Bill Thompson (12)

In 1963 the Proctor family was found murdered in their Louisiana plantation home. They were gruesomely propped on the couch with their heads lined up on the mantle. Fourteen year-old Noah Proctor is the only one left alive; however, he has been mute all his life. Everyone assumes Noah was the murderer and he is sent to an institution. Years later, Noah is released to the caretakers of Proctor Hall and a young woman disappears nearby. Presently, Proctor Hall is left sitting vacant, owned by a show more paranormal investigator. When Julien Landry assigned a group of students to investigate the history of Proctor Hall for a class project, the murders began again. It seems that the spirits of Proctor Hall are still active and the spirits may not be the only dangerous thing lurking there.

The Proctor Hall Horror is an exciting supernatural horror that kept me guessing all of the way through. This is Book 7 in The Bayou Hauntings series, but can definitely be read as a stand alone. I was hooked from the very beginning with the disappearance of Marguey and very intrigued by the history of the house itself. There is a great build of suspense as the history of Proctor Hall is released alongside the present happenings. The supernatural beings and gore are well paced for constant speculation of whether or not the murders were being done by ghostly entities or real people. There were a lot of characters in here to keep straight, but they were all fully formed even if they were not in many scenes. I was very intrigued by Noah Proctor and would have loved a few more chapters from his point of view. Alice's character could have also used more attention, I wanted to know her history with her psychic abilities. Even after the mystery of who has committed the murders and why is revealed, the Proctor House still has more secrets to uncover that kept me swiftly reading until the end. The Proctor Hall Horror is a great blend of haunted house mystery and horror and I'd love to continue reading the other books in the series.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. show less

Deep in the Louisiana bayou, an ancient mansion sits empty and abandoned. Callie Pilantro inherits the house and finds a mysterious child there who appears and disappears at will. Even the walls of the mansion hold long-forgotten secrets.
Beau Rivage is an ancient mansion belonging to the Arceneaux family for the last 200 years. After the death of Juliet Arceneaux, Beau Rivage is inherited by her grand-daughter Callie Pilantro. Too many things are against Callie.She’s had no luck in her show more life and is struggling financially, she’s illegitimate after her father, Juliet’s son abandons her mom, her great-uncle Willard is dead set against her inheriting the estate and considers her good for nothing but once Callie finds help in Mark Streater a high school friend who is running a real estate business in Opelousas, she is determined to fight it out and hope for the best. However, nothing is as it seems in the Beau Rivage mansion.

It is not just the creaks and memories that disturb Callie, but the presence of a 10-year-old girl who seems to be appearing and disappearing at will even with all doors and windows closed in the house. And Ann-Marie definitely knows every nook and cranny of Callie’s home much more than she herself knows from her grandmother. Even after spending most of her childhood holidays roaming around the huge house, Callie soon realizes that there are hidden passages and stairways she’s unaware of, hiding deep and unsettling truths about her family.

The horror element of the story was why I picked the book up. I like a bit more of the horror element than this story held, in spite of what the cover said. It will probably be fine for most readers, but I found it too light and not producing many of the promised chills. I gave it the 5star rating because the mystery element worked out very well. I would have loved to have had more of a haunted atmosphere.

Having said that I wouldn’t mind checking out other books by this author as the story was engrossing enough. show less

The Nursery by Bill Thompson is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. I had difficulty getting it to download so I am thankful for KU!
This is the third book in the series and I think I would have liked it better, if that was possible, if I had read the others first. This book mentions things that must have happened in previous books but it didn't slow down the plot at all.
This is about a man that buys an old mansion that has sat empty for 50 years before he gets it. show more He is a widow with twin daughters. The daughters are visited by an old women in black that speaks mind-to-mind with the girls. Wants the girls to call her Mama, and to go where there real mother is.
A friend of his has a bed and breakfast that has a ghost that is helpful. A pair of famous ghost hunters are staying there at the time when things get really crazy!
This has lots of suspense, twists, turns, emotions, well developed characters, and great plot development too! I am a bit mad at the author for ripping my heart out near the end of the book! Unfair!!! I had to use my MY to get the first two books now to get caught up. Looks like I found another author to follow! Great job! show less

This is a very light suspense/thriller book. Don't let the word haunting in the title fool you. I entered this book expecting something much more sinister but instead enjoyed a light hearted mystery.

I almost gave 4 stars but I can't bring myself to for a number of reasons.
* plot holes throughout the story, I don't want to spoil anything so I'll just say some of the details do not add up.
* character development, again I don't want to spoil however main characters personality wavered from show more one scene to the next.
* there is a lot going on in the last few chapters, maybe a few too many plot developments

That being said, I did enjoy the description of the house, the local history and the overall immersive story. I finished it in less than a day, so I would recommend it for a quick suspense read. show less