After having read The Shadow People I was really looking forward to this one. Sadly it didn't hit the mark.

I found it to be misogynistic, repetitive and boring. I skimmed over the last 10% as I just wasn't interested any more.

Graham Masterton delivers spine-tingling chills in "The House at Phantom Park," a haunting tale that will make you question whether you truly want an old mansion's secrets unearthed.

When pragmatic property developer Lilian Chesterfield takes on renovating the abandoned St. Philomena's military hospital into luxury homes, she dismisses the eerie occurrences as her mind playing tricks. But the slamming doors, scattered objects, and ghostly faces soon escalate into a malevolent force far more terrifying than any spirit.

Masterton is a master at atmospheric dread, vividly rendering the decaying mansion's ornate Gothic details and layering the ominous unease. Lilian's skepticism makes her an ideal conduit for the scares, which land with brutal impact thanks to the author's skills at upending expectations.

While the first half is a deliciously slow burn, "Phantom Park" kicks into high gear when the hospital's grisly past comes to light. What follows is a breakneck struggle not just to survive, but to stop an ancient evil from being reborn. The shocks are ferocious and relentless.

A dark and disturbing plunge into the depths of human monstrosity, this latest from Masterton is a reminder that sometimes what haunts us most is not the dead, but the atrocities of which we're capable. A nerve-shredding, immersive fright feast.

Wow super creepy but so good!! Highly recommend. Loved how this kept me guessing and intrigued throughout the whole book.

"The inexplicable thing is that he's experiencing the PTSD of Corporal Terence Simons, even though he never knew him. How can you treat a patient for a traumatic experience he never had?"

"I'm not Terence Simons, I'm his pain."

Another classic by the legend Graham Masterton! St. Philomenas, previously a military hospital for soldiers who suffered casualties in Afghanistan, is close to being renovated by a luxury property developer (we Millennials are eye-rolling at this all too familiar phenomenon in gentrification). The problem is, Lillian cannot find a surveyor or other building inspectors to actually survive doing their jobs for the property development. They all become paralyzed with some strange affliction, crying out for Moses, a doctor who made it out alive in Afghanistan after witnessing and stitching up countless horrific injuries. Never mind the strange gardener that randomly shows up asking for work. Lillian and Moses work together to solve the mystery of the horrors occurring at the house.

"The sheets were twisting and untwisting themselves like a rope trick, and the mattress was bulging up and sinking down as if a heavy man were lying on it and tossing himself in agony from side to side. But there was no man there."

This book is full of gory, shocking, and unexpected deaths. There's some interesting Afghani culture and mythology included, which was a great added element. There's a lot of action, but I do think this was a slow burn of a read. There's not much character development, so that also lowered my score a bit. This will not stop me from reading more of Masterton. Thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for the ARC!

Graham Masterton, known as the 'master of horror,' returns with a chilling tale in "The House of a Thousand Screams." This atmospheric horror story is perfect for Halloween and promises to keep readers on the edge of their seats.

comes, am I right? This had been sitting on my shelf a while and it was the perfect time for a haunted house. For the first 50% of the book, I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. However, spoiler alert, I grew to form some sort of connection with the book.

What was it that made me unsure of The House at Phantom Park? I felt it was a little dragged out. There were a number of similar scenes where the characters refused to believe there was some kind of haunting. It’s likely that this would be the case with many people, but it was too repetitive in the book. I also felt that some of the dialogue was a bit unrealistic; not in what was said but how it was said. This book has a lot of dialogue and, normally, I enjoy that. However, a little more descriptive text would have added an extra layer of spooky.

What I did like was the story. Yes, haunted houses have been done a million and one times before but the focus on soldiers and Afghan culture and the war there gave an old dog new tricks. I’m not sure how much of the cultural stuff mentioned was true as I didn’t find much in the internet. If some things were made up, they fit the story well but I think it’s a bit strange to do so. By the end of the book, I actually cared what happened the characters. I’m not sure if I was satisfied when the ending or not but it sure was unexpected and I appreciated that.

Another masterfully written book by Graham Masterton. If I feel like reading something gory and really spooky I always pick one of his books.

Thank you to Netgalley, Aria & Aries, Graham Masterton for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoy a good horror / mystery book. This was my first Graham Masterton book and it sadly wasn’t for me. I ended up DNFing this book just shy of 15%. I think for me it was a combination of the writing style as well as the storyline. I think the best horror books have suspense and the “what was that” factor and this just didn’t really hit the mark for me.

Graham Masterton knows how to create genuinely terrifying tales and a truly unnerving atmosphere. This book is no different, and Masterton's take on the haunted house novel is really interesting, twisty and creepy. For me however, was that the characters fell flat. There isn't any real way I can explain this but I'll try my best; my favourite books usually contain characters that I forget are characters. They feel like true people, with pasts, goals, likes, dislikes etc. They feel tangible. The characters in here though just felt like they were created for this story and then after it ends they just stop. However, I am big fan of actually getting creeped out in my horror and this book does that in spades.

Spooky stories always get me. Add in an abandoned military hospital and I am in it for the long haul. It was a little lackluster at first but I did end up enjoying the story in the end. I would not have gone out of my way to read this had I not received an ARC copy of it.

This book wasn't for me. One of the reasons is that it was a slooooooow burn. It took way to long to get interesting. The second reason it wasn't for me is that I hate character that can't and won't figure out what is going on. It was very frustrating.

This was super creepy and gory so if that's what your main desire is in a horror novel then this is perfect but for me I like a good story to go along with these elements and I don't feel like that's something I got in this novel. It was a very slow build up which meant that by the time we hit a climax, I had kind of got to the point where I wasn't very interested and so the intensity didn't have a big effect on me unfortunately.

Okay, I'll need to stop reading Graham Masterton. This was so stupid it nearly did my head in. It read like it was written back in 1982 and then overhauled to make it (vaguely) fit into the 2020s, while keeping the characterization and plotting firmly in the olden times. Seriously, this book is just crazy. People behave like aliens. That is, the MEN do. Women don't even qualify for alien behaviour, they seem to be a completely different life form altogether.
The plot, I don't know, I think describing it as "crude" would be cruel towards all those silly books out there whose only fault is crude plotting -- *this* is simply and truly bonkers, and not even in a fun way. I just found it really nasty and reprehensible. Oh, and badly written as well, the writing style is truly atrocious.
No. Just no.

My sincere apologies to Netgalley and the publisher, but as a life-long horror fan, I found this to be a travesty, not an enjoyable if shlocky novel.

This story knows how to be captivating, but it lacks charisma. The characters didn't really stood out for me. The plot, tho, was impressive and terrifying - I love/hate the ideia of old places being visited and then terrible things start to happend there, and the story is pretty much it. During the reading, I wanted more conection with the characters, and it never happend. I found them... Ok, I guess. But nothing more than that. It is a fast reading, tho. I finished in like, a day or two. Compelled me to the end.

2.5 stars rounded up
This book is a multiple Pov, ghost story. It follows several characters that find themselves pulled into strange and terrifying happenings going on at an old military hospital that is being renovated. This book definitely knows how to capture your attention, the introduction was extremely scary as well as mysteries and really pulled me. The plot was predictable after the introduction and really followed the typical type of haunted house/ ghost story. I found the book entertaining, but there were some points I found slow or a bit dull and wanted it to pick up the pace a little. I think that this is a solid spooky story that would be great around Halloween time or if you're just like a good mystery. For me, I would have liked it to have had more surprises, or a bit more of an enigma in the story.
Trigger warnings: ptsd, war trauma, gore, injuries by combat, fire
I received this advanced ebook, via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.

Just when you thought you’ve read every possible twist and take on the haunted (insert building type here), there’s this. From the genre’s grandmaster himself. You’d be right to expect a lot. You’ll be disappointed not to get it.
Masterton by now can probably write a decent scary story in his sleep having been at it for so long, but this is definitely not one of his strongest efforts. In fact, this has that distinct “for the paycheck” flavor.
It has all the Masterton’s specials: entertaining writing, a fun backstory featuring different cultures. In fact, the latter is his signature, and he always does that right. But the rest is so bland.
Bland characters, bland action, too dragged out and slow like it’s pay-per-word, the book simply fails to engage. The execution buries the idea here. Which is doubly shame for readers who know just how good Masterton can be.
It reads quickly enough but leaves a lot to be desired. Certainly shouldn’t be anyone’s first introduction to the author. Thanks Netgalley.

This was a past paced horror mixed thriller that I wanted to enjoy very much, but it felt short at character development. Don’t get me wrong, The House at Phantom Park did give me chills with the haunted house setting but I was skimming through the conversation between characters which didn’t settle well with me. It could be just me, they might work for you! Stars just for the haunted vibes

Thank you publisher via Netgalley for the arc

DNF— it didn’t pull me in. I wasn’t hooked by the first few chapters.

Thank for the opportunity to read this book early in exchange for my honest review.

⭐⭐ -- Most excellent cover on this one!

I previously read <b>The Shadow People</b> by this author and it was a 5 star read for me. So you can imagine how excited I was to dive into this book! Alas, this one just wasn't as much of a hit with me. While the setting was indeed spooky and atmospheric, the plot itself was slow and boring. Add in characters that were "meh" and unlikable and you have a book that just wasn't the greatest. It happens...🤷🏻‍♀️

**ARC Via NetGalley**

My goodness this was a wild ride. It was nothing I expected and sometimes the gore felt so sudden and intense that I had to question if the book jumped shark a few times. Having had some time to think about this (read it at night, couldn't get to sleep afterwards), this is a 4 1/2 stars for me. Seriously, I'm not even sure how to explain this one except haunted, very very very haunted hospital with war vets. How Lillian kept sane throughout all this is beyond me! Which is the reason for taking away a half star. The development project should have ended many moons ago. No amount of sageing would have helped any let alone skepticism.