The House on Cold Hill by Peter James

Audiobook Length 9 hours

Genre Suspense

Narrated by Nicholas Boulton

Blurb

Moving from the heart of Brighton and Hove to the Sussex countryside is a big undertaking for Ollie and Caro Harcourt and their twelve-year-old daughter Jade. But when they view Cold Hill House – a huge, dilapidated Georgian mansion – Ollie is filled with excitement. Despite the financial strain of the move, he has dreamed of living in the country since he was a child, and he sees Cold Hill House as a paradise for his animal-loving daughter, the perfect base for his web-design business and a terrific long-term investment. Caro is less certain, and Jade is grumpy about being separated from her friends.

Within days of moving in, it becomes apparent that the Harcourt family aren’t the only residents of the house. A friend of Jade’s is the first to see the spectral woman, standing behind her as the girls talk on FaceTime. Then there are more sightings, as well as increasingly disturbing occurrences in the house. As the haunting becomes more malevolent and the house itself begins to turn on the Harcourts, the terrified family discover Cold Hill House’s dark history, and the horrible truth of what it could mean for them . . .

My review

I loved Peter James’ suspense thrillers as a teenager and was delighted to see this book featured on a recent blog post by Shani Struthers along with an interview with the great man himself, Peter James. I’d been looking for a book to listen to on audio and thought, why not. My only concern was that I might be more of a wimp now than my teenage self was.

Apart from the rather gruesome start, the book wasn’t too terrifying. It had the right amount of tension and confusion to keep me hooked.

I listened to this book over the course of 2 days. I couldn’t stop myself, and I think I would have been the same if I had been reading the book. The short chapters make for a suspenseful read/listen.

My only faults with the book were that I didn’t feel particularly close to any of the characters and I guessed the end too soon. But that didn’t interfere with my enjoyment of the book.

I recommend The House on Cold Hill to any ghost / horror / suspense readers out there, even if you are a bit of a coward like me!

I rate it 4 stars.