I really enjoyed this gothic novel with the dual timeline. The story seems simple. Meghan Morgan, a professional genealogist, is commissioned to discover the great-aunt story of one of her clients.
So here we have a Lunatic Asylum with new methods of treating mental health issues, a double crime and a mysterious machine for contacting the dead. What more could you ask for in a gothic novel? This book drew me in mainly due to the atmosphere and location of the novel's action. An additional plus was my favourite diary theme. In my opinion, it always adds another dimension to the story, and here there are two, including one encrypted. I admit that I could predict many events, but two plot twists surprised me. I didn't expect this turn of events at all, but it was a brilliant move that added a deeper dimension to this gothic novel.

This is a fine novel that is entertaining and engaging. The interweaving of Edwardian and contemporary story lines is expertly crafted and with a shocking finale

This book had a great story line and the element of historical fiction with a touch of family discoveries. You will follow Meg as she is working on helping Betty with genealogy. The Haunting of Abney Heights goes back and forth between present and 1907. Meg and her group will research what they can and Meg will decode the journal. She discovers her own genealogy as well. For me personally I wish it was a little more fast paced as I found it hard to focus and be drawn completely in.

I'm a huge fan of non-gory supernatural suspense, so I liked this one a lot. It takes a long time for the suspense and action to get going, a lot of this is about the archives and research part, but since I liked the main characters of the Scooby Gang, that was fine.

📖 ARC book review 📖
The Haunting of Abney Heights by Cat Thomas
Genre: historical fiction, mystery, supernatural
Pages: 416
ARC: yes
⭐️: 3.5/5
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📖 synopsis:
Meg is a genealogist who is recruited into a mystery of finding out who killed her clients great-great grandmother. With the aid of the dead woman’s journal, Meg goes on a journey through an old asylum and encounters ghosts of her own making.
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💭my thoughts💭
Phew, guys. This book took me a WHILE to get into…I’m not going to lie. The first 60% of the book was 🥱 I suppose I understand in the end because it was character development and all that jazz, but honestly? I felt it could have been shorter. The ending was a shock that I didn’t see coming, so that helped redeem it a bit. I gave it a solid 3.5⭐️ if you’re expecting a TON of paranormal and ghost stories, you’ll be disappointed, I’m afraid. But it does play into the ghosts of human nature. Overall, decent read 👍🏻
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Thank you to netgalley, Cat Thomas, and Gwillion press for the ARC. All views here are my impartial views of the book provided to me in return for such and do not reflect the author or the publisher in any way.
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The Haunting of Abney Heights by Cat Thomas

Wonderful mystery with a Gothic touch, highly recommend it

I love stories involving the supernaturally infested asylums of previous centuries. Throw in a bit of drama, haunting and geneology and you have a great story. The timelines matched up and each chapter revealed a new dimension of the story. A really fun read.
Thank you NetGalley for providing this copy. The opinion expressed here is solely my own.

Good writing, good storyline and full character descriptions. The only reason I gave three stars instead of four is because I was expecting a spooky story but it was more of a mystery, a good one I’ll admit but I really expected creepiness etc.
The book was a bit of a slow burn but I did enjoy the characters and the way the plot thickened, I just wanted a bit more horror.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me a review copy of The Haunting of Abney Heights.

This book was good, the writing was good, the story was good. It just… wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted a lot more creepiness and thrill from it than I got. I was interested in the genealogy storyline, but found myself wanting more from the “haunting” part. I feel that if I had picked up this book expecting a mystery rather than a ghost story, I would have been a lot happier. I will definitely pick up this author’s books in the future with different expectations!

This was a difficult book to stay focused on. There was no connection for me with the MC, and the plot didn't grab me for too long. This took effort to want to pick up, rather than starting something else.

A fabulous Edwardian murder mystery with a modern day twist. Meg is a compelling protagonist with an intriguing back story. I enjoyed the multiple timelines and points of view, and the book was well plotted and paced. Great gothic elements and depiction of the treatment of (perceived) mental illness at the time.

