The Haunting of Beatrix Greene
by Rachel Hawkins, Ash Parsons, and Vicky Alvear Shecter

A delightfully spooky and short gothic haunted house adventure.

Beatrix Greene is a fake medium who uses her perception and acting talents to develop an impressive reputation as a leading spiritualist in London by convincing people she is communicating with their deceased loved ones. Dr. James Walker, a wealthy skeptic and researcher, hires her to accompany him and a few others to a reportedly haunted house to definitively determine if it is indeed haunted.

Upon arriving, Beatrix sets up her usual farcical séance and prepares to put on a show. However, something does, in fact, answer her, and it is angry and violent and will not let them leave until it is finished.

The plot moves along at a good clip and it is engrossing. Speaking of gross, there is one particularly gross and gruesome scene that will make horror fans darkly chuckle and turn up their nose. My only complaint is the instant romance that occurs, which felt rather unlikely and out of place. (To illustrate, when my husband and I were newlyweds we lived in a tiny and disgusting apartment with mice, and knowing there mice in the room with you at night is a bit of a mood-killer... so I imagine having a ghost/demon in the house would similarly douse the romance.)

Overall, I enjoyed it and would read a sequel.

This is being realized by Realm.fm (formerly SerialBox) as a weekly serial, but I read it all at once. I believe it would be easy to read weekly, however, because the chapters are clearly delineated and the plot is not overly complicated.

It's a real bummer that it's not available in print or outside of Realm, but I guess if that's how the authors want to get paid, that's their deal.

arc received from the publisher to review