Ghost Song

[Ghost Song] by Sarah Rayne
4.5★'s

From The Book:
The old Tarleton music hall is the subject of a mysterious building restriction that has kept it closed for more than 90 years. When Robert Fallon is asked to survey the structure, he finds clues indicating that its long twilight sleep may contain a sinister secret. Joining forces with researcher Hilary Bryant, Robert discovers the legend of the Tarleton's ghost, a mysterious figure that was first glimpsed during the era of Toby Chance, a charismatic performer who vanished suddenly and inexplicably in the early 1900s. After almost a century the Tarleton's dark silence is about to end, but there are those who find its reopening a threatening prospect. As Robert and Hilary delve into the show more macabre history, they both become menaced by the secrets of the past.

My Thoughts:
Loved the whole idea behind this book. The ghost was always there but you were never really allowed to see it...it just lurked in the shadows and waited. The old theater and the people that populated it in it's heyday in 1914 to the people that were curious about the legends and the stories that surrounded it in the present were more than intriguing. The story has several twists and turns as it takes the reader through the decades but it never allows the reader to guess the ending. Highly recommend this to all historical buffs...paranormal enthusiasts and anyone that just wants to brave a dark and stormy night with a shivery tale. show less

Ghost Song is a psychological thriller that revolves around a closed and boarded repertory theatre in London, the parallel storyline unfolding an earlier mystery, as the two present-day characters investigate this mysteriously boarded historic landmark.

Unusually - for most of her characters are well-rounded - the old building and its history have more character than the two principle present-day characters do; the coupling of a surveyor and a researcher for the Harlequin Society - agents for the preservation of theatrical buildings & their history - could have made a really good lead team, but instead they act as a bland backdrop to the theatre's colourful past.

What Rayne does do well is enthuse the reader on the subject of the building show more itself, and unfolding the mystery that lies within it. If the budding love-interest sub-plot was rather ordinary, the same cannot be said of the cast of characters belonging to the theatre in its heyday, or to the present day threat unfolding as the old mystery is uncovered. Rayne's strongest characters were the one that really moved the book along for me, and they were the ones with darker or deeper reasons for their interest.

This book is well worth reading, especially if you have an interest in rep. theatre or history; Ghost Song falls short of being an historical novel, I think, but the research was obviously thorough, and as I said, Rayne really injects the book with a sense of past. I think with a bit more care given to plotting (which got a bit thick, in places), Rayne will emerge as a gifted writer of thrillers; she certainly instils her pages with more detail and interest than many I've read. show less

At the centre of this novel stands the old Tarleton music hall. This mysterious edifice has been standing empty for over ninety years,due to a legal restraint placed upon it many years ago. It is administered by the Harlequin Society who are responsible for the building's upkeep,and as the book begins,a surveyor is sent to look over the building and do a detailed inspection. From this rather ordinary happening, begins a series of extraordinary events which end in tragedy for several people.As the story comes together,we find ourselves in the company of a cold-blooded and insane multi killer. Part of the plot concerns the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand which will plunge the world into war. However ultimately it is the Tarleton show more itself that will remain in the reader's memory more than the human characters.
A marvellous story which is told at break-neck speed. show less

I read this book a couple of years ago and I had hoped for a nice ghost story, but although the book was ok so was it not as haunting and creepy to read as I'd hope it would be.

I read this book a couple of years ago and I had hoped for a nice ghost story, but although the book was ok so was it not as haunting and creepy to read as I'd hope it would be.