This is a historical mystery full of atmosphere. The description makes the atmosphere come alive. The characters are well developed. It is a slow burn

Although I didn’t end up reviewing it for the blog – for reasons I now cannot remember but probably had a lot to do with time (or lack thereof) – I very much enjoyed W C Ryan’s previous novel, A House of Ghosts, which successfully combined an engaging period mystery with a gently unsettling ghost story and just a dash of the spy thriller. Ryan’s latest novel, The Winter Guest, refines that effective formula by upping the espionage antics, complicating the ghostly subplot, and adding in a dash of romance.

As with A House of Ghosts, The Winter Guest is set in the aftermath of the First World War. Captain Tom Harkin, formerly of the British Army, is now back home in Ireland and working covertly as an intelligence officer for the IRA. When his former fiancé, Maud Prendeville, is killed in what appears to be an IRA ambush gone wrong, Tom is summoned to Kilcolgan House at the request of his former employer, Maud’s uncle Sir John Prendeville, to investigate. The local British Auxiliary Forces, led by the sadistic and unpredictable Major Abercrombie, insist that the IRA must have killed Maud. But whilst they admit to killing her companions, the local IRA column swear that they left Maud – a staunch supporter of Irish independence and a survivor of the Easter Rising – alive. Unravelling the truth will lead Tom into an uneasy alliance with a member of British intelligence, into the investigation of an arms deal gone wrong, into the dark secrets and ghosts of the Prendeville family, and back into his own past and his memories of the trenches.

I was fascinated by the setting of The Winter Guest as, whilst I have read a number of novels set in the aftermath of the First World War, very few of them have been set in Ireland and, to my shame, I know very little about the history of Ireland or the fight for Irish Independence. Ryan doesn’t shy away from portraying the escalating violence and heartbreak of what is, in effect, a country engaged in a Civil War and the novel effectively portrays the heightened emotions and tensions that arise as a result, with Tom soon caught up in a spiral of retaliatory action and political one-upmanship. Few of the characters are being entirely honest with him but is that because they know something about Maud’s death? Because they suspect him of having an association with the IRA? Or for other reasons of their own?

The novel also benefits from effective characterisation with a charismatic – but not entirely infallible – lead and an interesting cast of supporting characters. Major Abercrombie is a particularly well-drawn combination of unhinged anger and calculated malice, whilst Harkin’s love interest Moira is a fiercely intelligent and amusing foil to his slightly more dour personality. I also enjoyed the uneasy truce that arises between Harkin and his opposite number in British intelligence, with both men united by their desire to see Maud’s killer, or killers, bought to justice.

Although not a ‘ghost story’ in the traditional sense, The Winter Guest is a novel imbued with hauntings. In addition to the ghostly White Lady said to appear at Kilcolgan House before the death of any Prendeville, Tom’s generation is haunted by their experiences in the trenches. Tom himself, invalided home with a shrapnel injury, is still suffering from the aftereffects of concussion and ‘shellshock’ (a type of what would now be termed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) whilst the Prendeville family continue to mourn the loss of their eldest son and heir in the trenches. And Ireland itself is portrayed as a country haunted: by secular and religious divisions, by the aftermath of the Easter Rising, and by the broken promises and treacheries of British Imperialism. So whilst there aren’t many things that go bump in the night here, The Winter Guest is certainly a novel full of ghosts and the atmosphere of the book is a suitably gloomy and foreboding one.

With a satisfying mystery/espionage plot and an effective realisation of both time and place, The Winter Guest more than matches up to its predecessor and makes for an engaging and interesting historical read. Fans of A House of Ghosts will find less overt hauntings here but will enjoy the same atmosphere, tension, and pacing that made his previous read so enjoyable.

This was a really engaging ghostly whodunnit, and really enjoyable! Set in the 1920's it really captures the time and atmosphere of the Civil War raging in Ireland, which divided many people and was responsible for so much fear, especially just after The First World War.

Set around the house, Kilcolgan House, it delves in to the mystery of the death of Maud as there appears to be some disparity over how and why she died. Her former fiancee, and former British Officer Tom, is sent in to try and uncover more of the mystery

You get the real sense of so many secrets being kept by people, that you're wondering just what is being hidden and why! The supernatural element is subtle and really well played out so doesn't become the main theme of the story.

I really enjoyed the Whodunnit aspect of this story and it was a great read for a long dark night!

This was book was really great!! I enjoyed it a lot, loved the characters and the world building. The cover is also so lovely. This was the perfect read for the weather change.

