Beneath the Dark

Could not put it down! I read this book pretty much straight through from beginning to end (literally- even whilst walking my dogs!) I am a big fan of psychological thrillers, and so when I read the summary, I was all in- and Backhouse did not disappoint,. The character development was superb; and so while the reader (very much like the characters) found the events unbelievable, they were all extremely relatable., and most, save one, were sympathetic individuals whom I found myself connecting with. So it was tremendous mix of we've all been there every day occurrences and this absolutely could not happen in a million years scenarios. In essence, this novel brings us to the brink of our greatest fears on so many levels. Also I rather enjoyed this author's writing style- quite clever. I will be reading as much as I can by this author moving forward.

I was sent an advance readers’ copy of Beneath the Dark by @ibhorrorauthor in exchange for an honest review. Beneath the Dark is a supernatural thriller set in late summer 1996 on a historic island. On this island, strange phenomena have been occurring. A few residents of the island are being harmed by things they cannot explain, or feel they have imagined. These events occurred in a museum, library, beach, and church. There is also a pattern of a mysterious rot with an odor showing up mere moments after these peculiar attacks. This novel is told from multiple points of view from the citizens of the island teaming up to find out who or what is the source of these happenings and what the being’s plan ultimately is. They are composed of a team of police, business owners, respected citizens, clergy and paranormal investigators. I really admired the author’s attention to the detail, especially when noting geography and architecture. The story is also very fast-paced with a turn of events. I was on the edge of my seat! No spoilers- but I liked the ending! I also really admire the contrast in the cover art. It definitely reminds me of a gateway to an abyss! #Beneaththedark will be released via @cranthorpemillner in March of 2022. I give Beneath the Dark 4.5/5 stars!

This book was dark, captivating and had me jumping at shadows! Even as the pieces come together, you are still left questioning what is ‘real’ and what is not. If you like psychological thrillers with a paranormal twist, this book is a must on your reading list.

Though Jon and paranormal investigator Ed Thorn, and occult expert Dina Melnyk are the threads that move the plot forward, the story is told through many other perspectives as well. The reader sees the attacks from the victims’ perspectives and each episode plays on the doubts and fears of that individual. They are poignant and masterfully blur the lines of reality in absolutely terrifying ways. Jon, Ed, and Dina’s perspectives are interspersed between these and other snippets from various townsfolk. Despite the constant jumping around, Backhouse manages to tell a bone chilling and cohesive story that will keep you guessing.

It is clear that the heart of the storytelling is in different characters’ experiences with both the islands and the entity. The way the story unfolds is intriguing and clever; however, it also makes it take longer for things to start coming together. In addition, some of Jon’s and Ed’s sections seem flat compared to others. These are both minor complaints and did not taint my overall enjoyment of the story.

Overall, this psychological/paranormal thriller was an unexpected delight to read. Though it is clear that there is a paranormal entity involved, this story does touch on mental health. Additionally, some characters experience serious injury that is graphically described.

Special thanks to NetGalley for providing this ARC!

Any story that begins with a man pissing himself in terror, you know is going to be remarkable.

Officer Jon Pearce is a one-man police force guarding a tiny tourist town scattered over a pair of islands off the coast of England. When citizens of the town fall victim to strange attacks he’s joined by Ed Thorn, a (sceptic) paranormal investigator with a top rate in disproving paranormal claims. Joined by a handful of locals and an occult researcher friend of Ed’s, they must figure out what is plaguing the town and how to stop it.

Backhouse is generous with his words, painting stark museums and lush libraries with his descriptions. He has a tremendous ability to create eerie scenarios and controls the pace with a deft hand. Every time I began to feel things were moving a bit slowly, I’d get walloped by something more intense and immediate. His ability to blend everyday life with paranormal activity lends an overall sense of realness to the story – there is no overblown fantasy.

“Beneath the Dark” is a character-driven, psychological horror. I hate to compare authors to Other authors but the way he sets up his characters and focuses his chapters reminds me a lot of Stephen King. This is not to say their writing styles are alike At All – just that I’m getting the same well-rounded satisfaction from the various perspectives. This is great storytelling. The diction-lover in me adores his word choices. “Suddenly and environment that had felt so clement and benign became so sullied by a simple change in lighting, sending a small shiver down her spine.” I did find the climax/ending it a little lacking in intensity, but it seemed very appropriate to the overall atmosphere of the book (and I loved it anyway).

More suspenseful and eerie than frightening, I would recommend this book to fans of paranormal thrillers
(I received a free copy of this through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

Perhaps the lid of a Ouija Board should have the warning, "Beware all who enter here." Beneath the Dark was a cautionary tale of dappling in things to reach "the other side". It turns our, there's the other side, and then the middle side-so to speak and the "below" and nothing from below is ever, ever supposed to reach our plane. The things from below aren't souls or demons, but worse. Now someone on the island has dabbled and little by little a crack has formed and a strain has risen to the human plan to torment the living and search for the one who let it in. The creepy description of this thing from below was nailed home to me by the description, "it was never human, but if it could smile-it would".
Fortunately, a few humans figure out what is happening and find the means to fight back. You have to read the book to find out if, and how, successful this was. Finally, there is the last lesson....even smart people can be so stupid and you want to grab a certain character by the collar and say "did you learn nothing, you idiot?"

