Craven Manor: A Haunted House Horror with Gothic Secrets

I know that a lot of readers might say this but it’s true about this particular book. I had seen it many times as an option by a familiar author which I enjoy and thought I would finally get it. The story of Daniel finding real purpose and acceptance was beautiful. The interwoven story about trapped ghosts and spirits was just the frosting on the cake.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I love creepy stories and this one one was well written. It was my first book from Darcy Coates, but I just ordered two more!

Well, it looks like I have a new author to add to my list of favorites!!After needing to move out of his cousin’s apartment and find a steady job, Daniel receives a mysterious note requesting his services as a live-in groundskeeper at Craven Manor. Having never heard of the place, Daniel takes a trip over to the manor and finds a note already waiting for him. There are rules if he takes this position: be inside with the doors locked and the curtains shut by midnight every night, don’t have any guests, and don’t go into the tower. After hearing several different accounts of the history of Craven Manor, Daniel begins to wonder who’s really running this place and why is the tower locked…from the outside?This book had me so engrossed, I sometimes forgot that I was even reading. Darcy Coates’ imagery is so vivid and descriptive that was able to easily throw myself into the Craven Manor world. So spooky and creepy: I quickly turned pages, eager for what was going to happen next.For the majority of the book, we are in Daniel’s head (ie, this book was not driven by dialog); it takes a lot of talent to have a book driven by thoughts and observations while still engaging the reader as much as this book did. Characters were well developed too: I found the author’s portrayal of Kyle, especially effective: got that hate brewing for him very quickly.An amazing story. I’ll definitely be reading more from this author!

If you’re a super fan of paranormal/fantasy fiction, you’ll probably enjoy this book. For me, it was just ok. I found the characters too one-dimensional (either they’re pure evil or too good to be true) and I was not able to suspend my reality enough to buy into the whole paranormal/fantasy storyline. It was well written enough for me to want to finish it but I felt pretty ambivalent to the plot twist and climactic scenes. This kind of book just isn’t my thing.

CRAVEN MANOR, by Darcy Coates, is a supernatural novel with a rather unique scenario. In the beginning, we are introduced to a young man--Daniel Kane--who is searching for odd jobs every day just to survive. His cousin, Kyle, allows him to stay in his cheap apartment--providing Daniel can get together enough money to pay half the rent. Immediately, Coates is able to show us the intrinsic differences between the two. Daniel is something of a rare anomaly nowadays; a gentle, caring person who would give his meager earnings to others in need, rather than buy food for himself. Kyle is obviously one who feels that world owes him, and thinks nothing of walking all over people like Daniel. Not one to complain about his situation, Daniel would remind himself: ". . . He lived in a home for desperate people, and desperate people couldn't be choosy . . . "I found myself very impressed with Darcy Coates' writing style. In some places, her words flow with such a graceful ease, yet their meaning is so full of conviction and leaves you thinking on them for some time afterwards.". . . No one said hello or even made eye contact . . . that sense of non-existence had left him with a permanent fear of being forgotten by the world . . . "Our adventure begins when Daniel finds a curious note addressed to him, informing him that he has been hired as a groundskeeper for a place called Craven Manor. The barest of directions are left for him, and Daniel probably would have not given it another thought if not for his cousin suddenly complaining about him "not contributing enough".Coates continues to use some great scenes to further characterize the individual people in this novel. Now, she adds the most perfect balance of atmosphere to immerse the reader completely into the story unfolding. Once we see Craven Manor in our minds, there is no going back. I found that I didn't want to leave this novel for even a moment.". . . The manor wasn't a cheerful place . . . But it felt secure . . . "The balance of human, supernatural, and environmental surroundings make for the perfect combination here. Craven Manor-- ". . . A manor to strike fear into people who saw it . . ." --is a major presence--almost a character all of its own. The neglected--yet somehow still striking-ediface stands as a testament to the past that never really . . . left."Things that die here have a tendency to linger."The twists and revelations create a story that keeps you riveted to every page. The emotional pull of not only Daniel, but of the other characters and elements, intensifies as the story goes on and more of the historical events are slowly revealed."Ghosts are real . . ."Darcy Coates has written a story that stuck with me long after I finished my first reading. This is most certainly a book I see myself returning to in the future for re-reads.". . . I've found that death and I don't agree too much . . ."The mystique, characterizations, revelations, rumors, unlikely friendships, and betrayals were especially "real" feeling to me, and I give the author a great deal of credit in coming up with a tale that seems so "new", when the vast majority I read often appear as variations of the same theme.". . . Sometimes, a drastic loss can herald a new start . . . "Highly recommended!

