Malefic

House of Souls, Book 2

By: Ambrose Ibsen

Narrated by: Joe Hempel

Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

“Something is watching from behind the walls....”

The move into 889 Morgan Road was supposed to be a fresh start for Joseph Dubois and his family. What they got instead was a nightmare.

Dark shadows in the halls are only the beginning. At night, guttural noises issue from behind the walls, and the family reports seeing a terrifying figure wandering the premises. Desperately seeking someone with experience in supernatural matters, Joseph calls upon his uncle, Marcel.

Retired surgeon Marcel Dubois has a special gift: The ability to communicate with his dead wife. Harnessing this gift allows him to plumb the depths of the afterlife and to confront the paranormal. Arriving in Detroit, Marcel seeks to uncover the truth about the strange figure seen in his nephew's new house.

But when his questions are finally answered, Marcel finds himself at the center of a horror without parallel.

The House of Long Shadows seeks another lodger.

Malefic is the second novel in the House of Souls series.

©2018 Ambrose Ibsen (P)2018 Ambrose Ibsen

Don't Buy the Cheap House in a Nice Neighborhood

Follow on to the first book titled, The House of Long Shadows. While this is a series, this book stands alone quite well and while you would miss out on the origins of the house, you get enough of a recap to understand what is going on. Ambrose Ibsen does really good series so I would recommend that you start with the first one, just so you get to experience all this haunted house has to offer. The neat thing about this story is that while this is based on the same haunted house from the first book, it is taken in a completely different direction and provides both a great story and more explanation about the haunting.

The plot to this book is quite a bit different from the first story and is a bit more like a standard haunted house story, something Ibsen has perfected. I really liked how Dr. Marcel interacted with the ghost world through his deceased wife. That piece of the plot was something I wish there was more to and I hope it continues into the next book. The one thing I was thinking the entire time I was listening was that I want an uncle like Dr. Marcel.

Much like the first book in the series, there are not a lot of characters. Those who are in this are fleshed out quite well and you can’t help but root for Dr. Marcel. His nephew seemed weak and inept and his inability to handle the situation made me dislike him. Dr. Marcel reminded me of the original Van Helsing, an older and fairly competent paranormal hunter, helping out his inexperienced nephew by taking on a task way out of his league. Even though he might not be as competent as he needs to be to tackle the house, he is someone I would want on my side. I really hope to see more of Dr. Marcel in the next story. Lastly there is Fiona, one of the evil presences who happens to share my daughter’s name. Been looking at her closely lately to make sure her imaginary friends are just that, imaginary.

The Ibsen – Hempel team is fantastic. The two work very well together and between Hempel’s fantastic narration and Ibsen’s ability to create tension, I couldn’t stop listening. Hempel provided, as always, a narration that brings you into the story and provides the right amount of emotion and personality to each character. I was super excited to start this book and now that I’m done I can’t wait for the next.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Incredibly creepy!!

Having loved the first book, I bought the second when it came out, but didn't read it because I wanted to wait for the audio, and I'm so glad I did because Joe Hempel brought this to life!!

Book 2 sees a new family living in the house, and they soon realise that there is something wrong with it. Long shadows, weird noises, footsteps and their daughter is seeing something nearly every night. Joseph has had enough and decides to call his Uncle whom has some experience with supernatural things. And so enters Marcel. He takes over the house in the hopes of uncovering the secrets, but he gets more than he bargained for and is now in the middle of a terrifying fight for his soul.

I want an Uncle like Marcel please!! He is awesome. Not only for his generosity, but also the fact that he can communicate with spirits. Since his wife passed, they have written to each other nearly every night. He would write first and the next morning his wife would have responded. It was cute!!! From the second Marcel enters the house, the tension and creepiness slowly ramps, I had chills when I was reading parts and actually jumped when there was a knock at my door. I was that engrossed in the story!!

While this is book 2, it can be read as a stand alone, though I do recommend reading book 1 first as it gives a lot of background into the house. This one is even better than the first, and I loved the first one! I can't recommend this series enough, nor can I recommend the author enough. He is such a fantastic writer and is able to grab the reader right from the get go. I highly, highly recommend you check out his books!!

