Six people locked in a haunted hall . . . Cameras watching their every move . . . And then someone dies . . . This first in a spine-tingling new paranormal mystery series from New York Times bestselling British fantasy author Simon R. Green will make you doubt your judgement – and believe in ghosts!
Welcome to Spooky Time, the hit TV ghost-hunting show where the horror is scripted . . . and the ratings are declining rapidly. What better way to up the stakes – and boost the viewership – than by locking a select group of Z-list celebrities up for the night in The Most Haunted Hall in England (TM) and live-streaming the ‘terrifying’ results?
Soon Alistair, a newly appointed Bishop, actress Diana, medium Leslie, comedian Toby and celebrity chef Indira are trapped inside Stonehaven town hall, along with June, the host and producer of the show. The group tries to settle in and put on a good show, but then strange things start happening in their hall of horrors.
What is it about this place – and why is the TV crew outside not responding? Are they even on air?
Logical Alistair attempts to keep the group’s fears at bay and rationalise the odd events, but there are things that just can’t be explained within reason . . . Can he stop a cold-blooded would-be killer – even if it’s come from beyond the grave?
This locked-room mystery with a paranormal twist is classic Simon R. Green, featuring his trademark humour and imagination, irresistible characters, and thoroughly entertaining plotting.
The Holy Terror by Simon R. Green. Book #1 in The Holy Terror series. Published by Severn House, February 2024. Kindle edition, 214 pages.
*Thank you Netgalley and Severn House for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I’ve read many books by Simon R. Green. I hate to say it, but this might be his worst? D: I feel so bad saying that but it is true… This book was a mess!
Where do I even begin?
My biggest problem with The Holy Terror is that it’s so………….. BORING. D: Lots of not much happening a majority of the time. It’s mostly just the characters being passive aggressive or just straight up aggressive to each other. This leads me to my second biggest complaint… When things finally do begin to happen, it feels so similar to Simon’s other books! It’s “classic” Simon R. Green, but that is part of the problem. The similarities made the plot feel so stale. Green feels like he’s coasting… Freshen up his writing. Give us something totally new, man!
It wasn’t just the plot of The Holy Terror that felt so stale. It is the characters as well. :/ The characters felt so flat!! When the two (new) main characters talked, it just felt like I’ve seen them before, in past series by Green. They even talked like characters from those past books! Felt so been there, done that. Maybe if the characters had been freshend up, new feeling and given more depth, this could have been a better book….?
Another problem with this book, well, it suffers from just straight up odd choices! For example, the plot takes place within a few hours, yet somehow one of the characters felt such a connection to another character, she felt like the child he never had. Wha-? :/ Kinda fast, eh? A different example, nothing ever felt scary /tense/ supernatural becasue the author chose to have the main PoV from the Bishop, who never bought into the supernatural side of this who dun it….. It totally negated all the other characters- and the location- trying to set the stage and atmosphere to spooky supernatural vibe. Why? It made me feel like if the main character isn’t taking the supernatural stuff seriously, never should I. Like, if he doesn’t ever believe in the psychic, why should I believe the psychic when he gave out trance like warnings. See what I mean? It took away all suspense or tension and made things feel too predictable.
Simon can be a great author, but he seriously needs to re-vamp his writing a little bit. Not everything needs to be so the same. It makes a really cool premise turn boring real fast. Green feels like he is being a safe Sally on autopilot. That sucks. You are better than that, Mr. Green.
I would not recommend this book.
Creature From The Book Lagoon 