First Chapter Review & Giveaway: The Folly at Raighvan Park by Judith Crow

 

I received a digital copy of the gothic horror novel, The Folly at Raighvan Park by Judith Crow from Goddess Fish Promotions.  

BLURB: Desperate to escape memories of a devastating railway accident, Lord Stretton accepts an invitation to Raighvan Park, the home of his childhood friend, Sir David Joyce.

But Stretton discovers that Raighvan Park is not the safe haven he had been seeking. The ghosts which have haunted him since the accident seem to have followed him, and the situation grows darker when human remains are discovered at Sir David’s proposed folly.

Are the ghosts of the accident still stalking him? Or is there something more sinister at work at Raighvan Park?

COVER: Intriguing, but perhaps a bit too absent of color for me. Works perfectly for the plot, but might have liked white trim around the text to make it stand out more. 

FIRST CHAPTER: Lord Stretton recalls the year he was bequeathed his title and the events that followed, which altered his life forever. 

KEEP READING: Definitely! This masterfully written first chapter sets up all that will to come. It shares the events leading up to Lord Stretton taking his new title and the railway accident that changed his life forever. While there are numerous characters mentioned, the reader is never lost or confused, and the prose flows along nicely through to the end of the first chapter, leading well into the second. Would love to see what Lord Stretton faces upon getting to Raighvan Park. 

EXCERPT

I had meant to gain some rest rather than actual sleep, but I must have given way to dreams as I found myself standing in the cemetery at Stretton, looking from my father’s grave to the grave of the nurse who rested beside him. It might have been a memory, given the many hours I spent there during the spring, until the ground around me began to tremble, and I watched as first my father and then the young nurse clambered out of their graves. My father wore the clothes he had been buried in, still with his lower jaw tied by the green ribbon my mother herself had placed around his head. Likewise, the nurse was wearing the same grey dress she had died in, blood soaked down the back and sides, which I saw clearly as she placed her wasting hand into my father’s and began to dance with him. I watched them waltz through the cemetery, laughing noiselessly and spinning around as though they could not stop. Finally, they reached me, and the nurse held out her hand. I pulled away and, in the effort, awoke. 

For a moment, I believed I must have gone blind, or else died myself, as I found myself in the pitch darkness of the grave, and I threw my hands out in panic. However, as my eyes began to accustom, I realised I could see stars above me, and I had slept into the night. A thousand thoughts burst through my mind at exactly the same time as the pain in my feet returned, and I heard my teeth chattering almost before I felt them.

The Folly at Raighvan Park is on sale at Amazon for 99 cents while the sale lasts. 

Judith Crow will be awarding a £10 Crowvus Voucher to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1913182428
• Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.08 x 0.32 x 7.8 inches; 6.88 Ounces
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 11, 2023
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crowvus
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1913182427

This First Chapter Review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.