Deadlight Hall

Leo Rosendale’s life was effectively ruined in childhood when twin girls vanished at Deadlight Hall. The girls were never found, their fate, still whispered about by locals. Now Michael Flint and his fiance Nell will investigate the house and attempt to get the answers no one else has been able to produce. But they aren’t prepared for what waits for them in the Hall, how could they be……?

A ghost story in the tradition of the great Shirley Jackson

REVIEW: DEADLIGHT HALL by SARAH RAYNE

Whenever I become aware of a new novel by Sarah RAYNE, I leap to read it. I have read.her books for several years, with nary a disappointment. I always come away with appreciation of the depths a breadth of her novels, and also thoroughly frightened! How true this is of her newest, DEADLIGHT HALL, which kept me awake late to finish, then still awake to ponder. Ms. Rayne, who has a firm grasp of history, interleaves a horrible macrocosm of World War II, with an equally horrifying and stomach-churning thread which had its ugly fatal roots in the last quarter of the 19th century. In contrasting Dr. Josef Mengele, the infamous Angel of Death at Auschwitz in Poland with a certain 19th century prosperous British gentleman, the reader sees into.the evil recesses of the human heart, in macrocosm and in microcosm.

Originally my review for this book was going to be 3 or possibly 3.5 stars for this book. I love a dark Gothic novel as much as the next person, but in places, I felt like this book was almost too dark--dismal even. In the end though, salvation came in at the last second and I was forced to reconsider.

Whilst I loved that the author managed to give life to this book with so much history (Nazi Germany being a favourite study subject of mine anyway,) I thought she lost the usual excitement and eagerness for the unexpected I usually experience with her books in the absolute darkness of this book's first half.

Still, this became later on in the story, what I expect from this author. She is a genius at tying up loose ends and making everything in the previous pages make sense by the final page. This book is filled with curiosity and engaging characters that the reader wants to see do well and escape the terrors that befall them.

The historical sections were well researched and believable, and although I don't recommend reading this book at bedtime in an old, creepy house, I do recommend the book for true lovers of Gothic horror. 4 out of 5 spine tingles.

Plus, there is a crazy cat with a bad attitude. You have to love that.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Deadlight Hall, the fifth installment in author Sarah Rayne’s series featuring Dr. Michael Flint, blends the horrors of the Holocaust with a mysterious haunted house just outside Oxford. When Michael is contacted by Dr. Leo Rosendale, a colleague at Oriel College in Oxford, the request is not altogether strange for the seasoned ghosthunter. Leo is not very forthcoming with the details, but in short, wants Michael to investigate Deadlight Hall, a crumbling estate being renovated into luxury condos. Michael’s first trip to the Hall results in some fairly strange experiences, and so the hunt is on to uncover the deadly past.
I’m a sucker for a haunted house mystery and so when I saw Deadlight Hall pop up on Netgalley, I was quick to request it. I am certainly glad that I did. I devoured the book and loved the protagonists Michael and his lady friend Nell. I’m also a fan of Michael’s grumpy, troublemaking cat Wilberforce. The plot was brilliantly put together; I was guessing until the very end, trying to put together the various ends, and was pretty wrong on all accounts. Though this is the fifth book in the series, it stands alone easily. I for one will be purchasing the four other books in the series. Highly recommended.

First Sentence: “I don’t mean to imply the house is haunted,” said Professor Rosendale Firmly.
Michael Flight is asked to investigate Deadlight Hall, a building currently being renovated that had been used as an orphanage and hospital during WWII. At that time, a pair of twin sisters, Jewish refugees, disappeared for the hall. Going back into the house’s history, Michael and his fiancée Nell, discover another pair of sisters who vanished in the 1880s. In spite of the fact that no one now lives at the Hall, it quickly becomes clear that the house is not empty.
Rayne immediately achieves just the right atmosphere and sense that things could be perfectly fine…or perhaps not.
One disadvantage of reading an eGalley, is that one lacks the chapter headings and other breaks which usually indicate a change in scene or time period. Even so, the device used to convey some of the information is interesting, but it doesn’t really allow to story to unfold page by page.
The suspense is very well done; gripping and decidedly creepy, and is enjoyably offset by the inclusion of Flint’s fictional cat, Wilberforce, and his adventures. The plot leaves one questioning whether things are natural or supernatural and what is motivating them. There is also a fascinating concept of “The Silent Minute,” quite different here from the historical Silent Minute from WWII where people were asked to devote one minute of prayer for peace at nine o’clock each evening.
Rayne’s descriptions are wonderfully atmospheric…”The poison book was in good condition….There was, though, the feeling that the light which fell over the pages was tinged with the flickering radiance of candlelight, wax-scented and dim, or even the bad-smelling gaslight that came later.”
“Deadlight Hall” is a intriguing, creepy story with lots of twists and is sure to entertain anyone who appreciates things that go bump in the night.

DEADLIGHT HALL (Susp/Myst/Para – Dr. Michael Flint – England – Contemp/1940s) – VG Rayne, Sarah – 5th in series Severn House – April 2015