An old asylum, a hidden diary and a secret that casts long shadows.

A lovely and dark contemporary/Edwardian mystery! What does this mean? A novel full of ghosts, academia research, danger, dark history, personal drama and uncovering truths. A bit of a slow burn but you will keep turning pages in suspense.

Each of the characters are well developed and the story was extremely well done.

You will enjoy this read if you get lost in mysteries, dream of investigating haunted asylums and appreciate dark academia research.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am a genealogist so the family history storyline caught my interest. The book really has 2 stories. There is a current day where Meg as returned to London for a research job of an old mental hospital that has been converted to apartment. They are organizing the building history for an archive online. Meg is avoiding her relatives and reconnecting with old friends. But she also takes on a somewhat related job of looking into a couple of ladies that were confined in the building. What happened to them and why did they die so young?

The story is told from different points of view. We get parts of the current characters as well as the historic documents. An interesting book with a surprise ending. A good read!

This is the first time reading this authors work and it won't be the last! I was hooked from the blurb and it kept me hooked until I put it down. I loved the humour throughout and the banter between characters. I loved the twists and turns and how jam packed the story was with them. There were so many parallels between the dual timelines and I enjoyed having it told through the communication methods of many characters. A winner! Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a temporary copy in exchange for an honest review.

A great read. Lots of interesting twists towards the end. I enjoy reading about mental health in the “old days”. Attitudes about women, at that time, come across in this read. Ghosts, family, friends … lots of mystery. Definitely worth the read.

I was given a free copy for review purposes.

This was a pleasant surprise. Not so much traditional ghost story; rather, dark and atmospheric with a hint of proper supernatural stuff going on at an old, refurbished asylum in London. Megan, a genealogist/archivist, has been asked to look into the history of the building by the development company. Odd things are happening (electricity eps cutting out, for example), and the flats are not selling as quickly as anticipated.

Megan begins a search which brings up some very dark happenings that occurred at the asylum, back in 1907 just before it was closed. These particular issues are likely to disturb some folks, so trigger warnings would be a good idea for this book (child abuse in particular).

The story is told in two timelines, one from the secret, coded diary of a patient at the asylum at the time, Elle Murray, who also died there under tragic and disturbing circumstances, along with another patient, Lucy, who Elle had fallen in love with. Megan finds the key to decoding Elle’s diary and along with it, the dark secret the asylum holds.

There is a good, diverse group of characters, past and present, and the story is good. Once I got into it, it was a steady read to the end. Because of the subject matter(s), this won’t be for everyone, but it was well done, especially with regard to the two timelines and how they interacted with each other.

Enjoyable read, if not one I would usually choose!

Starting off strong, “The Haunting of Abney Heights: A Gothic Mystery” by Cat Thomas follows the mysterious death of two women in an asylum in North London. I expect gothic fiction to have a slow burn, and this work did not disappoint. With an explosion of an ending, this novel was atmospheric and gave off a creepy and eerie aura. However, I personally wasn’t a fan of how close the twists were to the end. I wish they were incorporated a bit sooner and in turn made the ending feel rushed. It was clear that the author and team spent a lot of time with their historical research, which I appreciated. The novel does its best at being a Gothic Mystery, but I found myself feeling it dragging more often than not. Thomas created a great work, but I wanted more depth to the characters, that way I would feel more attached. I would recommend this book to any fan of Gothic fiction. Thank you NetGalley for the read in exchange for an honest review!

DNF at 47%

This book was just not working for me. The writing style was extremely hard for me to read and overall I was slowly losing interest in this story.

The twists and turns in this one! Kept me on turning the pages and on the edge of my seat. Highly recommend.

Atmospheric historical fiction with past and present times lines. There was intrigue and plenty of spookiness with the Edwardian asylum setting. I enjoyed the writing style but I found myself wanting a little more from the story and ending. Nevertheless, this was an enjoyable read.

3.5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review.