The Restoration By J.H. Moncrieff Review (Random Things Tours)

Today dear readers I am on the blog tour for The Restoration (Published 26 Oct. 2021) By J.H. Moncrieff. A big thank you to the publishers Flame Tree Press for sending me a copy to read and review, always appreciated. Also a big thank you to the wonderful Anne for the invite to take part in the tour, you are amazing as always.                        

 

The Restoration

Inspired by the author’s overnight stay in a historical haunted house, The Restoration is a thrilling tale of intrigue, murder, and family secrets that refuse to stay buried.

It was the perfect opportunity…or so she thought. When Terri Foxworth is hired to spend a year restoring a crumbling manor house, she believes she’s hit the jackpot. She moves in with her young daughter and high hopes for the project’s success. As the restoration begins to go terribly wrong, she realises dark forces won’t let her leave the house until its horrible secrets are revealed.

This job could very well be the death of her.

 

About The Author

J.H. Moncrieff’s City of Ghosts won the 2018 Kindle Book Review Award for best Horror/Suspense.

Reviewers have described her work as early Gillian Flynn with a little Ray Bradbury and Stephen King thrown in for good measure. She won Harlequin’s search for “the next Gillian Flynn” in 2016. Her first published novella, The Bear Who Wouldn’t Leave, was featured in Samhain’s Childhood Fears collection and stayed on its horror bestsellers list for over a year.

When not writing, she loves exploring the world’s most haunted places, advocating for animal rights, and summoning her inner ninja in muay thai class. 

 

My Review

Terri Foxworth is hired by Miss Vandermere to spend a year restoring the daunting but intriguing manor house, Glenvale House. Curious why the job has remained available for a while Terri can’t help but feel sightly unsettled. She has a paranoid mind but the money is too good to pass up. She needs this job and is desperate enough to ignore the ghost stories that surround the house and the twitch in the curtains she swears she saw. Miss Vandermere warns about not letting her imagination run away with her as old houses make noises…drafts and such. Terri has high hopes of success for the house and plans to reestablish her relationship with her 10 year old daughter Dallas who will be moving into the house while she works. Terri is in love with the house and can’t wait to get started. Ignoring all her natural gut instincts to turn and run like everyone else has, Terri is determined to do her job. There is no one else in the house apart from Terri and Dallas. So why does she get the chilling feeling that they are not alone. And just who is Dallas talking to? Who is Nile and why is he dressed so…old fashioned. It quickly becomes clear that the house is hiding an horrific secret, one that will cost Terri everything, her job, her daughter and her life. 

Terri has big plans for the house and her daughter during their stay. However when things begin to take a sinister turn in the form of Nile she becomes frustrated. She is concerned for her daughter and takes an instant dislike to the room she has chosen to sleep in. There is a lot of conflict and tension between the two throughout the book. Along with the eerie atmosphere of the house it adds to the tension and puts you on edge. It consumes you until the very end.

I enjoyed the variety of characters that Moncrieff has created. A real miss-matched bunch of people that are forced together under strange circumstances. You can relate to Terri’s determination and being protective over her daughter.  She prides herself on being a positive person with a can-do attitude and isn’t a quitter. Dallas is an intelligent young girl and her mother’s daughter. She too has fallen in love with the house and has a great talent for finding unique details throughout its vast rooms. Miss Vandermere is the last living descendant of her wealthy family and has a stern stiff presence that makes you uncomfortable. She is the embodiment of money and will cut you in a second. She is extremely dismissive to Terri’s concerns about the house, making you wonder what she’s hiding. Nile is something else entirely and makes you feel uneasy from the moment you meet him. Is he a victim or a dangerous predator.

The whole time I was reading I felt as if I was being watched. The house is intimidating yet it also pulls you in. There’s something mysterious and unnerving about it. I also enjoyed the contrast of the weather outside to how it feels in the house. The sun is shining and you can feel it’s warmth as you sit in the garden. The minute you step inside the house it’s freezing and you skin starts to tingle. It was a haunting experience, one I would gladly take again dear reader.   

I was addicted to this book, I could not put it down until I knew what secrets were buried in the house. When I learned the truth my blood ran cold, I was shocked. Just when you think you know everything there is to uncover, Moncrieff jumps out of nowhere, causing you to stumble back blindly into the dark. Heart-pounding and anxious you feel compelled to continue on, to find out the truth of what happened to Nile and his family. There are so many twists and turns that are deeply disturbing. The speaking tube gave me chills. I was fascinated by the concept of the device but could also feel the hairs on the back of my neck standing up at the low moans that echoed from it.

I give The Restoration By J.H. Moncrieff a Five out of Five paw rating

Absolutely fantastic! My fingers were gripping onto the pages, desperate for more scars, more twists, more ghosts, and boy I was not disappointed. I couldn’t get enough and was saddened when my time at Glenvale House came to an end. However I was left with a small pinch of hope that maybe this isn’t the end, but only the beginning.

This story will give you goosebumps dear reader. I highly recommend it to everyone. You won’t want to put it down until you know the truth. And the truth dear reader, will haunt you…

Don’t forget to follow the rest of the blog tour, dates below, enjoy!

 

Links

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@JH_Moncrieff

 

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