Haunted by the Past

Ishmael Jones, Book 11

By: Simon R. Green

Narrated by: Matthew Brenher

Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Lucas Carr went to Glenbury Hall, an old country manor house turned hotel. He signed in at reception, took his key, and went upstairs to his room. But he never got there. Somehow he vanished along the way, with not a single clue to suggest what might have happened to him.

Lucas belonged to the same mysterious organization that employs Ishmael and Penny, so they are sent in to solve the mystery. But when they arrive at grim and isolated Glenbury Hall, they discover it has a reputation as one of the most haunted old houses in England. None of the usual headless monks or walled-up nuns—just stories of lost souls that dance with the statues in the grounds; doors that won’t stay shut, and rooms that aren’t always there; and something that prowls the house in the early hours, endlessly searching. They say . . . it crawls.

Does Lucas’ disappearance have something to do with the organization or the Hall’s haunted past?

©2020 Simon R. Green (P)2023 Blackstone Publishing

Nice Narration Even with New Narrator

I have listed to the entire Ishmael Jones series and it has been narrated by one of my favorite all time narrators, Gildart Jackson. This selection had a new narrator, Matthew Brehner, and I was impressed with his interpretation of the characters.

The stories of this series have been kind of similar. Locked room mysteries in a haunted or eerie setting. This one was no exception. Haven't heard if there will be more novels in this series, but I am looking forward to more.

Poor Performance

The story was wonderful, as per usual, but the narration is awful. It has the feel and cadence of an A.I. voice. You can hear this clearly when the narrator has to pronounce topiary.

Narrator has issues

The Narrator sounds like an computer generated voice. To sad it really effects the enjoyment of the book.

pretty classic cozy mystery

It was basically a cozy mystery. It was decent light entertainment. Light on plot, moderate misdirection.

Narrator fail...what happened to Gildart?!

Do yourself a favor, and increase the speed to 1.2 from the go. Normal speed with this narrator is utterly dreadful.

Unsure why they would have replaced Gildart Jackson, but they failed in doing so.
The new narrator oddly fails to hit a normal speech pattern or speed, and it really detracts from the story.

I enjoyed all the previous Ishmael Jones books, and desperately hope they don't continue with this narrator.

A bit of a let down

I’ve read/listen to all Ishmael Jones books. Big fan of the overall mystery of Ishmael Jones, and the sprinkling of supernatural throughout the series. This particular book left me feeling a little let down. Hard to explain without spoiling it. If you’ve made it this far series, you need to read it. If you’re looking for a fun, supernatural mystery, the previous book in the series is one of the best of the series.

The Characters and their Rapport make the story

I am totally hooked on the Ismael Jones series and can hardly wait for the next one. I actually have listened to the whole series over and over. The novels are so well written that each time I listen I pick up subtle details I missed when I listened before. Although some of the stories can drag at times, what keeps them delightfully fun and interesting is the rapport between Ismael and Penny. Their quips are funny and very amusing. Ismael is just such a nice guy/alien and Penny is a kick. In this one, a man from Ismael's company has disappeared and the "colonel" requests him to find out what happened to him. The estate they go to has a dark history and the people present aren't all that they seem to be. The place is spooky and the owners are evasive. In their unique manner, Ismael and Penny, use their usual creative investigative abilities to solve what appears to be a complex, supernatural mystery. Though this one isn't as far out as others are, it is still so much fun. By the way, the summary listed for this is not correct. This is not "The House On Widow's Hill". I thought the narrator sounded so much like Gildhart Jackson that I didn't notice anything amiss with his narration.

Sorry everyone, It's all my fault...

I should have known better than to preorder, but after loving the previous 10 books, I figured it was safe. I was so wrong.

The new narrator is just terrible. For the first couple of chapters, all the voices sound exactly the same. He does get mildly better later on, but wow, it's like he's reading the text for the first time and, just like you, he doesn't know who's speaking till he gets to the "said Arthur" part.

Plus for some reason
he talks like
he doesn't like the author's
punctuation.

The story itself is the weakest in the series (so far). Very little happens, and it's mostly the two leads just trying to persuade the reader this uninteresting and uneventful bed & breakfast place is actually the most interesting spooky manor house.

These books have always been as much about the journey as the ending, but this one lacks the usual hallmarks of the series. I can't really be more specific than that without spoilers, other than to say it's lacking the usual mid-book twist/reveal and the entire plot is both pedestrian and mundane.