The Lingering

Overview

At once an unnerving locked-room mystery, a chilling thriller and a dark and superbly wrought ghost story

A twisty, chilling psychological thriller cum gothic ghost story set in a Victorian psychiatric home with a disturbing history, and someone set on revenge…  LONGLISTED for the Guardian's Not the Booker PrizeNumber One Bestseller in Ebook 'Cements Holliday's position as one of the most gifted and entertaining psychological thriller writers in the business' Steve Cavanagh 'Saunters from creepy to genuinely terrifying … I was completely unable to put it down' Elizabeth Haynes 'In the new wave of gothic novels, The Lingering is a stand-out triumph' Eva Dolan 'An atmospheric chiller of a book … reminiscent of early James Herbert' Fiona Cummins Married couple Jack and Ali Gardiner move to a self-sufficient commune in the English Fens, desperate for fresh start. The local village is known for the witches who once resided there and Rosalind House, where the commune has been established, is a former psychiatric home, with a disturbing history. When Jack and Ali arrive, a chain of unexpected and unexplained events is set off, and it becomes clear that they are not all that they seem. As the residents become twitchy, and the villagers suspicious, events from the past come back to haunt them, and someone is seeking retribution…At once an unnerving mystery, a chilling thriller and a dark and superbly wrought ghost story, The Lingering is an exceptionally plotted, terrifying and tantalisingly twisted novel by one of the most exciting authors in the genre. 'Utterly beguiling and darkly sinister, this superb Gothic ghost tale is a brilliantly crafted rug puller' Lisa Howells, Heat Magazine 'A wonderful cross-over novel that ranges from taut psychological chiller to supernatural suspense … Nail-biting stuff, superbly executed' Sunday Times    'Readers will find this contemporary gothic tale hard to put down' Publishers Weekly 'A thrilling, chilling, shocking tale, perfect if you take delight in an icy shiver scuttling down your spine' LoveReading 'Brilliantly chilling and perfectly paced' Anna Mazzola 'One of the most original ghost stories I have ever read' Cass Green 'Like Stephen King meets Thomas Harris' Derek Farrell 'A serious spine-chiller from an exceptional talent' Chris Whitaker 'Tense and chilling, with a creeping sense of unease' Neil Broadfoot 'Perfectly paced and guaranteed to cause you sleepless nights for all the right reasons. Fans of Susan Hill and Andrew Taylor, take note' David Mark 'Creepy, unsettling and all-consuming' Jenny Blackhurst 'Spooky, compelling and chilling' Jane Isaac 'Eerie and unsettling, with a bittersweet beauty' Fergus McNeill 'Unnerved me right from the start' June Taylor 'A perfect winter read' Lisa Gray 'An unsettling tale of haunting … that lingers in the mind' Mason Cross 'A relentlessly unnerving mystery – like shuffling footsteps from a long-locked attic' Matt Wesolowski 'Gets under your skin and stays there' Quentin Bates 'The story is at the same time a locked room mystery, a chilling thriller and a dark and complex ghost story which has been described as both creepy and chilling' Mystery People  

Reviews

"A compulsive read until the final, breathtaking page." —Elizabeth Haynes, author, Behind Closed Doors

"Deliciously dark and twisted . . . Add it to your wish list now if you like being scared silly!" —Mark Edwards, author, The Retreat

"Brilliantly chilling and perfectly paced. Ghosts, witchcraft, murder and manipulation." —Anna Mazzola, author, The Unseeing

"An outstanding work of modern gothic which perfectly captures the ghosted isolation of the fens and the more tangible terrors of a remote commune, where historical abuses meet contemporary horrors. In the new wave of gothic novels The Lingering is a stand out triumph." —Eva Dolan, author, This Is How It Ends

"An unsettling tale of hauntings, both real and metaphorical, that lingers in the mind long after the reader turns the final page. A top-notch supernatural thriller." —Mason Cross, author, Don't Look for Me

"One of the most original ghost stores I have ever read, The Lingering pays homage to classic spooky tales and completely subverts them at the same time. Highly recommended." —Cass Green, author, In a Cottage in a Wood

"The Lingering is a gripping read, full of creeping menace and insidious dread, perfectly paced and guaranteed to cause you sleepless nights for all the right reasons. Fans of Susan Hill and Andrew Taylor, take note. One of my favourite authors." —David Mark, author, Dead Pretty

"A relentlessly unnerving mystery—like shuffling footsteps from a long-locked attic." —Matt Wesolowski, author, Six Stories

Author Biography

S.J.I. (Susi) Holliday is a pharmaceutical statistician by day and a crime and horror fan by night. Her short stories have been published in many places and she was shortlisted for the inaugural CWA Margery Allingham prize with her story 'Home from Home', which was published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine in spring 2017. She is the bestselling author of the creepy and claustrophobic Banktoun trilogy (Black Wood, Willow Walk and The Damselfly) featuring the much-loved Sergeant Davie Gray, and the festive serial killer thriller The Deaths of December. The Lingering was a number-one bestseller in ebook, and critically acclaimed in the UK press.