times I found it very hard going, not because of the quality of the writing, which is undeniably good, but due to its deeply unsettling subject matter.

The novel opens with a fire in an old house with a dark secret. Well, not that secret as the events of over sixty years ago are known to the locals even if not to newcomer Sara Keane, who has recently moved from England with her architect husband, Damien.

While the house had been left a shell, Damien’s ex-con father had bought it and gifted it to them. It’s been rebuilt and is being further renovated. Yet Sara is noticing a few odd things, like a stain that keeps returning. If only she knew about its history …

Then one day there is a knock at the door. Sara answers to find an elderly woman, clearly in distress, who can't understand why Sara and her husband are living in her home.

It transpires that Mary Jackson, the former owner, is now living in a care home and although often confused she remembers the fire and her house burning down. She also talks often about the children, the children who need her. The children she must protect…. Spooky. There are occasional glimpses of these spectral children.

The narrative moves between Sarah in the modern day and Mary’s experiences growing up in the house. Mary’s chapters are written from a child’s innocent perspective. Reading her account from an adult viewpoint again was very disturbing with the awareness that to her this was normality.

In the present, while Damien had seemed initially a catch, he has become increasingly jealous and controlling. He monitors Sara’s every move and deprives her of any independence. While familiar territory in domestic dramas, it still is difficult to read details of this kind of psychological domestic abuse, especially coupled with young Mary’s descriptions of the past. At times I was moved to tears, yet also to anger.

However, I felt that the bond between Mary and Sara did lift the story beyond relentless doom and gloom and of course their mutual concern about protecting ‘the children’.

I did appreciate his subtle integration of the novel’s supernatural elements. These were not flashy horror set pieces but part of the legacy left upon this house of ashes and its land by the all too human crimes committed there.

‘The House of Ashes’ is not a novel that I would say I enjoyed; even though I recognised its power and Stuart Neville’s ability to make me care about Mary and Sara. In essence, I was left shaken by it.

My first book by this author & what a traumatic place to start. This is an extremely sad & emotional read.

A powerful opening leads to the story being told in the present & the past. Six decades of violent abuse are inherent in the atmosphere of the house that Sara & her husband move to.
They met at university & seemed ideally matched with Damien being attentive & loving. However, over time, he changes & becomes manipulative, displaying coercive behaviour. Sara attempts suicide & Damien decides it would be better if they move to his home town in Northern Ireland. The house they move to has been bought by Damien’s father for a song as it was badly fire damaged.
The previous occupant, Mary, was caught in the fire & now lives close by in a care home. But, she thinks she still lives in the house & starts to torment Sara.

The story continues mainly from the POV of the two women. Sara is very isolated; new to the area, no friends, an overbearing father-in-law & a husband who sees her as inconsequential & tries to control her every movement including access to her phone. Mary recalls aspects of her past & details many of these to Sara. Sara begins to dig in to the history of the house & her husband’s family, unsurprisingly this does not help her mental state. Mary’s sections of the narrative are very much in the vernacular which really brings the horror of what she saw & suffered to life.

I can’t say that I enjoyed this book, it is heart breaking & the psychological torment both women experienced played on my mind days after finishing it. That being said, it is extremely well written & I found myself asking the women ‘why did you stay?’ but, of course, we can see what went on from the outside. The women were embroiled in a situation not of their making but they are strong.
Read it.

Yesterday was publication day for this 5 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 psychological thriller with a superb gothic atmosphere. It is set in Northern Ireland and spans two timelines: one the present day voice of an English woman Sara, whose controlling husband Damien has relocated them following her nervous breakdown, and the other an Irish farm girl from half a century previous. Sara is isolated from friends and work and spends a lot of time alone, cleaning the house. It begins to sit uneasy with her. An elderly lady, covered in blood appears and rambles about her home before being briskly carted back to her home. This eerie and haunting home clearly has a darker and more disturbing backstory than Sara imagined. An absolute stellar read. With thanks to @stuartnevilleauthor and @netgalley for this read. My hardback is in the post as I have to read this again. If my husband doesn't steal it first. Another brilliant book from a brilliant author. #thehouseofashes #Stuartneville #Netgalley #northernireland #gothicthriller

Sara moves to Ireland with her husband for a fresh start after her suicide attempt. They move to a house called The Ashes, but Sara soon discovers its terrible past after the former owner Mary comes knocking on her door. Unable to leave it alone, Sara begins to dig and her entire world unravels.

I kind of went into this book not really knowing what to expect as I've not read any of Stuart Neville's other books, but it absolutely blew me away! The story was packed full of tension, with a creeping sense of dread woven in there that kept me glued to the book.