I quite liked this unusual take on a 'haunted house mystery'. The characters were realistic, flawed but likeable and of diverse ages and classes. At times the 'action' felt a little shoehorned in and over-dramatic but overall it was enjoyable! I found the integration of Irish history into the plot helpful and interesting, and it stopped it from feeling like just another mystery in a big house.
A good choice for people who enjoy a spookier kind of mystery.

Current involvement with judging permits me to write reviews, but I can star my opinions on this book

A really good read a historical novel based in Ireland .

The drive leads past the gate house and through the trees towards the big house, visible through the winter-bared branches. Its windows stare down at Harkin and the sea beyond . . .

January 1921. Though the Great War is over, in Ireland a new, civil war is raging. The once-grand Kilcolgan House, a crumbling bastion shrouded in sea-mist, lies half empty and filled with ghosts - both real and imagined - the Prendevilles, the noble family within, co-existing only as the balance of their secrets is kept.

Then, when an IRA ambush goes terribly wrong, Maud Prendeville, eldest daughter of Lord Kilcolgan, is killed, leaving the family reeling. Yet the IRA column insist they left her alive, that someone else must have been responsible for her terrible fate. Captain Tom Harkin, an IRA intelligence officer and Maud's former fiancé, is sent to investigate, becoming an unwelcome guest in this strange, gloomy household.

Working undercover, Harkin must delve into the house's secrets - and discover where, in this fractured, embattled town, each family member's allegiances truly lie. But Harkin too is haunted by the ghosts of the past and by his terrible experiences on the battlefields. Can he find out the truth about Maud's death before the past - and his strange, unnerving surroundings - overwhelm him?

Its 1921 and while the Great War has ended the aftershocks of the Easter Uprising are being felt across Ireland. Civil war has now broken out.

When a car returning to Kilcolgan House the crumbling stately home of the Prendevilles is ambushed the occupants are left for dead. These include Maud Prendeville a heroine of the Easter Uprising. The IRA column responsible for the attack insist that they did not kill her and checked that she was alive when the left.

Any police investigation is likely to be only cursory, so the family send for Captain Tom Harkin, a war veteran, now an IRA intelligence officer and Maud's former fiancé to investigate.

Tom settles in at Kilcolgan as an unwelcome house guest. Working undercover he pulls away at the threads of the occupants’ secrets, some of which are perhaps better left uncovered. Within the embattled town with loyalties and allegiances divided he must separate friend from foe and be careful who he places his trust in.
Harkin’s return stirs up memories of his past love and all the while he is hampered by flash backs of his time in the trenches. Can he keep the ghosts of the past at by and discover the truth about Maud before his feelings overwhelm him?

This is another novel that it is difficult to pin down and categorise which are proving popular. Essentially, it’s a historical crime thriller but with a dollop of social history of the early 20th century, in particular the struggle for an independent Ireland, with elements of the supernatural in the background. A broad canvas for a bold novel.

Whilst the main characters are members of the fledgling IRA or sympathisers to their cause it is not written from a polarised point of view, its more nuanced than that, painting shades between the black and white and the reader gets to see some of the motivations of both sides.

The Black and Tans where fearsome men specially drafted into the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) to boost their numbers and had a reputation for brutality and instigating reprisals. There was also the Auxiliary Division of the RIC which effectively formed its paramilitary arm. These were hated by the locals and helped recruitment for the IRA. They were rough and dangerous men supposedly recruited to do a rough and dangerous job. The reality was that most were men who had served the Empire during the First World War only to return to unemployment and not a country fit for heroes. Men desensitised to kill and returned to civilian life with no thought to their future or rehabilitation into society. Sadly, this is an issue that persists to this day.

From the Republican side it is more the feeling of betrayal which eventually festers into hatred of the British in some. As is remarked in the novel many Irishmen joined the British in the War to protect the independence of small countries in Europe only to return home and have that right denied to themselves. Strong motivation indeed.

The decline of the stately home and class based system that supports it was nicely covered. A dark and cold crumbling old mansion is just the right atmospheric setting for ghostly activity and the supernatural. The woman in white appears as a potent of death.

The main protagonist Harkin suffered the horrors of the trenches and badly concussed in a shelling. He clearly is suffering from PTSD as he tries to negotiate life in ‘Civvie Street’ and is subject to flash backs and hallucinations, though at times the reader is never sure if the latter are the product of Harkin’s damaged mind or contact with the supernatural. He constantly feels the presence of his murdered for love Maud, as if she is guiding him to safety. She forgives him and is watching over him and ultimately a gift to him proves to be pivotal (albeit through an old chestnut of film and literature.)

Whilst being a male dominated novel the inclusion of Moira provides a strong female counterpoint to Harkin. It is she who watches his back and helps him to see what is in front of him and always has been, the key to his future.

