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The House of Ashes

By: Stuart Neville
Narrated by: Caroline Lennon
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Summary

A house built on secrets.

An old woman haunted by her past.

A young woman fighting for her life.

For Sara Keane, it was supposed to be a second chance.

A new country. A new house. A new beginning.

Then came the knock on the door.

Elderly Mary Jackson can't understand why Sara and her husband are living in her home.

She remembers the fire. She remembers the house burning down. But she also remembers the children. The children who need her. The children she must protect.

'The children will find you,' she tells Sara, because Mary knows she needs help too. As Sara becomes obsessed with what happened in that house nearly 60 years ago, and the family wiped out in one bloody night, she begins to see things. Things that can't be real.

In a story that spans six decades, the truth will not stay buried, and the ghosts of the past can never remain in the shadows....

©2021 Stuart Neville (P)2021 Bonnier Books UK

Critic reviews

"Chilling, compassionate and compelling, Stuart Neville takes us straight to the dark heart of rural Ireland." (Val McDermid) 

"Stuart Neville writes crime fiction that is edgy, compelling and always deeply humane. This might well be his masterpiece." (Mark Billingham) 

What listeners say about The House of Ashes

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Captivating

I found this story mesmerising and the performance just fantastic. Caroline Lennon read every character convincingly making a mockery of those audiobooks that provide separate performers in case we get mixed up. The story is utterly chilling but never with gratuitous detail.

2 people found this helpful

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Spooky but believable

Story gripped me from the opening words and didn't let go. Caroline Lennon is one of the top narrators.

1 person found this helpful

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Compelling and atmospheric

Stuart Neville doesnt disappoint with his insights into the depths of blackness of some human souls
Greed and power existing at all levels and in all times

1 person found this helpful

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Just depressing

I love this narrator so thought I’d give this author a try. I nearly didn’t get past the first chapter as I don’t like stories that describe animal deaths. I skipped through that and listened to the end but it wasn’t entertaining at all. Aside from the excellent narration it was a very unsatisfactory end to a depressing book. I wouldn’t recommend it.