The Half Burnt House

Author Alex North
Narrator Rosalie Craig
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Run Time 8 hours
Format Audio
Genre Contemporary horror and ghost stories, Crime and mystery: hard-boiled crime, noir fiction, Crime and mystery: police procedural, Psychological thriller.

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

ARE YOU READY TO ENTER THE HALF BURNT HOUSE?

The spine-tingling new thriller from the internationally bestselling author of THE WHISPER MAN, a Richard and Judy pick.

*****

Katie always looked after her beloved younger brother Chris - until she left him alone for one selfish afternoon, and their picture-perfect family fell apart. Although Chris survived the attack, the scars ran deeper than the ones left across his face. Now they're adults, and they haven't spoken in years. Then she gets a call, from Detective Laurence Page.

Page is facing an unusually disturbing crime scene. Alan Hobbes, a distinguished and wealthy philosophy professor, has been brutally murdered. Hobbes was living in a sprawling mansion - but one that remains half-ruined by a decades-old fire, wind and rain howling through the gaping, creaking roof.

Page only has one suspect: Chris, caught on CCTV at the house. But he has plenty of questions. What could cause a man as wealthy as Hobbes not to repair his home? Why did he seem to know his death was coming, yet do nothing to stop it? And why was he obsessed with a legendary local serial killer?

But Katie only has one thing on her mind. She knows this is her last, best chance to finally save her brother, and make up for her negligence all those years ago.

But she can't possibly imagine just how much danger he's in...

© 2023 Alex North (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critics Review

The Half Burnt House is Alex North at his best – a writer who can terrify you on one page and break your heart on the next
Steve Cavanagh, bestselling author of Thirteen
Endlessly intriguing
New York Times
So dark and so twisty
Sun
One of those books that made me wish I’d written it. North wields suspense like a blade. Breath-taking and terrifying
Helen Fields
North handles the complicated plot with skill while bringing his troubled characters to life amid the horror.
Observer
North’s poetic way with even the most grotesque of situations is always a joy. The Half Burnt House is his best yet. I love it.
Alex Marwood
Dark, gripping, and twisty
Claire McGowan
Thrilling, moving and utterly gripping; The Half Burnt House is a triumph
William Ryan
A masterfully creepy, atmospheric rush of a read that will linger with you long after you’ve finished the last page
Neil Broadfoot
Complex, tense and atmospheric
Woman's Weekly
Deeply complex and carefully crafted, this novel is a thrilling question mark all the way to the end, and it puts North’s storytelling skills on full display . . . the tension mounts with almost every single chapter… his best so far, a superb addition to his already impressive oeuvre
NPR
A cut-throat thriller
Woman's Own
Alex North’s best book yet. It’s as darkly disturbing as The Whisper Man, and as viciously twisty as The Shadow Friend. But this time there’s a premise that will break your heart even as it chills you to the very marrow. Nobody in dark fiction writes family relationships – guilt, fear, loss, and ultimately love – like North, and this is an unputdownable thriller
Derek Farrell
Everything in this story is connected in ways the reader can’t begin to imagine until a series of stunning parallels and revelations are disclosed. Wait for it!
Booklist, STARRED
North’s latest thriller does not disappoint, weaving an intriguing cast of characters across multiple time periods into a story rich with layers and plot twists and perfectly suspenseful pacing … A delightfully bone-chilling tale
Kirkus Reviews
Praise for Alex North
:
As terrifying as a great horror novel, as unpredictable as the best type of crime novel and above all beautifully written…a writer who is an absolute master of his craft
Jane Casey
This is absorbing, headlong reading, a play on classic horror with an inventiveness of its own
New York Times
Hugely atmospheric and deliciously creepy
Alex Michaelides

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The Half Burnt House

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