I’m really glad I got the opportunity to read Michael Ford’s new novel The Poisoned House. This is a truly scary ghost story combined with dark intrigue and mystery, all wrapped up in 1850’s Victorian England. I believe it will appeal to adults as well as teens.
Abigail “Abi” Tamper will be 15 years old in six weeks. She’s currently a scullery maid at Greave Hall. Her mother was the governess there until she died of cholera several years ago. While her mother was still alive, Abi was treated almost like part of the family; however, once her mom was gone, she was left to the mercy of Lord Greave’s hateful sister-in-law, Mrs. Cotton, the chief housekeeper.
“Her sister, his Lordship’s wife Eleanor, had died many years before, and Mrs. Cotton liked to make use of the dead woman’s wardrobe.”
Mrs. Cotton despises Abi and makes her life a misery yet she won’t let Abi leave. Abi has tried several times to run away but keeps being caught and returned to Mrs. Cotton and her vicious punishments, despite the fact that finding a new scullery maid wouldn’t be that difficult. Luckily the other servants have adopted Abi as a sort of pet and look out for her, doing what little they can to protect her from Mrs. Cotton.
“I poured water from the jug and bathed my arm until the bleeding stopped. If she hated me so much, why couldn’t she just let me go?…The only conclusion I could reach was that she needed to be cruel to someone, and I filled that role so well.”
Although Greave Hall used to be a place of joy, it’s become a mere shadow of itself. In addition, strange things happen in the house that no one can explain. It doesn’t help that once his wife died and his son, Samuel, left to go to war, Lord Greave became a recluse in his suite of rooms and slowly seemed to descend into madness.
“I could see his shadowy figure sitting up in bed, like some petrified shrunken goblin…Cook and Rob shared a look. ‘He’s suffering for the boy.’ said Deidre. ‘Fading away. If Samuel don’t come back safe it’ll be the end of His Lordship, mark my words.’”
All of the servants have experienced weird things happening for no apparent reason. Most of them are reluctant to even go into the abandoned nursery because it gives them the creeps. There is definitely some kind of supernatural force loose in the house.
“…all of a sudden a gust blew into the room, wrapping me in a cold embrace. Something colder still tightened on my wrist. I turned back to the window. A hand, knuckles white as bone and streaked with dirt, gripped my arm. I saw nails, jagged and broken, as if the person had been clawing at the ground, and the long fingers pressed into my skin…There was a face there too – just a shadow in the darkness and the glint of an eye.”
Abi is delighted to hear Samuel is coming home because she thinks all of their problems will be solved, the house will be happier, and things will go back the way they were before. Unfortunately the house spirit doesn’t agree and their problems have just begun because the house has a deadly secret that will change everything.
“Poor Sammy…Despite my anxieties, the thought of having him home brought a smile to my lips. I was staff and he was master, but he was like a brother to me too – a friend whom I could trust…Now he was coming back, the house might shift again…No wonder Mrs. Cotton didn’t look happy.”
Abi is a delightful character who tugged at my heartstrings from the beginning. I wanted to get her out of that awful house so badly and away from the sadistic Mrs. Cotton, who made my lip literally curl with disgust. I was also worried about her interactions with Lord Greaves – who knew what he might do in his mental state. And I was really worried about the house spirit.
The Poisoned House is a story of greed, lies, plots and intrigue, eerie restless ghosts, and wrongs that need to be set right. I enjoyed every minute of it. I believe it’s one of the best YA novels I’ve read this year!
If you’d like to buy The Poisoned House, just click on your preferred online bookseller’s link in the top right column.
We’d love to get your comments on The Poisoned House, Michael Ford and/or this review.
If you like this review, please +1 it and/or share it with your friends!