The story was told mostly from the perspectives of Sara and Mary, going back and forth between the present day and the events that happened sixty years earlier when Mary was just a child. They were both so well written, fragile and flawed, but stronger than they knew. I really enjoyed the way Mary's perspective was told, as if she were speaking, I loved the subtle use of dialect and Irish slang.

It also hit me a lot harder emotionally than I thought it would and I will warn you it deals with some serious issues like abuse and suicide (the author handles them with care, but this is just a heads up).

The House of Ashes is a dark yet addictive read that will both shock and grip you. After reading this, I will definitely be picking up more books by Stuart Neville.

The house of ashes by Stuart Neville.
For Sara Keane, it was supposed to be a second chance. A new country. A new house. A new beginning with her husband Damien.
Then came the knock on the door.
Elderly Mary Jackson can't understand why Sara and her husband are living in her home. She remembers the fire, and the house burning down. But she also remembers the children. The children who need her, whom she must protect.
'The children will find you,' she tells Sara, because Mary knows she needs help too. Sara soon becomes obsessed with what happened in that house nearly sixty years ago - the tragic, bloody night her husband never intended for her to discover. And Mary - silent for six decades - is finally ready to tell her story . . .
Omg. What a chilling and eerie read. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Couldn't put it down. It had the house on haunted Hill vibes. I loved Sara and Mary. Didn't trust Damien. 5*.

Stuart Neville's new novel The House of Ashes is a superbly written, haunting tale that I found intense and compelling.

Sara and Damien have moved to Northern Ireland where Damien is from to live after Sara suffered a breakdown and ended up in hospital in the UK. The rural setting of their unfinished house should be relaxing and peaceful but the visit of an elderly lady called Mary leads to questions about what happened in the house before it was bought by Damien's father Francie.

Although isolated in this remote location, Sara finds ways to meet local people to help her understand more about Mary and the history of the house they are living in which does not go down well with Damien or Francie. What are they trying to hide?

I found the story unravel at a good pace as we learn about the people who lived there sixty years earlier. The dialogue using the local phrases roots the story and is a joy.

I enjoyed this crime thriller immensely, and for me, the element of the unsettled ghosts added to the fun of the read. While it's a dark tale, much of the heavy stuff happens off page, so the reader knows what's going on but doesn't have to suffer through it with the characters. I just couldn’t bear to miss a single second of the story. It didn’t take me long to get to race through the book. I found this to be a superb read, which kept me guessing and which kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.

Stuart Neville has written a grim, dark and compelling book in The House of Ashes. A contemporary thriller that delves into the past to find resonance, this is a book that is both unsettling and horribly real.

It is a book in which the past comes back – not so much to haunt as to warn – and it is a warning that has to be heeded if Sarah Keane is to survive.

On the face of it, Sara Keane has everything she could possibly want. Her husband Damien dotes on her. Her father in law has recently gifted them The Ashes, a beautiful house in the Northern Irish countryside, which they have set about re-modelling. She is glad for a new start. Her life has not been happy recently and she is hoping that the countryside will bring a new start to her marriage.

Sara is enjoying bringing the old farmhouse back to life. Then one morning, an old woman, clearly troubled and confused, arrives on her doorstep claiming the house is hers.

The House of Ashes is the story of that visitor – Mary and of Sara and the house that they share in common. It is a sometimes savage read but always at its heart there is compassion and understanding.

What Stuart Neville does so well is to understand the psychology of his characters and to make the reader feel what they are going through. Hence we can feel the fear that comes from the events in this house. There are moments when the tension is just too unbearable and you feel as if you are in a car just waiting for the inevitable fatal crash to come to you.

The House of Ashes is a story that weaves together past and present to show us that it is no accident when history repeats itself.

Sara finds out about Mary and the life she led and she researches, she begins to understand what went on in the house that she has so recently begun to live in. It is testament to Stuart Neville’s finely crafted characters that you forget everything except the story of these two women and where their similarities begin and end.

There’s absolutely no reason why men should not write great female characters; just the same, Stuart Neville’s adroit touch really does bring them alive and it is easy to identify with them and to feel the pain of everything they have suffered and the hope that sometimes flutters and ultimately dies in an Ulster ditch.

I loved Mary’s voice especially; she speaks with the weight of generations, her tongue the tongue of the Ulster-Scots. Her first person narrative is one that speaks of generations of Ulster residents, writ through with words and dialect that you can still hear today in parts of that country, especially the more rural areas. Her voice is rich, authentic and matter of fact, but her story is one of cruelty, oppression and not a little madness.

Sara is on the verge of having her eyes opened. Naïve in the beginning, she is slowly realising that the sins of the past may well have a bearing on her future. I loved the way that Neville brings these two women together and how he brings the past to Sara to show her that there is a way forward, but only if she has the strength and character to seize her opportunity.

