I am delighted to be involved in this epic #blogtour for SJI Holliday’s creepy new thriller The Lingering published by Orenda and available to buy right now. My thanks to Anne Cater for organising this tour and I am delighted to invite Susi on to Compulsive Readers for a Quickie:
Tell me about your latest book and why we should read it?
It’s a psychological thriller with a supernatural spin about a couple who move to a commune set in an ex-asylum… Where of course, nothing is as it seems and no-one is who you think they are. You should read it because it’s had loads of great reviews, even from people who claim not to like ghosts 🙂
If someone was to write your life story what would the title be?
She gave it a go.
What’s the strangest fan question or request you’ve received?
At a library event, a man picked up my book and looked at me suspiciously, “Did you write this?” he said. He refused to believe it as my author photo was not on the cover. He continued to be quite rude, but then walked into the door on his way out. Karma.
If you could co-write with anyone in the world (alive or dead) who would it be?
I’d love to co-write a brand new episode of Colombo, with Peter Falk.
Tell me something nobody else knows about you (yet!).
Since having a bad sensitivity reaction at university, I haven’t worn earrings for about 20 years… so when anyone buys me a pair I secretly give them away.
Finally please recommend 3 books that you have recently read and tell me why you’ve chosen these.
House of Ghosts by W.C. Ryan – because of the spooky goings on.
The Story Keeper by Anna Mazzola – because of the creepy birds.
Clean by Juno Dawson – because of the hilariously fucked-up rich kids in rehab.
About the book: Married couple Jack and Ali Gardiner move to a self-sufficient commune in the English Fens, desperate for fresh start. The local village is known for the witches who once resided there and Rosalind House, where the commune has been established, is a former psychiatric home, with a disturbing history.
When Jack and Ali arrive, a chain of unexpected and unexplained events is set off, and it becomes clear that they are not all that they seem. As the residents become twitchy, and the villagers suspicious, events from the past come back to haunt them, and someone is seeking retribution…
At once an unnerving locked-room mystery, a chilling thriller and a dark and superbly wrought ghost story, The Lingering is an exceptionally plotted, terrifying and tantalisingly twisted novel by one of the most exciting authors in the genre.
What everyone is saying about The Lingering:
‘Saunters from creepy to genuinely terrifying … I was completely unable to put it down’ Elizabeth Haynes
‘In the new wave of gothic novels, The Lingering is a stand-out triumph’ Eva Dolan
’The Lingering is an atmospheric chiller of a book, full of secrets and shadows. The house at the heart of this spine-tingling story looms as large as its impressive cast of characters. Holliday’s evocative writing is reminiscent of early James Herbert’ Fiona Cummins
’Cements Holliday’s position as one of the most gifted and entertaining psychological thriller writers in the business’ Steve Cavanagh
‘Brilliantly chilling and perfectly paced’ Anna Mazzola
‘Fascinating fusion of murder mystery and ghost story. Blood-chilling from beginning to end’ Paul Finch
‘One of the most original ghost stories I have ever read’ Cass Green
‘A perfect twisted read’ Amanda Jennings
‘Like Stephen King meets Thomas Harris’ Derek Farrell
‘A vivid setting, stunning twists and surprising, unsettling characters’ Louise Voss
‘Read with all the lights on’ Crime Fiction Lover
‘A serious spine-chiller from an exceptional talent’ Chris Whitaker
‘Tense and chilling, with a creeping sense of unease’ Neil Broadfoot
‘Perfectly paced and guaranteed to cause you sleepless nights for all the right reasons. Fans of Susan Hill and Andrew Taylor, take note’ David Mark
‘Perfect modern-day Hitchcockian suspense’ Steph Broadribb
‘Creepy, unsettling and all-consuming’ Jenny Blackhurst
‘The QUEEN of creepy story-telling’ TripFiction
‘Nerve-shredding and genuinely chilling’ Random Things through My Letterbox
‘Spooky, compelling and chilling’ Jane Isaac
‘Dark as the darkest night and wonderfully disturbing’ Grab this Book
‘Deliciously gothic and supernatural with an added coercive edge’ The Book Trail
‘A fascinating premise, strong writing and creepy as…’ Michael J. Malone
‘Eerie and unsettling, with a bittersweet beauty’ Fergus McNeill
‘Unnerved me right from the start’ June Taylor
’A brilliant combination of psychological thriller and ghostly mystery’ Off-the-Shelf Books
‘A perfect winter read’ Lisa Gray
‘An unsettling tale of haunting … that lingers in the mind’ Mason Cross
‘A relentlessly unnerving mystery – like shuffling footsteps from a long-locked attic’ Matt Wesolowski
‘Gets under your skin and stays there’ Quentin Bates