Joe Hempel is the voice of horror!! He captures the atmosphere and the essence of the story perfectly and with the right inflections, he brings the book to life. When he gets together with this author, it's an automatic winner in my book. Brilliant narrator for a brilliant book.

Creepy!

Malefic is a creepy horror story featuring historical events. The story is a bit predictable but interesting. Overall a good ghost story! The narrator did a good job with providing unique voices for each character and appropriate tone inflections for each scene. I received a free copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This One's A Winner

Though, as I've said before and I'm sure I'll say again, it's literally impossible to go wrong with an Ambrose Ibsen / Joe Hempel combination. I can honestly say that I will listen to absolutely anything that comes from this duo!

'Malefic' is a fun follow up to book 1, 'The House of Long Shadows,' though I do think you should read book 1 first to get the full effect of this one. If you like super natural horror stories, then I really don't know why you wouldn't listen to this one. It's a pretty fabulous one!!!

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Say what!?!?!

Yes! Now this is the Ambrose Ibsen that I have come to love and stalk! This book was incredibly creepy. I listened to it within 24 hours. It starts out a bit slow and slowly... ever so slowly Ibsen builds his story up and you are left with a slack jaw and eyes wide open! Joe Hempel is just THE narrator for ghost stories... for stories creepy as can be! These two together are a ghost/paranormal powerhouse! Now, if you are looking for a book that'll make you stop and stare off a bit while getting chills... Malefic is perfect for you. Now this is the follow up to The House of Long Shadows and I'd definitely recommend you listen to it first. However, if you decide to jump into this one feet first, I don't think you'll be lost. The story is retold so everything unfolds here but not as in-depth as the first one.

Chilling

This book is spooky, scary and just plain creepy. It is exactly what I expected! The narrator did an excellent job as usual. I didn’t want it to end and when it did, I wanted more. I cannot wait for the next book in the series to come out. This author is the best horror writer in my opinion and the narrator never disappoints.

Another win for Ambrose Ibsen

I am a huge fan of Ambrose Ubsen and Love it when Joe Hemple reads to me. Both are amazing.

This is the 2nd book in the House Of Souls series. The book picks up decades after Flipper Kevin Taylor succumbs to the house he was remodeling to flip. This time a young family has moved into the house and the horrors continue.

Back to Morgan Road

Marcel, a retired physician, gets an alarming call from his nephew. Joseph and his family have just moved into their new house in Detroit and are afraid it’s haunted. Marcel has dealt with the supernatural before with the secret help of his dead wife and offers to come up to help. Skeptical at first Marcel seeks to disprove any ghostly influence, however he quickly discovers there is more than first thought. A nice second installment and I am curious on which direction the next book will take. As always Joe Hempel does an amazing job! I received a free review copy of this book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Terror at it's Finest!

Ibsen and Hemple take you to new heights of Terror and it's a fantastic ride!

Spooky and well put together!

The house has a history. More than the new owners are aware until everything starts to happen. Soon after moving in they notice the strange shaed shadows then various noises and the cotton man. Having read the first book in the series first I was waiting and interested to see what would happen in this house next. This book could be read alone but is better when you know what happened in the last one.

The story is spooky and goosepimple worthy. Marcel retired now has some knowledge of afterlife. He and his deceased wife write messages to one another. When his nephew comes to him with the strange occurances in their new home Marcel joins the family to check out the situation he thinks is nothing and offer a hand if something supernatural is truly happening. Soon enough he discovers the supernatural occurances and spends the rest of the story attempting to rid the house of its horrors,digging up a bit more history on the house.

I certainly won't spoil it for others but I loved the end. The story is sufficiently creepy . The characters and plot are well developed and the story is one that won't leave your subconscious any time soon.

loved this! 💞😍

listened to book books and loved this story. Good characters, easy to follow, good ghost story and I love the narrative. I'm definitely going to listen to some more titles by this author. Highly recommend. 👏👏❤️

☺

I like this audio book Ambrose Ibsen & Joe Hempel work well to give 5 out of 5

really good spooky and very good narrative

it's worth it honest I only read horror unless I like the premis. try it

its ok

I was hoping for more to the story... for it to finish well but it didnt..