This is very much a novel of trust and betrayal. The message throughout to Harkin is to be careful who he places his trust in, the enemy in front of you is easier to deal with than the one within. The betrayal when it comes is a surprise and leads to the unravelling of a sad and sordid tale.

The writing itself is nicely judged covering the more sensitive aspects with tact but not hiding away from the darker aspects.

I couldn't get into this book. It was just too hard to pull you in. It may have been because the digital proof was horrendous to read with formatting, spelling and grammar errors.

I ended up buying this book, despite having originally been offered a NetGalley ARC. I did not realise I had not downloaded it, and so intrigued by its plot and the rave reviews of its historical accuracy - something I am always a sucker for - I bought it.

I'd warn readers that the first part of this historical thriller can be a bit of a slog, but that it is wholly worth it. Set in Ireland, just after the conclusion of WWI, an IRA ambush goes wrong, killing Maud Prenderville - a staunch fighter for Irish independence. Captain Tom Harkin, IRA intelligence officer and verteran of WWI, looks to investigate just what has happened.

Should you persevere through the first few chapters, W.C. Ryan creates a rich historical, detail-led narrative which draws you in so thoroughly, it was hard to put it down.Echoing other reviewers - definitely one to read curled up by the fire!

Set in Ireland in 1921, the story gets off to a dramatic start when an IRA ambush goes horribly wrong. Maud Prenderville, eldest daughter of Lord Kilcolgan is killed and the hunt is on to find her killer since the IRA insist that they left her alive at the scene. Drafted in to investigate is Captain Tom Harkin, once Maud's fiancé, and now working undercover as an IRA intelligence officer. However, his arrival at the gloomy Kilcolgan House is met with suspicion and mistrust. The once beautiful, but now gloomy, ancestral home is a place of secrets as the family guard their privacy well but it's not just the Prendervilles who are reticent, Harkin too has his own share of secrets, which, at times, threaten to engulf him.

Intelligently written with a fine eye for historical detail, the story is one of mystery and conjecture, bringing both time and place alive. There are vivid and thought provoking flashback details of Harkin's time during the First World War which are eloquently and compassionately described. His struggles to maintain his equilibrium in this post-war world is only heighten by the escalation of the troubles in Ireland and the sense of injustice which prevails.

The brooding nature of Kilcolgan House with its shadowy and haunting atmosphere make The Winter Guest a perfect read for a winter afternoon, preferably snuggled by a warm fire.

This really took a while to grow on me. It’s a historical, literary, thriller, ghost story and the writing style is that of a novel written around the time of WWI, when this is set.
I struggled with the first half of the book, it’s quite descriptive and there’s a lot to get your head around; who is who and what side they’re on and what that means.
Once I was half way through the story had me gripped, I had no idea who the murderer was or why they’d done it and I was fascinated by the pursuit of answers while being on the edge of my seat waiting for another death.
I liked the fact that the author respected the time period, where we are used to descriptions of grizzly deaths and murders, people in this novel are tortured and murdered with next to no description, it is all left to your imagination, which sometimes can be infinitely worse.
Once I got used to the writing style I really enjoyed this novel.

I read a book by William Ryan a few years ago called The Constant Soldier and recommended it to everybody I know. I’m sure that I will be just as eager to do the same with this new book.

In some ways it is completely different, it takes place in Ireland a few years after the end of WW1 and more importantly for this novel after the Easter Rising. The troubles in Ireland form a huge part of this storyline, the effect on the local smaller communities, the British ex military who are drafted in to quash any uprising and the methods in which they do so. I felt that these men didn’t give any thought to why people either wanted independence or not. They were just doing the same as what they did during the war, killing. To my shame, I know little about this period in time and did have to dig deeper at times.

I thought the similarities with The Constant Soldier were the descriptions of war and the effect it had on the soldiers. It was evident throughout how Harkin struggled with his experience. Most of the ghosts he saw were soldiers who he had known. These were at times harrowing to read despite the brevity and they increased my liking of him, I felt they showed his honesty and in some ways increased his determination to get the answers about Maud’s death. She was another whose ghost he saw, proving to me that his ghosts were people who had an impact on him at some time in his life.

It could have been a depressing novel, a fractured country struggling with poverty and politics but there were characters who made me smile. Mrs Driscoll, Moira and Bourke especially.

I found this novel fascinating for so many reasons but mainly for opening my eyes to a troubled time.

Thank you, NetGalley, for letting me read this book.

This is a nicely twisty political thriller, set in a fading Big House in the west of Ireland.