It’s to his absolute credit that Sara’s moment comes not because of another man, but because she realises who she is and what she needs.

Verdict: The House of Ashes is a fabulously written, dark and completely harrowing thriller that fills the reader with unease and foreboding. It is vividly told with a nod to the ghosts of the past but honestly, they feel so right and natural I hesitate even to mention them. This is a book that is rich and grisly; a tale of ugliness and redemption and the story of how the strength, brutality and sheer power of men never fails to rear its ugly head and display itself in man’s inhumanity to women. Read it – and weep. I did.

Twisty, dark, disturbing, gripping: I can go on with a long list of adjectives. To cut it short: I loved this dark story with a strong gothic vibe and some very disturbing and heartbreaking moments.
The author did an excellent job in developing a gripping plot, great characters that you love or hate, and a claustrophobic environment.
I loved it and it's strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This is my first book by this author and, on the back of what I read, it most definitely won't be the last. It was rather chilling to read, mainly due to the claustrophobic conditions the main characters found themselves in, but I get ahead of myself...
Sara's husband Damien decided that, after Sara's breakdown, the best thing was to move to where he came from; to Northern Ireland. Where Sara knows no one, has no job, no friends, no transport. nothing. But hey, it's not my logic! But they move, and into a lovely old house that Damien's father got for them. Things are mostly ticking along until, one night, they are disturbed by a woman banging on their door insisting that the house is hers. Damien recognises her as Mary, the previous owner of the house, calms her down and takes her back to the care home where she now resides. But Sara was disturbed by some of the things Mary said and goes to visit her at the home. What she discovers there chills her to the bone...
And so begins a chilling tale with a nifty, and well executed, dual timeline where we hear from both Sara and Mary, in the present and the past, as they narrate their parts in the tale. Sara as she does her research and Mary, well, Mary's tale is horrific as you will find out.
This book is hard hitting in the way it details the upbringing of Mary and the conditions she was in. I am trying not to include spoilers but I will just say that no punches were pulled but also no glorification was exploited. It was harrowing to read at times and I did have to take the odd break away to re-ground myself. It parallels that with the situation Sara now fins herself in.
As characters, both Mary and Sara were easy to connect to. To feel for, sympathy and empathy. To root for and to care for. It made for one heck of an emotional read. On the flip side, there were also some really rather heinously nasty characters to direct some of that anger raised towards. Again, breaks were take, this time to calm down!
All in all, and it feels wrong to say I enjoyed the book given the subject contained within, but you know what I mean. It was well written and really did hit me where it mattered. As already mentioned, it's my first book by this author but I have already added some more of his to my ever bulging tbr. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Sara had been a bright young woman who had graduated from University to work in child protection, but after meeting Damien at University, she falls head over heels in love with her perfect man. That is until they marry. Damien isn’t long before he isolates Sara from her friends and family. Then he moves them over to Ireland, his home town and property his wealthy dad has picked up for them at a snip of its value.

Sara had been at her lowest when they arrived with strict instructions that she should not go out or talk to anyone. When Mary, an elderly lady, goes to the house and demands that it is her house, it sets Sara on a course that she can not stop. Mary has escaped from the old folks home, but when she is gone, Sara is left with haunting images of what she has told her. Sara is determined to see Mary again and look into the history of the place they are living, with the help of a builder working on the house.

What a story this is! It was simply impossible to put down. As Sara finds out more about the house and Mary, she begins to see images herself of children from the past. What she doesn’t understand, is the fear that her husband’s family bring to the area.

The story drops back sixty years when Mary was a child herself and living in the house. In present-day, Sara is researching official reports about the people that once lived in their house, and the horrors that happened there.

Stories are going on from the past and past day. A lot of it is hard to read. With supernatural elements playing a big part in the book, it heightens the tension more. The author creates a tremendous atmosphere and delivers the perfect endings. A brilliant story.

I wish to thank Net Galley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book that I have reviewed honestly.

Another 5 star? SAY WHAT!!

My 2022 reads are killing it so far & this one is no exception. I devoured this ARC in 24 hours because I literally couldn’t put it down. This gothic portrayal of a remote Irish home straddles the line between thriller & horror. It’s dark, gritty, gory & gut punching - the perfect book to read in the current dreary, overcast climate.

This story follows two women, within two timelines, half a century apart. I love that the blurb gives nothing away in regards to the “history” of the house but once it started to unfold, I discovered it was my favourite kind of claustrophobic, heart pounding survival story. I also really loved the current day point of view & it’s depiction of an insidiously abusive relationship - I was so rooting for both of protagonists & there were a few scenes that genuinely brought a lump to my throat!

This book is one for the pre-order list if you enjoy tense, tautly written thrillers with real life horror themes & a simmering undercurrent of generational violence & trauma & resilience