A review by urthwild_darknessbeckons
Abbot's Keep: A Ghost Story by Benedict Ashforth
4.0
Abbot’s Keep is a ‘Modern Gothic’ novella coming in at only 134 pages, set in England between December 1980 to March 1981;a ghost story in the form of letters between a wife and two estranged brothers.
I can confirm that the unmistakable sound of an internal groan was heard when I opened the pages of this paperback and found myself faced with a series of letters. You will not be surprised to learn given the rating that my dismay was short lived.
I thought the plot by itself was fantastic and very evocative of the genre, partial destroyed houses, cavernous cellars, missing pilfered treasure, monks, alcohol, mad brothers and death.
The character ‘Clifford Fox QC’ was a corporate barrister and yes, perhaps as a result of his profession, he would have been used to being matter of fact and rational, however, given the circumstances, I do believe that he could have been shown to be far more unnerved by what he had seen before his story concluded. It could surely only have served as an enhancement.
There were slight editing issues, they did not detract for me and if you are the type of reader that can ignore them you will be much entertained.
I found the story very immersive and it is best read in one long burst for the sake of tension, author Benedict Ashforth is certainly one to watch.
Received in exchange for an honest review.
Urthwild
I can confirm that the unmistakable sound of an internal groan was heard when I opened the pages of this paperback and found myself faced with a series of letters. You will not be surprised to learn given the rating that my dismay was short lived.
I thought the plot by itself was fantastic and very evocative of the genre, partial destroyed houses, cavernous cellars, missing pilfered treasure, monks, alcohol, mad brothers and death.
The character ‘Clifford Fox QC’ was a corporate barrister and yes, perhaps as a result of his profession, he would have been used to being matter of fact and rational, however, given the circumstances, I do believe that he could have been shown to be far more unnerved by what he had seen before his story concluded. It could surely only have served as an enhancement.
There were slight editing issues, they did not detract for me and if you are the type of reader that can ignore them you will be much entertained.
I found the story very immersive and it is best read in one long burst for the sake of tension, author Benedict Ashforth is certainly one to watch.
Received in exchange for an honest review.
Urthwild