The real genius of this book is the setting. We're in Ireland between the first World War and independence. There is a personal and political complexity here. Tom Harkin, our protagonist and IRA officer served in the British army in WW1. He knows the family he's investigating - Maud Prendeville is his ex-fiancee and he served with her brother in the trenches.

Down here, the IRA is a bunch of local men. There's a vicious occupying British army, who are happy to take retribution into their own hands. There are Le Carre levels of mistrust and genuine danger. It's also a great evocation of a time that most British people have very little knowledge or understanding of. It's an excellent read.

An atmospheric, riveting, and fascinating historical mystery set in Ireland during the Civil War.
Damaged characters, paranormal elements, the aftermath of the WWI and the consequences of the Civil War.
It's the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last as I found it brilliant.
Great storytelling and plot development, excellent character development.
It kept me hooked and I loved what I read.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

1921 and Tom Harkin still has nightmares about the Great War. He’s living back home in Ireland where civil war is rife and he has become an IRA intelligence officer. So when he gets the news that his former fiancé Maud Prendeville, the daughter of Lord Kilcolgan, has been killed in an IRA ambush he is sent to investigate.
His arrival is an unwelcome one, and it’s not long before he starts to receive unwanted attention from the powers that be.
Determined to find Maud’s killer he will have to battle his unnerving surroundings and the spirits that haunt the manor to seek the truth, before he becomes overwhelmed by his past and the present.
A highly captivating novel. One that engrossed me from start to finish.
The setting is eerie and the people even more so.
The author’s writing is flawless and the story is incredibly enticing. A truly beautiful piece of literature, one of the best books I’ve read in years. Superb.

I loved WC Ryan's other books, which I sort of stumbled across by accident, this one didn't disappoint. A perfect winter read- filled with mystery and ghosts. A gripping story in an unusual setting during the irish war, I've already recommended this to so many people for something to read during dark days where what you really need is a perfect ghost story

I have to confess that I originally started to read this over Christmas but then stopped as I needed something a little lighter over the festive period. There's some serious history in The Winter Guest and it needed my full attention. I know little of the civil war in Ireland in the 1920s and this was a very good way to find out more. This never felt like an info dump though as the history was weaved through the story. I certainly came away feeling more informed.

Like A House of Ghosts, there's a supernatural feel to this book but a little less obvious. However that doesn't detract from the atmosphere at all - in fact, I think it enhances it as you're never sure if it's the main character's (Tom Harkin) imagination or if they're really there. Once again, W.C. Ryan uses the weather to highlight the story and the fog and mist add to the misery that already overhangs the country, especially in rural areas.

Struggling with the trauma of WW1, Tom Harkin is suspicious of everyone as he investigates the death of Maud Prendeville and rightly so. W.C. Ryan has created a great cast of characters and like Tom, it's hard to know who to trust. I don't want to give anything away but there are some very unexpected twists.

Overall, you get what you always get with a W.C. (or William) Ryan book - interesting history, a twisty plot, intriguing characters and incredible atmosphere. A fantastic read.

I couldn’t get into this book, I tried for a few days but it just wasn’t grabbing me. I think it was just a case of mood reading so I will definitely be going back to it at some point to try again 😊

Set in post WW1, as with the author’s previous book, A House Of Ghosts, this new novel is set in Ireland and the civil war and the troubles taking place at this time.

When an IRA ambush takes place at the gates of Kilcolgan House, killing Maud Prendeville, the daughter of it’s owner, Lord Kilcolgan, the village is deeply unsettled by the news.

Captain Tom Harkin, IRA intelligence officer and former soldier, still very much suffering from his experiences within the trenches of France, is called on to investigate why Maud, a hero in the struggle for Irish independence, is included in the dead bodies inside the car, and the repercussions of the attack and Tom’s questions soon begins.

This historical mystery is full of the ghostly atmosphere which was present in the author’s previous book, with Tom seeing shadows in the dark of those once known to him but now dead and his dreams and memories, of his time in the war, constantly bubbling to the surface. Wonderfully set in the cold, damp and unloved large house of Kilcolgan, with candle light, loyal staff and family secrets, the slow moving, sinister feel is well written.

Well described characters, dialogue, dress and vividly described rooms make this feel very true to its historical setting. I had to do a little googling to better understand some of the terminology used, like columns, and to get a better understanding of the political landscape mentioned, as I felt a better understanding of this benefited my read of the book.

It took me a few chapters to get into the book as I wasn’t sure I would enjoy or have enough understanding of the topic setting, but it is written in a way that has it both at the forefront of the novel yet included in a mystery, character driven story. It is a slower more atmospheric ‘mystery’ with a little romance also thrown in for good measure. A good read for these colder winter evenings.

Many thanks to the publisher for my advanced copy via Netgalley.