The Holy Terrors

A Holy Terrors Mystery, Book 1

By: Simon R. Green

Narrated by: Tim Bruce

Six people locked in a haunted hall … Cameras watching their every move … And then someone dies … This first in a spine-tingling new paranormal mystery series from New York Times bestselling British fantasy author Simon R. Green will make you doubt your judgement—and believe in ghosts!

Welcome to Spooky Time, the hit TV ghost-hunting show where the horror is scripted … and the ratings are declining rapidly. What better way to up the stakes—and boost the viewership—than by locking a select group of Z-list celebrities up for the night in the Most Haunted Hall in England and live-streaming the terrifying results?

Soon Alistair, a newly appointed bishop, along with actress Diana, medium Leslie, comedian Toby, and celebrity chef Indira, are trapped inside Stonehaven town hall, along with June, the host and producer of the show. The group tries to settle in and put on a good show, but then strange things start happening in their hall of horrors.

What is it about this place—and why is the TV crew outside not responding? Are they even on air?

Logical Alistair and intuitive Diana attempt to keep the group’s fears at bay and rationalize the odd events, but there are things that just can’t be explained within reason. Can the pair stop a cold-blooded would-be killer—even if it’s come from beyond the grave?

This locked-room mystery with a paranormal twist is classic Simon R. Green, featuring his trademark humor and imagination, irresistible characters, and thoroughly entertaining plotting.

©2024 Simon R. Green (P)2024 Blackstone Publishing

Atmospheric

Fells like a first draft, Simon R Green generally is more interesting and cohesive than what we have seen here

Didn't feel like a Simon R Green book

I did enjoy this book, though it did feel like it was a little bit of an unfocused wander...instead of an interesting journey.

What do I mean by that? The story kept on its line, but there was no real oomf to it.

Having read all of the Ishmael Jones, Secret History, Gideon Sable, Nightside, and Ghostfinder novels... this, in comparison, was missing the fun that he usually has in those series of books.

It doesn't have the pithy humor that all of the other series had,and the banter between the main characters is there but just not interesting.

As this is the first one in a new series for him, I will give the next one a try and hope that it's a little bit more in the vein of what I've come to expect from this author.

Good to the last word!

Great narration and creative storyline. Perfect listen for a dark and stormy night close to Halloween.

entertaining ans intrigue

The Holy Terrors
By Simon R. Green
I have been reading this author's books since he has been writing them. My favorite series is the Nightside. I was just thinking about reading the series again when I found this book. I have the next one from NetGalley read to follow.
This is not like his other books. Mr Green can write anything and make it interesting. It's more of a mystery than a horror but intriguing either way. Of course, I never guess correctly reading mysteries. That's why I'm not a detective!

Story Predictable--Narration Outstanding

This is a "locked room" or rather "locked house" murder mystery that is set during a live reality show. It had a lot of promise, but the ending was too predictable. I thought Tim Bruce did an absolutely great job with the narration, however, and I will read book two, because this is Simon R. Green, and he deserves another chance. I also liked the main characters, Alistair and Diana, enough to try the second book in the Holy Terrors, Mysteries, Stone Certainty, when it comes out.

Not high literature but incredibly entertaining

A fun time all around but with a weaker finish suffering from overwrought monologuing. The literary equivalent of popcorn and m&m's for dinner which you just need sometimes. Excellent performance by the narrator though, good pacing and voices and obviously having a marvelous time.

it's was alright

it was pretty good not great but pretty good. it was like catching a random show on TV that left you mildly entertain.

what happened?

I generally love Simon R. Green. But, absolutely nothing happened in this book. I'm going to have to go pick my wounds and ponder my choices.

Disappointing

I am an avid fan of Simon R. Green's "Ismael Jones" series and have listened to each one more than once. I've been waiting for the next one in that series to come out. In the meantime, I decided to try this new Simon R. Green series. While the "Ismael Jones" series has great characters, wonderful humor, mostly unguessable mysteries that are out of the ordinary and fun interactions between the characters, this one has none of that. Frankly, I am struggling to finish it. The setting is boring (a local town hall). The characters bicker and argue all the way through and for the most part are completely unlikeable. In fact, the majority of this story is conversation. I'm about 3/4 of the way through although it is like slogging through mud, and the solution is very obvious. This is not up to Mr. Greene's usual ingeniousness. I highly doubt I'll listen to it a second time. Like so many of his stories, other than "Ismael Jones, this one is a real dud!

Not great

Repetitive writing and barely any spooks. Maybe a good mystery but not a great horror book I'm afraid