Monkspike

You Are Not Forgiven

By: Sarah England

Narrated by: Penny Scott-Andrews

1149 was a violent year in the Forest of Dean. During the reign of King Stephen, laws were lax, and landowners exacted high tithes from peasants forced to hand over their produce or face torture. One sector in society however, did not have to pay, and those were the monks. A fact which enraged local tyrant Baron John Rivers.

Today, nearly 900 years later, the forest village of Monkspike sits brooding. There is a sickness here passed down through ancient lines, one which is noted and deeply felt by Sylvia Massey, the new psychologist. What is wrong with nurse Belinda Sully's son? Why did her husband take his own life? Why are the old people in Temple Lake Nursing Home so terrified? And what are the lawless inhabitants of nearby Wolfs Cross hiding?

It is a dark village indeed, but one which has kept its secrets well. That is until local girl Kezia Elwyn returns home as a practicing Satanist and resurrects a hellish wrath no longer containable.

Burdo, the white monk, will infect your dreams.... This is pure occult horror and definitely not for the faint of heart....

©2018 Sarah Elizabeth England (P)2019 Sarah Elizabeth England

I've waited a week and have to write something....

First, Sarah or S.E. England has written four of my favorite horror novels. Granted, all four of them were in the same basic storyline, but they were incredible. I had an extremely hard time deciding how to review this book, because of a few things: the narrator, at first, is so atrocious, but I did finally get past that, it seemed to be a little short, and the ending felt strange to me. I loved 95% of the book and it would've gotten 5 Stars from me, but the ending changed everything.

The history incorporated in this book is incredible! The past lives and Sylvia's incredible gifts are so interesting and Ms. England is spectacular with historical horror.

I would suggest listening to at least thirty minutes of the book to get past the narrator (it gets better), and I also think that it's worth it to read. It's such an amazing story and, after an email with the author, there's a chance that she'll revisit the town of Monkspike!!

Monkspike will receive a B- from me; again, it would've gotten an A without the ending, but it wasn't the WORST ending I've ever read. The narrator became bearable, so I will give her a C+.

If this is your first book by Ms. England, DO NOT GIVE UP ON HER BOOKS! She is so talented and such a sweetheart in her emails to fans.

Nicely Done!

I don't know if I'm relieved or disappointed that Monkspike didn't effect the dark, locked up places of my mind like the Father of Lies trilogy did. Overall the story and the characters we're very relatable, easy to empathize with (on all fronts), and I do believe that old curses and vengeful posession occur regularly and are often covered up (and drugged up) by the medical diagnoses of "psychosis".
The ending resolved with satisfaction while leaving left enough to the imagination that
Still, I'm a little sad I wasn't left with the like of a 6 month period of fear while looking in the mirror in the middle of the night as Sarah England's other work.
The narrator wasn't my favorite. She could sound too childish at times, other times like a hill person of Appalachia, with a cockney accent, trying to portray a French accent. - It didn't detract from the effect of the story, it just don't add to the atmosphere it could have.

Overall nicely done, and binge-worthy!

Spooky

I really enjoy Sarah's writing style. The way she builds characters and the world they live in make it easy to imagine, which is why her books kinda make my skin crawl....in a good way. This isn't one of my particular favorites but I definitely enjoyed it🙌 Keep up the great work.....I'm still excited to read the next book to this series.