Book Review: A House of Ghosts, WC Ryan

Set during the winter of 1917, A House Of Ghosts fuses a classic gothic setting with a thrilling plot of wartime espionage. The story follows Kate and Donovan, as they arrive at Blackwater Abbey for a séance to contact Lord Highmount’s sons, both killed in World War 1.

A Humphrey Bogart type and Irish expatriate, Donovan is indifferent to the fighting abroad. However, he finds himself increasingly drawn into the tension within the house, allowing Ryan to highlight Ireland’s interesting position during the global conflict. With Kate, the author makes a bold choice by establishing definitively that ghosts exist within this world, blessed (or cursed) as she is to see them.

Ultimately, by placing a story of wartime subterfuge seamlessly within the ghost tale framework, Ryan gives the genre a welcome revamp.

Zaffyre