Review #228: The Ghost of Normandy Road (Haunted Minds #1) by John Hennessy

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



“The sweetest smiles hold the darkest secrets...”

----Sara Shepard, an American author

John Hennessy, an English author, pens his ninth book, The Ghost of Normandy which is the first book in the Haunted Minds series and just like the series name, this book completely haunted my mind with it's sweet yet scary myths-turning-into-real story. This book is inspired from real-life incidents, so behold your minds into being dismissive about it. The book is centered around three myths- the Tooth Fairy with Blood Red Wings, the Witch of Hill Top Road and the Ghost of Normandy Road.



Synopsis:

Three Legends. One True Horror.

An old house stands on Normandy Road, uncared for and uninhabited for years, until one day, believing an urban legend that no-one dares to live there, a young boy decides to cross its threshold.

Yet the house is far from empty - within its walls, a terrible evil has been disturbed.

It will take one brave soul three of the longest nights of his life to unlock its secrets, but will he live to tell the tale?


The author foretells three scary and mystifying legends that still haunts the young children living near the Normandy Road. But one 10 year boy braves his fear to fins out the answers behind these legends which are suddenly becoming all so real. The story is featured in three whole nights when the secrets and the mysteries are unraveled by this very young boy. And as the fear seeps into our minds, it becomes very difficult to shake away that feeling from our heart which arrests us all through out the story.

The characters that John chose for this book are extremely innocent by their demeanor and with the progress of the story the innocence from those characters are gradually peeled away. The writing is absolutely lucid and articulate and the plot is layered with dark elements and myths that are surely going to give goosebumps.

Told from a child's mind-set, yet not even for a second, I felt that it is an immature or unrealistic story. From the very first line of the book, I was captivated with John's evocative narrative style. And I bet there are very few authors who can make you feel in this way (like scaring the shit out of me) with their eloquent words and intricate detailing style. The fact is that John is a master story-teller when it comes to capturing fear and setting them on his reader's minds.

I read it within a few hours and once again I would like to thank him for dedicating it to me, I can't express it in words that how honored I feel with his noble gesture. His genuine and free-flowing style of narrating a story has forever left me awestruck and hats off to his imaginative skill, he can easily turn a dull and boring house into something evil with his layers of tiniest of tiny details. Although this story doesn't end with a cliffhanger but with a jaw-dropping and mind-blowing and an unpredictable twist, I'm now dying to follow the next book in the Haunted Minds series.

In a nutshell, if you're a huge crazy fan of horror, then do grab a copy of this book, which will not only leave you scared to death and chilled to your skin, but will definitely leave you with a lingering fear in your mind even after reading the book.

Verdict: Engaging, scary and a complete page-turner.

Courtesy: I can't thank you enough, John, for dedicating this book to me and for providing me with a special preview copy. 
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Author Info:
Born in the Year of the Ox, John Hennessy writes paranormal horror for both adults and teens. Originally from Birmingham, England, and of Irish descent, he has lived in New York before eventually moving back to his home city.

A kung fu addict; he teaches martial arts full-time but writes at all other times, working on three series:- Dark Winter, Stormling and A Tale of Vampires.

When he doesn't have a book in his hands, he likes to travel and see weird and wacky things. He admits to having an unhealthy addiction to Star Trek, Batman, Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, to name but a few. He will also travel to reputed scary places in England, as he feels it makes his books more real.
Visit him here