The beginning of this book is a masterpiece of misdirection. The descriptions don't take you where you're expecting to go if you've read much of the supernatural genre. The characters are engaging and the development of friendship is a reward in itself. Definitely recommend.

Creepy and atmospheric. Very psychological. I kept wondering who to believe, who to trust. This book was a good reminder to be weary of misinformation.Fast-paced. Most of the chapters ended with cliffhangers which really propelled the story along. Great world-building and character development.I was engaged throughout. This was a very enjoyable read.

What a creepy book! I don’t know what I’d do if I was in Daniel’s shoes. He receives a mysterious letter from under his door stating he had a job as a groundskeeper at this seemingly abandoned estate. This book is filled with mysteries, ghosts, cats and rules to follow. Daniel is a tad naïve and sometimes it bothered me: you know in horror movies when someone is about to do something stupid, and you start yelling at the TV to get them to stop...that was me with this book. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves a good, haunted house story!

I love reading most specially when it's scary thing.

Craven Manor, by Darcy Coates, is my first read by this author, and is also my first review of 2018. I'm a subscriber to this author's newsletter, and finally decided to purchase this title to see, finally, what the fuss was all about.Her writing style is extremely engaging, and in this story, it only focusses on a limited number of characters - Daniel, the young man who literally lives day to day, eeking out a living doing various jobs. His relative, Kyle, is more secure, allowing Daniel to stay at his place, but it's not without cost, as is anything a family member professes to do out of love, duty, or something else.Fed up with this state of affairs, Daniel reluctantly takes up the post offered to him by the mysterious Bran - the man who apparently owes the manor of the title, but is rarely seen. In fact, a bony, malnourished cat makes more of an appearance than Bran does.You'd think he would pay Daniel via Paypal, BACS or Bit Coin, but no, Bran pays using unusual and spectacular gold pieces, and as the atmosphere builds nicely, the mystery unfolds, literally piece by piece.Daniel decides he actually can stay at the creepy manor even though Kyle is not too sure about that. Added the fact that Kyle gets more than a bit jealous of the gold pieces, the narrative builds with a crescendo, and it is here that the book kicks into overdrive.I really like this genre, and I also write in this genre. So why four stars, and not five? Well, this is a very solid tale from Miss Coates. There's nothing really to fault, however, parts of the pace dropped off in the middle of the book, and even during the story's third and final act, but this was the first time I read this author's work, and I would like to read more.Craven Manor grabs you - from the eerie cover, to the well drawn characters, to occasional snappy and fun dialogue. Daniel's fate remains uncertain throughout the story and this, if anything, is what will keep you reading.If I re-read it, I may scale it up to five, but this reading tells me her vast army of readers are not wrong. Craven Manor is a solid, engaging, and engrossing horror tale. It sticks to the creeping horror instead of delivering shock value for shock value's sake.I liked it. A lot.

I have read two of darcy coates books the carrow haunt and the house next door but this has to be the best book I've read for a long time from the ist few pages I was gripped I couldn't wait to find out what happened next to Daniel and the characters were so believable the story was easy to picture I got totally lost in to the book I found myself eagerly wanting the end to be a good one.and I loved the twist with the cat, highly recommended this book if your a huge darcy coates fan like myself even if you haven't read any start with this one.ive just ordered my next darcy coates kindle book and I am excited to start!

I'm going to give five stars for Craven Manor. It kept me engrossed to the end and I found the story compelling. There were lots of twists and turns that I didn't see coming and quite surprised me. Daniel was kind and considerate and I liked that. I couldn't quite work out what kind of person Bran was, but I think this added to the overall enjoyment of the novel. I loved the mixture of ghost, monster, creepy house and mystery. Highly recommended if you enjoy supernatural stories.

I have read a few of this authors books and consider them '' safe horror'' in other words not always scary , good stories but not sleep with the light on material.It was with interest that I read great reviews on this latest one. However the tension that was cranked up by half way soon fell to the side. The main character after being warned of impending doom if he broke 3 rules on entering Craven manor proceeded to do so with little or no punishment not what I was expecting.The main horror locked in the main tower could have been so much more but did not escalate into anything more than a poor attempt to keep the story on track.On saying this there were moments of fear and trepidation and for that I gave it 4 stars.