On the first morning of her new job at Heartfield House, a care home for the elderly, Annie Jackson wakens from a terrifying dream.

And when she arrives at the home, she knows that the first old man she meets is going to die. How she knows this is a terrifying mystery, but it is the start of horrifying premonitions … a rekindling of the curse that has trickled through generations of women in her family – a wicked gift known only as ‘the murmurs’…

#TheMurmurs @michaelJmalone1 @OrendaBooks #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour #Gothic #Scotland #supernatural

With its reappearance comes an old, forgotten fear that is about to grip Annie Jackson. And this time, it will never let go…

My Review

I adored this book. I couldn’t wait to read it. Really spooky and scary, but the most terrifying part is when we go back in time to the ‘witches’ who were accused of witchcraft, forced to confess and then strangled before their bodies were thrown on the bonfire.

Annie Jackson comes from a line of women who have a ‘gift’ or is it a curse? She knows when someone is going to die and how. But when she tries to warn them, she is treated like a mad woman, even when she is only twelve years old. She can see the person dying, their faces turn into skulls, and she hears sounds and voices which are referred to as ‘the murmurs’.

On the first day of her new job in a nursing home (not the best place to avoid death premonitions), she sees an old man having a stroke on the bathroom floor and dying. Before she goes home, she tries to warn him, but he tells her to go away and leave him alone. It’s just the beginning of her terrifying dreams and visions. She can’t look at anyone, in case she sees their demise.

She tries to find out as much as she can about the family curse, but everyone seems to be keeping schtum. When she was still a child, her mother died in an accident, but Annie somehow survived. She remembers nothing about it and very little of her life beforehand. Then her father dies too and she and her twin brother go to live with a foster family.

As she starts to remember tiny snippets from her childhood, she discovers that her mother had two sisters – Sheila and Bridget – one of whom she met just once. She knew that Sheila was ill.

Her mother is very religious and they attend a church which is almost a cult. (Oh how I love this kind of thing as anyone who has read my reviews will know.) The local ‘pastor’ puts his hands on Annie’s head and tries to get rid of the devil inside her. It’s very creepy. Outside the church, an old woman whispers that Annie should be burnt at the stake. It’s all scary stuff with a gothic feel and a mixture of superstition and a hint of the supernatural.

We are interrupted during the story today, by flashbacks to the witches, episodes in Annie’s mother’s life and incidents of ‘the murmurs’ in Annie’s childhood. For instance she knew that a local girl would be involved in something terrible, but no-one will listen to her.

I’m going to say it again. I absolutely adored this book. It’s just up my street and I look forward to reading more about Annie in the future. I know this because it’s the first of the Annie Jackson Mysteries #1.

If I could offer Annie one word of advice it would be to accept what you see. You probably can’t prevent it anyway, without changing the future as well. While this would be devastating, it would surely be better than telling someone they are going to die and failing to prevent it. Or maybe not. Thank goodness I don’t have Annie’s gift.

Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours

About the Author

Michael Malone is a prize-winning poet and author who was born and brought up in the heart of Burns’ country. He has published over 200 poems in literary magazines throughout the UK, including New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. Blood Tears, his bestselling debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish Association of Writers. His dark psychological thriller, A Suitable Lie, was a number-one bestseller, and is currently in production for the screen, and five powerful standalone thrillers followed suit. A former Regional Sales Manager (Faber & Faber) he has also worked as an IFA and a bookseller. Michael lives in Ayr, where he also works as a hypnotherapist.

Orenda Books is a small independent publishing company specialising in literary fiction with a heavy emphasis on crime/thrillers, and approximately half the list in translation. They’ve been twice shortlisted for the Nick Robinson Best Newcomer Award at the IPG awards, and publisher and owner Karen Sullivan was a Bookseller Rising Star in 2016. In 2018, they were awarded a prestigious Creative Europe grant for their translated books programme. Three authors, including Agnes Ravatn, Matt Wesolowski and Amanda Jennings have been WHSmith Fresh Talent picks, and Ravatn’s The Bird Tribunal was shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, won an English PEN Translation Award, and adapted for BBC Radio Four ’s Book at Bedtime. Six titles have been short- or long-listed for the CWA Daggers. Launched in 2014 with a mission to bring more international literature to the UK market, Orenda Books publishes a host of debuts, many of which have gone on to sell millions worldwide, and looks for fresh, exciting new voices that push the genre in new directions. Bestselling authors include Ragnar Jonasson, Antti Tuomainen, Gunnar Staalesen, Michael J. Malone, Kjell Ola Dahl, Louise Beech, Johana Gustawsson, Lilja Sigurðardóttir and Sarah Stovell.