Sugar Hall Paperback – 25 Sept. 2014

I read this book very quickly, both because it was wonderfully well-written and also because it evoked my fifties childhood so beautifully; although mine was thankfully without any ghosts.Reading it at 3am this morning with a cup of tea, in a Victorian house full of creaks and shadows, I was both enthralled and terrified.I love Tiffany Murray's books with her great story-telling and that sense you have with her writing of so many classic novels gathering behind her.But this is my absolute favourite...until the next one.

Enthralling, gripping......... Once you pick up this book it is extremely difficult to put down. The author draws you into the story as though you were a bystander witnessing the trials and tribulations of this family. At times you want to shout out to warn them what is happening. A fantastic read, the only downside is that I finished it. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys a spooky tale. Definitely on par with her other books which are also fabulous. If you know someone who likes to read then this would be the ideal gift.

Sadly this book fell way short of expectation. The story is clunky and has no real 'spark' to hold your interest. The handling of the 'ghost' is actually quite comical. There's nothing spine tingling or suspenseful in this tale. It plods along to a deeply unsatisfying ending which leaves the reader thinking, "How depressing." It was sheer pigheadedness that made me persevere until the end: I should have submitted after the first few chapters.

A rather poor attempt at a horror ghost story. What Ms. Murray has succeeded in, is make her ghost unappealing and repulsive. But that's what I guess is wrong with the whole novel: it inspires disgust rather than horror.

Excellent novel

If ever there is a writer whose tongue twisted prose and wordplay, adjectives and adverbs outshine the story line - it's Tiffany Murray. Unraveling her convoluted and obscure yet precise descriptions of places and things is part of the joy of reading her books. Her Sugar Hall goes beyond this ghost story to leave the reader feeling haunted and cold, lost, lonely, wanting and forlorn. This book and her characters haunt you even after they've been read and gone.

Sugar Hall is a beautifully-written novel which is all the more haunting as a result of Murray's convincing characters. Narratives are effortlessly woven together, and I couldn't put this novel down until I had read every page. Wonderful.

I love ghost stories and this one certainly sated my desire to drop everything and read until I reached the very final page.