[FIV]⇒ PDF The Stranger Diaries a gripping Gothic mystery to chill the blood eBook Elly Griffiths

The Stranger Diaries a gripping Gothic mystery to chill the blood eBook Elly Griffiths

Download As PDF : The Stranger Diaries a gripping Gothic mystery to chill the blood eBook Elly Griffiths

The Stranger Diaries a gripping Gothic mystery to chill the blood eBook Elly Griffiths

Another great read from Elly Griffiths, and a twist on gothic horror. Strong story and solid characters, all set in a school with a strange short story at its heart.


Tags : Amazon.com: The Stranger Diaries: a gripping Gothic mystery to chill the blood eBook: Elly Griffiths: Kindle Store,ebook,Elly Griffiths,The Stranger Diaries: a gripping Gothic mystery to chill the blood,Quercus,AF: Crime,Belletristik Romane Erzählungen,Chichester Scotland,Crime & mystery,Crime & mystery fiction,Crime & mystery: women sleuths,Crime, Thriller & Adventure,FICTION Gothic,FICTION Mystery & Detective Women Sleuths,FICTION Thrillers Psychological,FICTION Thrillers Suspense,Thriller suspense,Thriller suspense fiction,crime thriller & mystery; mystery novels; crime fiction; detective fiction; murder mystery novels; gothic novels; mysteries and thrillers; suspense thrillers; serial killer; ghost stories; whodunnits; british crime; rural crime novel; books set in england; british crime writer; english authors; strong female protagonist; unreliable narrator; female police detective; british detective; gripping mystery; gothic mystery; noir fiction; dark crime fiction; creepy fiction,FICTION Gothic,FICTION Mystery & Detective Women Sleuths,FICTION Thrillers Psychological,FICTION Thrillers Suspense,Crime, Thriller & Adventure,Thriller suspense

The Stranger Diaries a gripping Gothic mystery to chill the blood eBook Elly Griffiths Reviews

This is the first novel I have read by Elly Griffiths (this is remiss and I will address that as soon as possible!). She is a prolific and very popular writer and is to date best known for her Dr Ruth Galloway mysteries and the Stephens and Mephisto novels. The author herself describes this stand-alone novel as modern Gothic.

Talgarth High is partly housed in the building that once belonged to author R M Holland. There is a lot of mystery both in his book, The Stranger, an anthology of ghost stories, and also in his life as a whole. A woman is known to have fallen down the stairs, and she will occasionally appear to people when there are untoward happenings. The links between his storyline and events in the present cannot be overlooked and soon his original text is being studied with great diligence.

It’s October half term at the school. Halloween is approaching and one of the team in the English department is found dead. Murdered. Gratuitously stabbed, with potential stigmata on her hands. Ella Elphick was a much loved member of the team. There is a note by her body with a quote from The Tempest, …Hell is empty....(which continues with … and all the devils are here….). So, the murderer is certainly au fait with english literature! (The author explained that she has always loved the work of Wilkie Collins and the message at the heart of The Woman in White’s Greetings from a sincere admirer… certainly inspired the storyline!)

Claire, one of her closest friends and likewise a teacher in the English department, keeps a diary and as she looks back to refresh her memory of certain events, she discovers a note at the bottom of one entry Hallo Claire, you don’t know me… which leaves a frisson for her to digest. The mystery of this killing seems inextricably linked with her diary entries and when another murder occurs, the police team headed by DS Harbinder Kaur has to ramp up its investigations as it seems the English Department at the school is being targeted.

Harbinder talks to camera, as it were, to the reader, as does Georgie, Claire’s daughter. The thought processes of both belie the outer personas presented to those around. Harbinder in particular is a sassy character, perhaps just a little stereotyped.

As the autumn winds and colours prevail, the spooky backdrop increases. Talk of the ghost of a white-clad female ghost and an English teacher who considers herself to be a white witch all add to the atmospheric aura. Rustling in the bushes, flickering lights in the disused and derelict factory behind Claire’s house cause alarm to Claire and Georgie living so close by. What is real, what is imagined?

The author is wonderful at sharing her knowledge of writers and texts in her writing, making it feel like an erudite approach to crime writing. It starts so well and is indeed gripping. Very readable. Recommended.
‘”If you’ll permit me,” said the Stranger, “I’d like to tell you a story.”’

As much as I love spooky old houses with a dark history, and possible ghosts sightings, a thought-to-be haunted house turned into a secondary school had me even more excited. The Old Building of Talgarth High, was once home to Victorian Horror writer R.M. Holland, best remembered for his horror-themed, scary short story, The Stranger. The top floor still houses his study, out-of-bounds to students, and eerily preserved just as he left it. The ghost of Holland’s wife, Alice, rumoured to have died tragically from a fall down the stairs, is said to haunt the corridors and classrooms of the lower floor, the belief being that if you see her, someone will die shortly thereafter…

Not only is the school creepy, but so was the location of the protagonist, Clare’s, house – one of a row of townhouses in the middle of nowhere, initially built to house workers of the nearby cement factory – which now sits abandoned and derelict.

As scary as I’ve made it out to be, this is neither gory, nor a horror story, but is largely modern day crime, mystery, psychological suspense, with a side of gothic foreboding, meaning that even those who don’t do horror would enjoy this.

We were given three first person narrations;

Clare Cassidy – An English teacher at Talgarth, single mum to Georgie, friend and fellow co-worker of Ella, currently working on a biography of R.M. Holland.

DS Harbinder Kaur – The detective investigating the murder of one of the school’s English teachers, Ella Elphick, who was stabbed to death in her own home. Harbinder attended Talgarth as a student.

Georgie Cassidy – Clare’s teenage daughter, current student at Talgarth.

The POV’s were split into parts, with Clare voicing Part 1, Harbinder Part 2, you get the picture. Excerpts from The Stranger were included throughout, as well as pages from Clare’s diary. I warmed to all three characters early on, even though right from their introduction all of them came across as secretive, and not entirely trustworthy. I enjoyed the contrasting perspectives – teacher, student, detective/former student – and how they all had a connection to Talgarth.

I alternated between the book and the audio version, and have to mention that Andrew Wincott’s over-the-top, dramatic reading of the gothic tale, The Stranger, is a must listen.

Side Note I was thrilled to bits when Claire’s dog, Herbert, was described as a white Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy, the first in a series of children’s picture books penned by New Zealand author, Lynley Dodd.

Elly Griffiths totally killed it – every element fitted together seamlessly. One of my favourite reads for this year, and will undoubtedly make my top ten. Perfect for next Halloween, but why wait that long, cosy up by the fire with it this winter, or if like me, you are heading into summer, prioritise it as your next beach read. Move it to the top, or add it to your tbr, today! You won’t be sorry!
Loved it
Another great read from Elly Griffiths, and a twist on gothic horror. Strong story and solid characters, all set in a school with a strange short story at its heart.