Eve: A Christmas Ghost Story

A Psychic Surveys Prequel

By: Shani Struthers

Narrated by: Heather Tracy

Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

What do you do when a whole town is haunted? 

In 1899, in the North Yorkshire market town of Thorpe Morton, a tragedy occurred; 59 people died at the market hall whilst celebrating Christmas Eve, many of them children. One hundred years on and the spirits of the deceased are restless still, 'haunting' the community, refusing to let them forget. 

In 1999, psychic investigators Theo Lawson and Ness Patterson are called in to help, sensing immediately on arrival how weighed down the town is. Quickly they discover there's no safe haven. The past taints everything. 

Hurtling towards the anniversary as well as a new millennium, their aim is to move the spirits on, to cleanse the atmosphere so everyone - the living and the dead - can start again. But the spirits prove resistant and soon Theo and Ness are caught up in battle, fighting against something that knows their deepest fears and can twist them in the most dangerous of ways. 

They'll need all their courage to succeed and the help of a little girl too - a spirit who didn't die at the hall, who shouldn't even be there....

©2015 Shani Struthers (P)2017 Shani Struthers

Nice Halloween/Xmas Mash-up beautifully narrated

A couple of psychics head up to Yorkshire to investigate disturbances at a site where a great tragedy happened 100 years ago.

Eve: A Christmas Ghost Story is a sort of mash-up of Halloween and Christmas. It takes place during Christmas, but the feeling of the book leans more toward the spoopy, rather than Christmas cheer. Although, xmas comes into play by the end. So really, you could read this during either holiday. I chose now, because I was given a review copy by the narrator and felt like I shouldn't sit on it for months while she's waiting on a review.. Having said that, you're still getting an absolutely honest review out of me, because that's how I roll.

First off, it's a good story. I'm not into psychic stuff, but I still got caught up in this story. I do like a good mystery or detective story, so I was interested to start with. It's a credit to the writing that I stuck with the book even when it turned out that the mystery aspect wasn't particularly strong. No clues had to be sleuthed, no murder weapon unearthed, and no evil-doer unmasked. Paranormal activity is where it's at with Eve, as I assume is the tendency of the Psychic Surveys series. I've never read one before, but after this pleasant experience, I'd be happy to read more.

Heather Tracy's narration is top-notch. She handles all ages, genders and a variety of accents with ease. I don't think I've listened to her before, but I really enjoyed her lovely voice. Her name's on my "narradar" now.

Eve:A Christmas Ghost Story

I really enjoyed this. The story was well written and the characters were easy to relate to. Two psychic mediums called in to help a town drowning in sorrow. As well as finding more about themselves. Definitely will read more from this author.

Heather Tracy did an amazing job with the narration. She brought all the character to life.

sad but good

This was such a sad story. I actually cried at the end of it. The ending was bittersweet but with resolution and closure. I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this and am giving an honest review. The narrator did a good job bringing it to life.

Holiday Ghost Story

This was an entertaining story about a tragic event that occurred on Christmas Eve 1899. The village of Throckmorton is being haunted by the ghosts of 59 people who were killed during a Christmas party. The party was held for the local miners and their families by the mining company. Instead of being a joyous event, someone yelled "FIRE" and people were killed while trying to escape the village hall.

Two psychics, Ness and Theo, are recruited to try to get to the bottom of the tragedy and rid the town of the ghosts that are still lingering. Since it is nearing the 100 year anniversary of the event, the spirits seem to be getting more restless. Theo encounters one young girl named Harriet, but Harriet doesn't seem to be one of the 59 who died that night. Theo is determined to discover who Harriet was and why she is appearing.

I enjoyed the story, both of the tragedy itself and the current events. The book was well written and the characters were relatable. The narrator did a good job and added a lot to my enjoyment of the book. I was given the chance to listen to the audiobook version of this book by the author/narrator/publisher and chose to review it.

Fantastic narrator! Spooky and sweet story.

I listened to the audio version, and Heather Tracy is a great narrator. Easy voice to listen to, and just the right amount of characterization added to each voice to differentiate and add personality to the characters.

The story was a good mix of spooky and sweet, with a touch of humor. I’d love to read more in this series.

I received a free copy of this book at my request and voluntarily left this review.

Good

Very good book. Really enjoyed it. No foul language. Worth your time. I highly recommend it.

Loved the Plot - Loved the Characters!

I thoroughly enjoyed the entire thing, storyline plot, characters and especially the narration. I could picture the scene and got so caught up in the various voices that I had to remember that it was one narrator doing them all. I hope the rest of the series proves as fun!

Titles are difficult.

The story was pretty good, I just couldn't get into it, the narrator was good.

Communion with spirits and a little ghostbusting

This story introduces two women who are mediums (they call themselves psychics) but who end up doing a little ghostbusting against a dark malicious force that has been haunting an entire town for decades. They come from almost entirely opposite backgrounds, in terms of the nurture of their gifts, and they learn more about themselves by learning about each other. The narration is excellent and carries a lot of the suspense of the story. Very nice introduction to a series.

A very ghostly town

It is 1999, and psychic investigators Theo Lawson and Ness Patterson have been brought in to examine psychic phenomena in an old mining town in north Yorkshire. Exactly a century before, 59 people died at the market hall during what should have been a lovely Christmas Eve celebration. The tragedy of the deaths of these men, women, and children from the working community of the town should be enough to create sympathy and misgivings, but the circumstances of the deaths also seem to have fueled an enduring supernatural anger and perhaps lust for revenge. But the psychic investigators must somehow uncover the nature of this other worldly loathing. This is quite an engaging story, one to be honest I wasn't sure I would quite get into. But the story is fine, and the quality of the narration alone would have been enough, I think, to keep me listening. Heather Tracy does a wonderful job of bringing these characters to life (or afterlife, as it were), and I found myself listening on, eager to hear and learn more of this haunting tale.

A Christmas Horror with a Heart

I've read three of the Psychic Surveys series from Shani Struthers already, so I was thrilled when I won an audiobook of Eve: A Christmas Ghost. This is a prequel to the series, told from side character Theo’s point of view. I love Ruby, the main character in the the Psychic Surveys series, but fierce Theo is my favourite. I loved getting more of an insight into her story and that of fellow psychic Ness.

The tale begins in mid-December in a town devoid of any Christmas spirit. Thorpe Morton is a place where everyone is haunted by ghosts and the town’s tragic past.

Theo and Ness soon find that they are dealing with more than a simple haunting, resulting in some terrifying scenes.

I loved the growing relationship between Theo and Ness. The contrast between Theo’s strong personality and Ness’ quiet reserved nature worked brilliantly.

This is not only a ghost story, but also a mystery. The ending was sad, but also heartwarming. Like the other Psychic Survey books, this is about friendship and trust overcoming darkness.

The narrator’s accent added to the essence of this book. Her rich, warm accent suited the tale perfectly.

If you're looking for a heartwarming Christmas horror, give this a go. And yes, I'm a bit odd :)

Supernatural tale, superbly narrated

This was an unexpected treat! This story kept me hooked, so that I was done in three days. I found the characters eminently believable, their normalcy a great foil for the ghostly events. The narration, in particular, was wonderful. Every character has a separate voice - so much so that it's almost hard to believe it's just one person! - and the various accents are beautifully and subtly played.

Lovely

The Christmas Ghost Story is a much-neglected genre. I really enjoyed the book, beautifully narrated.

As this is not the first book in the series I was concerned that I would be missing information but the author has included essential information about the characters early on in this volume.

I loved it!

A gripping story that held me spellbound to the end even though I really didn't want to reach it. Bravo to the author Shani Struthers, and yet another brilliant narration by Heather Tracy.

Spooky enough for me!

I am not a great reader of ghost stories but must admit I really enjoyed this one. Read it all in one sitting so to speak. The characters are well developed and the plot is intriguing. The 2 main characters seem to work well together and although the ending was I suppose predictable the way it developed and things worked out was very well done in my opinion. It is I think the first book I've read narrated by Heather Tracey and she is really good, I am a Yorkshireman myself and cannot knock her accent, too many readers when doing accents tend to go over the top but this was spot on! I look forward to listening to more books by this author and certainly more of Heathers narrations. *****

Gripping story, listened to it in one sitting.

Didn't want to put it on pause. Great listen, well narrated too. Would recommend it.

heartfelt

rather than the creep factor you may expect from a ghost story this one has some real heart that pulls you in slowly and steadily until you are completely captured by the narrative.

a huge part of the appeal of this story is the narrator, Heather Tracy, who is quickly becoming one of my favourite voices. the heart she brings to all of the characters, even those minor background ones, all with different tones and hues really beings them to life and care about all of their stories. each voice she gives the characters make them stand out individually and gives the story some real heart.

my heart really went out to the character of Edna Carter, owner of Sunnysid B&B, she presents as so stand off ish upon first introduction that we wonder why she is even running a b&b with her obvious distance for people and visitors in general. but slowly her story unfurls amongst the other ghostly visitations on the village thanks to the deverstating events of the past, that turn out to have a very personal impact upon Edna, resulting in a split and neglect from her mother. I found my heartbreaking for her as we learnt more about her and all that she had lost, and the reconciliation with her mothers spirit and the final reunion of the family with their names together on a gravestone, really strikes a cord.

the newly developing friendship between theo and Ness is refreshing to see as they both start to come to terms with the new use of their abilities in their possible new partnership, and although the pairing of loud and outgoing with quiet and reserved is not new, the development of their characters and friendship was really enjoyable and seeing them figure out ways of working was nice. Theo is bold but caring, of spirits and the living, trying to find ways for them to coexist or at least understand why the spirit is acting out but never excusing its behavior, rather using it hold them to account and in turn helping them move on. Ness is quieter but cares just as deeply about helping those that are so often misunderstood and having worked with various police forces is more confident in her own ability to reach her end goal. I'm interested to see a true friendship grow between the two.

I was given this as a free audiobook and have left this review voluntarily

Not great I’m afraid

I had such high hopes for this, downloaded to listen to this over Christmas while I was cooking but it was awful and I returned in the end. Narration was irritating, the characters even more so, it felt like someone trying to explain psychic phenomena to the feeble minded! It was painfully excruciating at worse and barely tolerable at best. I did persist to see if it got better- it did not. I know some have loved this- and love the series but for me it’s a huge no. Naively written, poorly narrated and a waste of time

Compelling ghost story

Format: audiobook
Narrator: Heather Tracy

Theo and Ness are psychic investigators but they find more than they bargained for when they head to the North Yorkshire market town of Thorpe Morton.
I liked these two characters they have a good bond forming.

The story is good, Theo and Ness have a mystery to unravel to be able to help the trapped and restless spirits.

All in all I really enjoyed this ghost story.

The narrator does a fantastic job with the delivery and the different characters, I would certainly look out for her again.

excellent

i started listening on my second day of covid isolation, finished the next day on new years eve, great story to listen to over Christmas, couldn't put down, best listened to in a dimly lit room without distaction. I was totally in the story with them, excellent, I will be downloading the other series now!!