I went into this book expecting a horror story, and that is not what this is. However, it is a slightly eerie mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed!

This story takes place in 2019 and is told through the eyes of the genealogist Meg, and also through various journals and news articles as she discovers them. Meg, along with several friends, is trying to piece together the details around two young asylum patients’ deaths.


I really enjoyed the authors writing style, it made for an easy read. I didn’t want to stop reading until I knew every detail about Lucy and Ella!

Special thank you to @booksgosocialgroup and @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

Meg returns to London to research the mysterious death of two former asylum patients. Oh, she’s also staying in said asylum. As Meg begins to deep dive into the history of the seemingly progressive institution, she learns there were some questionable practices at play beneath the surface. Is that why the women were silenced? And, bigger question, were they silenced or did they actually die by suicide or accidental fall? As Meg continues to learn more about the institution and unravels the truth of the past, she is forced to reconcile truths in her own life.

This had me pulled in from the start. I am a sucker for a gothic story, and I LOVE asylum based mysteries for some reason. Unclear on why – maybe I detest sleep free from nightmares. Anyway, this was a solid combination of a surface mystery as Meg digs into Ella’s, Lucy’s, and the asylum’s history but also as she’s forced to face her own. The way this all came together and those missions collided was so satisfying. This had a satisfyingly eery and gothic vibe and I’m glad the original sneaking suspicion I had about how Ella and Lucy died was proven incorrect. I highly recommend for those who enjoy a creepy mystery/suspense read!


TW: abuse, manipulation, sexual abuse, blackmail, murder, and possession


⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 - 4.5/5

Billed as horror but would disagree. Should be categorised to a different genre. Story was fine and written well but unfortunately wasn't what I was expecting. Would be enjoyed by historical/ mystery readers.

I wanted to like this book much more than I actually did. Although the story is good I found it a bit slow at times.

If you like mystery meets ghost story this might be the book for you. I just ended up not being able to really get into the whole story. In fact almost completely through it (65% on my Kindle) I shelved it as DNF (but will try it again later).

I really enjoyed this book. I found that I was hooked and wanted to read on to find out what was happening. An engaging storyline, well constructed characters and lots of twists and turns. A good read all round

I enjoyed the style and writing of this book, and it was easy to get the flavour of the characters. However, I lost interest at around 40% of the way through and struggled to pick it back up. I persevered a few times but felt that the story development and the pace didn't really hook me.

Meg is a genealogist hired to preserve old records of the asylum that is renovated into condos in London. She knew that it would not be comfortable to be working and staying there. She was hired by someone in California to find the records of a relative that died at the asylum 100 years ago. This person is hoping to figure out the relative’s diary that was written a hundred years ago and what caused that person’s death. Meg is under a lot of pressure from the things requested of her as the work stirs up memories. She begins to realize that there is something evil in the asylum and fears it.a

An excellently written novel that starts out slowly but does make the story grow into the suspense and mystery of the story. I was fascinated by Meg’s being so unsettled in the asylum. The author has included in the novel the steampunk spiritualism, gay romance and what was considered radical therapies. Digging deeper,

This was an entertaining historical mystery/thriller. I loved going back and forth between the past and the present, the main characters investigating an age old mystery though old journal entries.

There were multiple character viewpoints in this one that might have made it a bit hard to follow, but once you get the hang of it, the story flows easier from there.

An enjoyable read, recommended if you like supernatural, historical mysteries.

It took a bit for me to get into this book, but I’m glad I didn’t give up! The twist and turns had me in the edge of my seat and I couldn’t put it down. It’s amazing the skeletons some people keep in their closets. Some secrets make it to the graves, and others are exposed thanks to the curious minds of their descendants. What mysteries will you leave for yours? Do you have any old family journals that have been passed down from generations? Are you curious enough to crack them open?

This book has a great premise and all the spookiness that you would expect: a mostly vacant condo building, flickering lights and power cuts, and a journal written in secret code. The story hops between Meg’s investigation, the relative's decoded journal, and the asylum’s head doctor’s diary.

Abney Heights was my first book by this author and I didn’t know she wrote “ghost stories". So when weird things started happening, I chalked it up to someone being sneaky or playing pranks. I never once thought ghosts were involved. Imagine my surprise when ghostly things happened later in the book. This confused and surprised me, since it seemed out of the blue. It's also part of what brought my rating down to a 3. Another reason for this being a 3 and not a 4 was that all the storylines were too intertwined and tied together way too nicely for me.

Still a good book, even if a bit slow to start, and if you go into knowing ghosts will play a part, you may enjoy it even more than I did!

The Haunting of Abney Heights sounded right up my alley. A mystery about a haunted old asylum? Yes, please! It was spooky and a great book to read during a cold winter day. The alternating timelines were really interesting and kept me intrigued throughout the entire book.

First...A HUGE thank you to Gwillion Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review 'The Haunting of Abney Heights' by Cat Thomas.

Well, I approached this with the thought I was getting a spooky, "haunting" type book about an old Asylum that was refurbished into flats. This was more of a historical family mystery. So I suppose part ghost story. Meg is a freelance genealogist hired by a family member of a former inmate, to find out what happened at the asylum and how she died under suspicious circumstances. Meg began to ask help of her friends, and they find another suspicious death at the same time. They work together to try figure out the mystery surrounding the two deaths.

I did like the alternating story lines between Meg's time and the diary/articles and the doctors own journal from the previous period.

Thanks again to #netgalley for providing an ARC for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Shoutout to Gwillion Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review 'The Haunting of Abney Heights'.

I enjoyed this novel, and had a generally good experience while reading. The plot was simple, but also had layers, and there were a few good twists- the ending felt like a bit of a disappointment, if only because the rest of the book was playing out so well. It was rushed, and felt less than ideal, given what had come before.

The characters had little development, but it didn't feel extremely necessary to further the plot. I didn't mind, and they got the job done. It did, at times, feel like they were vehicles for the story, rather than a driving factor, and that things were happening without them. Because all our narrators (in my opinion) are unreliable due to one thing or another, there were gaps that could have been filled, but the story still worked without being air-tight, so I didn't mind all that much. More of a CBB than a necessity to enjoy.

Overall, I would recommend this book as a light read, and I am curious about Cat Thomas' other works- I'll have to check them out in the future.

“An old asylum, a hidden diary and a secret that casts long shadows”
*
Megan Morgan is an archivist/genealogist with a doctorate in fairy tales. She is hired by a woman named Betty to look into the mysterious death of her great aunt Ella Murray, who in 1907 was found dead on the grounds of Abney Asylum, where she was being confined. When she contacts the health authority to look at the records, she is in turn hired for her skills as an archivist by Monarch, the development company that is turning the Victorian asylum into luxury flats.
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On the grounds of the Stoke Newton building, Meg runs into a friend from her adolescence, Antoine Bryne who is an editor with the Hackney Comet and happens to be one of the few residents at Abney Heights.
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Together with some friends, they work to solve the mystery behind Ella’s death as well as the suspicious death of another patient, Lucy Northaway. Along the way, Meg discovers the truth behind her own family’s secrets.
*
This book had a strong start with spooky nighttime vibes at the former asylum. It also had a solid finish. However, the book could have done with more supernatural or unexplained spooky happenings throughout.
*
The story is told mainly in first person from Meg’s perspective, but there are also sections from Ella’s diary throughout and the head doctor’s notes as well as a couple of his papers which reminded me of Freud’s writings. In my opinion, the present timeline was the weaker of the two. The diary entries and doctor’s notes are what kept me reading.
*
BooksGoSocial provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much @booksgosocialgroup and @netgalley for making this possible!

A dramatic story set between two time periods - Curren day, Meg is looking into the past of the asylum. - it started by feeling a little like Susan Hill's Woman in Black I was sadly a little dissapointed but can see the appeal to those who are more interested in supernatural-ness. However, it did keep me page turning and wanting to know more

This was a book I wanted to sit down and read without interruption. I liked how chapters started with present-day settings and finished with a diary entry, court record, or journal entry from the past. I was intrigued to see how the story would unfold.

Overall the book was enjoyable, but it left me wanting more. I felt like the characters and the plot could've used a little more depth. The book didn't really pick up until the ending which was kind of disappointing. If it had been a bit longer and with more character development it would've had been 4 stars.

3.75/5 stars! The cover of this book was so pretty. I could stare at it forever. The premise of this creepy historical mystery novel sounded super intriguing and I was excited to get the opportunity to read it. A former asylum!?!?! Sign me up. The multiple-POV timelines were a little confusing at times, but overall it was a gripping novel. I wanted more LGBTQ+ representation considering it mentioned this would be a pull for the story. I enjoyed the twist at the end and would read another book by this author.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

This book is really solid. The characters are well-written and enjoyable. The plot is paced well and the twist ending was executed well. The organization in this book was really interesting, with the diary entries and essays. It presented information in an interesting way. The ghost element to this story seemed a little haphazard, but it didn’t take too much away from the strengths of this book.

Quite an interesting read! I loved the Victorian secrets and mystery at the heart of the novel, and the supernatural elements were very apt for the time. Atmospheric, yet fast-paced, this book kept me hooked right until the end!