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The Ghost Woods

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The Ghost Woods

By: C.J. Cooke
Narrated by: Paula Masterton
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About this listen

‘Haunting’ Sara Sheridan

‘Intriguing, atmospheric, thought-provoking’ Alexandra Bell

‘Beautifully crafted, thrilling and atmospheric’ Rebecca Netley

In the midst of the woods stands a house called Lichen Hall.

This place is shrouded in folklore – old stories of ghosts, of witches, of a child who is not quite a child.

Now the woods are creeping closer, and something has been unleashed.

Pearl Gorham arrives in 1965, one of a string of young women sent to Lichen Hall to give birth. And she soon suspects the proprietors are hiding something.

Then she meets the mysterious mother and young boy who live in the grounds – and together they begin to unpick the secrets of this place.

As the truth comes to the surface and the darkness moves in, Pearl must rethink everything she knew – and risk what she holds most dear.

Praise for The Ghost Woods . . .

‘Cooke has mixed the darkness of reality with a magical realism that will have you gripped’ Woman & Home

‘This chilling gothic tale is the perfect choice for a book club . . . atmosphericPrima

‘Original and compelling, The Ghost Woods is a beautifully written, chilling tale that will stay with the reader long after the book is finished’ Elizabeth Lee

‘[C.J. Cooke is] a master of the feminist gothic!’ Katherine May

The Ghost Woods rattles along, with a twisty plot that defies expectations right from the start . . . highly enjoyable’ Sally Hinchcliffe

‘An eerie gothic thriller’ Samantha Downing

‘Deliciously unsettling, strangely believable’ Carly Reagon

‘With a great plot, this suspenseful and compelling story touches on the difficult history of women in mid-20th-century Scotland’ Candis

©2022 C.J. Cooke (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
Fantasy Genre Fiction Gothic Horror Magic Magical Realism Suspense Thriller & Suspense Scary Fiction Heartfelt Haunted Ghost

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Critic reviews

‘Wonderful! [C.J. Cooke is] a master of the feminist gothic!’ Katherine May

‘Original and compelling, The Ghost Woods is a beautifully written, chilling tale that will stay with the reader long after the book is finished’ Elizabeth Lee

‘It’s no surprise that C.J. Cooke has done it again. She is the queen of gothic thrillers and never fails to amaze me with her writing. The Ghost Woods is an eerie, timely story and an instant classic of the genre’ Samantha Downing

'Beautifully crafted, this thrilling and atmospheric read had me racing to the very satisfying end' Rebecca Netley

‘A haunting and gothic deep dive into danger’ Sara Sheridan

‘Deliciously unsettling, strangely believable’ Carly Reagon

‘Original, moving . . . A twisty gothic thriller’ Anne Wyn Clark

‘I loved The Ghost Woods . . . the perfect chilly read’ Nina Pottell

‘Hauntingly spellbinding. Once again C J Cooke combines history, horror and heart to bring us a mysterious tale wrapped in eerie magic’ N.J. Simmonds

‘Intriguing, atmospheric, thought-provoking and just the right amount of creepy’ Alexandra Bell

All stars
Most relevant
Such an amazing novel. Brave women & survivors. Working my through all her books. Can’t stop listening. Thank God for audiobooks- I’d never get anything done !

Brilliant

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I loved the story and the narration of this book would highly recommend. I’m off to check out the authors other works.

Favourite book on audible so far …

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From the story, to the writing (also had on my kindle, to the performance I loved it all.

There is nothing I didn’t love

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I save books by CJ Cooke until I need them, as I always love them and I know they’ll get me out of a slump. This one is no exception. A gothic tale that explores some of our dark history around the treatment of women, particularly pregnant women, and a beautiful telling of it. CJ Cooke is also one of those rare authors who write twists that I never see coming, perhaps because I get so immersed in the world she creates. I’m not sure how long I’ll manage to wait to listen to her next one. It may not be long this time!

Cannot get enough of this author!

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This was well written, but was really more social history with a bit of horror at the end than ghost story. It was also very, very long and while it remained reasonably gripping, I was, by the end, willing it to wrap up. Ironically, when it did, it actually felt a bit rushed and quite implausible; I'm still not entirely sure what was going on. Maybe I should have done more research, but the focus on pregnancy and childbirth left me a bit cold – it just isn't a topic that interests me and I waited (in vain) for things to get spooky.

My one other gripe was the anachronistic language: asshole? Dating? Come visit/go do etc? This is 1960s Scotland not 21st century America. A small point but one that became quite distraction once I tuned into it.

Not for me, but not badly written at all, and lots of others loved it – just don't expect a ghost story.

Too long, too many babies, not enough ghosts.

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