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The Marsh House

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The Marsh House

By: Zoe Somerville
Narrated by: Patience Tomlinson
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Part ghost story, part novel of suspense The Marsh House is the haunting second novel from the author of The Night of the Flood where two women, separated by decades, are drawn together by one, mysterious house on the North Norfolk coast.

'Part ghost story, part thriller, I loved it' Louise Hare, author of This Lovely City

December, 1962. Desperate to create a happy Christmas for her young daughter, Franny, after a disastrous year, Malorie rents a remote house on the Norfolk coast. But once there, the strained silence between them feels louder than ever. As Malorie digs for decorations in the attic, she comes across the notebooks of the teenaged Rosemary, who lived in the house thirty years before. Trapped inside by a blizzard, and with long days and nights ahead of her, Malorie begins to read. Though she knows she needs to focus on the present, she finds herself inexorably drawn into the past...

July, 1931. Rosemary lives in the Marsh House with her austere father, surrounded by unspoken truths and rumours. So when the glamorous Lafferty family move to the village, she succumbs easily to their charm. Dazzled by the beautiful Hilda and her dashing brother, Franklin, Rosemary fails to see the danger that lurks beneath their bright façades...

As Malorie reads Rosemary's diary, past and present begin to merge in this moving story of mothers and daughters, family obligation and deeply buried secrets.

Praise for The Night of the Flood:©2022 Zoe Somerville (P)2022 Head of Zeus Genre Fiction Ghosts Historical Fiction Horror Psychological Supernatural Thriller & Suspense Haunted Scary Paranormal Fiction
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Intriguing unusual storyline excellent l narration of the Norfolk accent being the best ever . Enjoyable sorry it had to come to an end.

The Marsh House

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I won’t give any spoilers, but an interesting book with accurate historical facts woven into the north Norfolk marsh! Glad to hear the Norfolk voice pronounce Stiffkey accurately. A surprising story, but one which you can’t stop listening to!

Another Norfolk mystery

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This book is such a good read , very enjoyable I couldn't put it down ..

Great read

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that, if someone is going to read an audiobook, or if someone is commissioning someone to read an audio book, they would run through the correct pronunciation of place names before recording. I could live with the mispronunciation of Stiffkey for the non local characters but for those done in a local accent?? And worse still there is actually one - just one - occasion when it is pronounced correctly, so someone knew! I grew up with the story of its wayward Rector. Pity as otherwise it is a lovely piece of reading but this really spoilt it for me as it grated every time.

The book was not as I had hoped from the blurb. If I had been reading it myself, I would have skipped through to the entirely predictable ending. The 2 main characters are very troubled but I could not find it in me to sympathise with them; they just irritated. The 1930s story line came over as melodramatic and with too many clichés. I am also not sure that Janey would have met her end as described (it is apparently based on a story from 100 years earlier when the law was very different).

The 1960s part was quite atmospheric but the author again needed to think a bit more deeply about differences in everyday life between then and now. Parts did not ring true.

I am sure there are people to whom this work appeals but it was definitely not for me.

I wish..........

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Liked the main character and her story telling. Will look for more books by this author

A very different read

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