A great book. I had been in a bit of a slump and missed that "Oh, boy, I get to get up and read my book" feeling. This book brought that back for me.
Thank you #netgalley for the ARC of #BeneathTheDark and to #IanBlackhouse for the great storytelling.

A paranormal debunker is called to a small island to investigate bizarre events affecting many random residents. A perfect novel for fans of The Conjuring, Insidious, and Paranormal Activity.

Edits:
Location 78: 'Gate' is supposed to be 'gait'
Loc 216: recceing?
Loc 295: 'sight' is supposed to be 'site'
Loc 507: 'You'd' is supposed to be 'you'
Loc 603: fix 'at looked at'
Loc 1212 'Waste' should be 'waist'
Loc 1319 "Harriot' should be 'Harriet'
Loc 1670: 'Cannular' should be 'cannula'

This horror mystery is built around the loves and fears of the characters in it. Even better, it gives you enough insight into the characters for you to be able to puzzle out the mystery yourself.

In this book, in 1995 a secluded British island is being haunted. People are being attacked by ghosts, strange mold is appearing, and no one understands what is causing it. Our story centers on Jon (the single police officer on the island) and Ed (a paranormal debunker called in to help). However, the story spans much wider than just the two of them as other people on the island get pulled into the action.

WHAT I LOVED:
This story follows many different characters, and has to set each of them up thoroughly. Within a few pages of following a character, you know their loves and fears and emotional state. Most of the time, this is accomplished by just telling you this information and backstory. I think this is one of those times where the writing advice, "show, don't tell," is wrong. We are mostly just told about these characters, and it's an efficient way to get us on board with them without sacrificing the fast pace in the process. This efficient dictation fits the straightforward tone of the novel.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
While reading, I kept getting the feeling that this book wasn't exactly written for me. It takes place before I was even born and is filled with slang terms that I had to look up. This isn't a flaw (it's not like the world revolves around me), but just an observation. If you were a person nostalgic for isolated-British-island-in-the-90's, you would probably like this book a lot more than I did. For me, the sense of place was so strong in this story that it left me behind and confused fairly often.

A review of this book will be appearing on my youtube channel in the coming weeks. https://www.youtube.com/chloefrizzle

Thank you to Cranthorpe Millner and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Beneath the Dark begins strong and scary with something stalking people. It eventually becomes a horror story that relies on belief from a group as it takes a religious turn. Unfortunately, that weakened the story for me, bringing my review down from 5 stars to 4. Still, it was a good read, and those who are interested in a religious element in their horror should love it.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

Received arc from Cranthorpe Millner Publishers and Netgalley for honest read and review.
Thank you for the chance to read this one.This was a very interesting and enjoyable read that had me hooked from the beginning.
Centres around a policeman Jon Pearce as he tried to unravel some strange goings on in a remote setting.It goes around the island with strange things happening to unrelated people.
It falls to Jon and his friends to figure out what is happening. I really enjoyed this book as it flowed really well and all the characters were very well written.
A thoroughly enjoyable read.

On an English island, a horror is stalking the residents who all have a secret to hide. Local police officer Jon Pearce calls in paranormal investigator Ed Thorn and Dr Dina Melnyk, a lecturer in the Occult, to help.
This is a fast-paced book with elements of Stephen King and James Herbert. The horror parts are at the forefront during the first few chapters, becoming more suspenseful as a small team consisting of locals and the two investigators race against time to find the cause of the encroaching evil.
It is a quick read and there were parts I was hoping could be fleshed out and some further character development but these are minor gripes. Hopefully there are plans to revisit the island and some of these characters, especially Dr Dina Melnyk who has an interesting backstory via her father's work. Overall this is a really good read and is well recommended.

I loved this book! First, the blend of a detective story with a paranormal twist was so clever (and really well done).

The pace was just right. Keeping me turning the pages because I was excited about where the story was going, and not too fast I couldn’t absorb and enjoy the story. The author did well at showing me the events happening, so I felt like I was right there with the characters. It also added a layer of eeriness to the atmosphere, planting me in the story world and having me looking over my shoulder.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and author, for a chance to read and review this book. I can’t wait to see what the author writes next!

I’ve been reading horror for decades, but I admit in the last few years, I’ve hardly read the genre like I used to. I saw this, and I liked the blurb and requested it. At first, I had a little trouble with some of the words that were used because it took place in England with unfamiliar words. I normally don’t have a problem with that, but for some reason I did in this one. However, it didn’t take long to get in the swing of things. This was a well-written atmospheric book filled with chilling moments, but there isn’t as much as I’d like especially when bad things happened to people I didn’t care about. However, this was a pretty good book. 3 ½ stars rounded up to 4. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

A fascinating and gripping horror that kept me hooked and on the edge till the end.
Good world building and character development, a well crafted and fast paced plot.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine