The Blackhouse

Name: The Blackhouse
Brand: Simon & Schuster Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: Carole Johnstone
ISBN: 9781797149660

Author: Carole Johnstone

Narrator: Joe McFadden, Eilidh Beaton

Unabridged: 13 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Published: 01/03/2023

Categories: Fiction, Gothic, Suspense & Thriller, Supernatural, Psychological

Synopsis

From the author of the “dark and devious...beautifully written” (Stephen King) Mirrorland comes an “atmospheric, thrilling, and utterly captivating” (Booklist) gothic tale set on a remote Scottish island where the locals are hiding a deadly secret.

Maggie Mackay has been haunted her entire life. No matter what she does, she can’t shake the sense that something is wrong with her. And maybe something is…

When she was five years old, Maggie announced that a man on the remote island of Kilmeray in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides—a place she’d never visited—was murdered. Her unfounded claim drew media attention and turned the locals against each other, creating rifts that never mended.

Now, nearly twenty years later, Maggie is determined to discover what really happened, and what the villagers are hiding. But everyone has secrets, and some are deadly. As she gets closer to the horrifying truth, the island’s legendary and violent storms begin to rage again and Maggie’s own life is in danger…

Unnerving, enthralling, and filled with gothic suspense, The Blackhouse is a spectacularly sinister tale readers won’t soon forget.

About Carole Johnstone

Carole Johnstone is the award-winning author of the novels Mirrorland and The Blackhouse. She lives in the Highlands of Scotland, although her heart belongs to the wild islands of the Outer Hebrides.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Meredith (Trying to catch up!)

Dark and Brooding The Blackhouse is a slow-burn novel about a 5-year-old girl who claims to be the reincarnation of a murdered man. When Maggie was 5 years old, she believed she was to be reincarnated with the soul of Andrew, a man from the Outer Hebrides. 20 years later, she investigates what really......more

Goodreads review by Nilufer

Brrr! I cannot help myself! I’m shivering! This book is something unique ! It’s creepy, disturbing, breathtaking, claustrophobic! You know some books scare the living daylights out of you so instead of burying your head into it, you want to put it down to hide under blankets till you gather your wit......more

Goodreads review by Debra

I struggle with slow books, even ones that are well written. I felt as if I were on the island and could not get off as everyone and their brother made an appearance. Maggie came to town; she’s welcomed by some, and she’s greeted with hostility by others. The pub is the meeting/social spot for all b......more

Goodreads review by Ceecee

The remote island of Kilmery is connected by a causeway to Lewis and Harris and has a closely guarded and protected secret which glues some of its inhabitants to this remote and wild place. Maggie Mackay has had nightmares all her life, believing she can 'see' darkness. At the age of five, Maggie an......more

Quotes

"Eilidh Beaton performs the majority of this intense goth mystery. When Maggie was a little girl, she believed she was the reincarnation of a murdered man named Andrew. Years later, she travels to Kilmeray in the Outer Hebrides to investigate Andrew's life and death. Beaton clearly signals Maggie's struggles with bipolar disorder and her grief over her mother's recent death, as well as the islanders' various reactions to her probes into the past, especially a terrible storm that killed two residents. Beaton's well-done accents and pronunciation of Gaelic words help transport listeners to the remote island. Joe McFadden convincingly performs the sections told by one of the storm's victims, a troubled man whose failing sheep farm and unresolved childhood issues led to his mental unraveling."