BOOK REVIEW: The Haunting of Tabitha Grey by Vanessa Curtis ★★★☆☆

Depressed mum Rachel, midlife crises dad Mark, mute brother Ben and moody teenager Tabitha move into Western Manor. Although Tabitha is used to moving houses (because of her father’s job as a historical keeper), something dark and strange is happening at the manor. A lingering lavender smell, bells ringing at night, crying in empty rooms; with an active imagination, is Tabitha Grey actually telling the truth?

Vanessa Cutis is a YA author who has two successful book series, Zelah Green and Lilah May. Zelah Green: Queen of Clean won the Manchester Children's Book Awards 2010 and was shortlisted for the 2010 Young Minds, the 2009 Waterstones Children's Book Prize, the NASEN awards and the 2010 Bolton Children's Book Awards. As of 2012, Curtis worked on The Baking Life of Amelie Day and The Haunting of Tabitha Grey is her first ghost story.

I’ll begin with what I like. Curtis based Weston Manor on the real-life Preston Manor in Sussex. She mentions in her blog that all the ghostly encounters that happened are based on the people who work at Preston Manor. With that in mind was totally up for reading this book.

It’s a classic ghost story with a stunning twist. Well, not a stunning twist but a clever one indeed. Despite other readers dislike the number of grammar mistakes they spotted, I didn’t have a problem. Whether it was done deliberately or by mistake, I think it captures Tabitha’s fourteen-year-old schoolgirl persona. It adds character to the first-person narrative.

So there were some issues I had with this book. Overall, the general feeling I got from this was that it felt flat and felt rushed. The big twist was revealed in the penultimate chapter and the reason for the haunting, which she got from the security guard Sid, felt like it was popped in. I think it missed a certain flow. I got this vibe from this story that there was a HUGE scandal involving Lady Eleanor, her two sisters and her black sheep of a son that somehow deeply connects with Tabitha. But there is no connection of the sort.

Honestly, I didn’t hate the book, but then I didn’t love it. It’s a good book and the twist is the only reason I’m giving a 3 star because the rest of it just felt so flat. I’ll recommend to those who are looking for a really good twist in a typical ghost story BUT not for those who wanted a deeper meaning or something scary. Now I feel bad for being so harsh so I might read another book by Curtis.

Rating 3/5
Publishers: Egmont Books Ltd
First Published: March 26th 2012
Second Publication Date: April 2nd 2012
Genre: YA/Paranormal