Grace cover art

Grace

an edge-of-your-seat horror novel from the author of The Watchers

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

Grace

By: A.M. Shine
Narrated by: Deirdre O'Connell
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £15.29

Buy Now for £15.29

Bloomsbury presents Grace by A.M. Shine, read by Deidre O'Connell

A haunting, atmospheric modern Gothic horror tale based on traditional Irish mythology, from the author of smash hit The Watchers. Ancient evil is awakened on a lonely isle off the coast of Ireland.

TO LEARN THE TRUTH
WOULD YOU DESCEND INTO HELL?

Off the west coast of Ireland lies a lonely island, isolated and wilfully forgotten. Some say there hasn’t been a child born on the island for thirty years. Others speak of strange deaths there, decades ago. But no one really knows what happened. Locals believe that the dark times are behind them.

They are mistaken.

Grace, adopted at four years old, has never known where she came from. A mysterious phone call leads her back to the island where she was born – and where a terrible evil has been disturbed.

As the evil starts to spread, Grace finds herself dragged back into a living nightmare that threatens to engulf anyone who steps into its path.

Grace is perfect for fans of horror classics, Paul Tremblay, and Kealan Patrick Burke.©2023 A.M. Shine (P)2023 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Horror Supernatural Suspense Thriller & Suspense World Literature Scary
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_c

Critic reviews

A wonderful mystery, full of creeping menace, as chilling and enveloping as a sea mist. (Jamie Buxton)
A.M. Shine is the King of Atmosphere, and Grace absolutely drips with it.
Shine spins a timeless tale of memory and hauntings in this evocative contemporary Irish gothic.
'A dark, claustrophobic read' T. Kingfisher
'Wonderful writing and amazing characters' Steve Stred, Kendall Reviews
'Very atmospheric' HorrorDNA
All stars
Most relevant
I enjoyed this story, in some places it had me chuckling, but I particularly enjoyed the folklore that we don't hear much about.

Irish folk lore

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
If you liked any of Shine’s previous books I’m sure you’ll enjoy this one too.
I really love cosy folk horror and in particular Irish ones. I preordered this as soon as it was announced and was not disappointed.

Really enjoyed narrator

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A lot of the things that make Shine's writing enjoyable are still here (Irish Folk lore mythology, tragic female protagonist, family secrets) but this is a frustrating rambling effort that feels a lot less focussed.

Shine functions best with a small cast of characters. Here he attempts a massive ensemble piece and simply can't pull through it. In the time he normally takes to vividly paint detailed portraits of 4 or 5 people he delivers 25 thin sketches to much less powerful effect.

The assumption here is that we will enjoy hearing a large cast of humans TALK ABOUT and REFER TO supernatural affairs for endless chapters rather than simply being front row for them ourselves. But none of the characters are three dimensional enough for me to care what's happening to them.

Shine needs to stick to smaller casts that he has time to paint and keep his genre thrills immediate and on camera. The lore is more diffused and less immediate. The threat is spoken about for a lot longer than it spends taking effect. Simply put: this time should have been spent writing the third Watchers book. Grace is an inferior effort with less charisma, less charm and less ability to seize the audience.

A lumbering overcrowded effort

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I loved this book so much!!This males me feel like I’m sitting in an old Irish pub, listening to my grandad telling me old tales of banshees and fairies,while he sips a pint of the black stuff.I guessed the ending, as a bit ‘sixth sense’ but that didn’t spoil any of it. I loved the imagery created of the baddie and all of the characters. I read some reviews that didn’t think this was as good as the others authors books and I’ve no clue what they are on about!!I’m not great at putting into words how brilliant this is, so just read it!

Wow!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I normally like this author but the book failed to build up any defined characters or atmosphere for me.

Disappointing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews