The Visitor's Book by Sophie Hannah

This is the second short story collection I have read by Hannah. (You can read my review of The Fantastic Book of Everybody's Secrets here.) I found the impact of the stories in this book to be rather uneven. These are supposed to be ghost stories and there are a few that rise to the level of spine-tingling. There are others, however, that I felt were not very exciting.

Hannah does, in several of the stories, take scenes from everyday life and add a sense of fear. The story about the visitor's book is a good one. Invited on a date to a very ordinary dwelling, a young woman balks when asked by the fellow to sign a visitor's book. She later investigates and finds out the significance of signing that book. Characteristic of Hannah's plot construction, we are left hanging.

Another story I really liked was of a young boy's birthday party. After the chaos of a house full of children, there is one child left unclaimed by parents. His presence, real or not, is a vision of the future for the family.

There were two stories that were excerpts from Hannah's novels. I found these stories did not have the impact that some others in the collection had.

I appreciate some of the issues Hannah covers in her stories. One deals with perception. How do we know that what we see, or at least think we see, is reality? How can we tell if it is our imagination? Another issue is dealing with preconceived ideas and what we observe or miss seeing because of them.

Each of the stories in this collection was interesting. The impact of each story varied greatly. I was disappointed that there wasn't more of the spine tingling fiction included.

I am taking part in a blog tour of this book. Click here to view the 'The Visitor’s Book by Sophie Hannah' Tour Participants.

My rating: 4/5.

Sophie Hannah is the New York Times-bestselling author of numerous psychological thrillers, which have been published in 27 countries and adapted for television, as well as The Monogram Murders, the first Hercule Poirot novel authorized by the estate of Agatha Christie. Catch Up with Sophie Hannah on her Website & Twitter!

Book Details:

Genre: Short Stories, Thriller
Published by: Witness Impulse
Publication Date: November 1st 2016
Number of Pages: 120
ISBN: 0062562126 (ISBN13: 9780062562128)
Purchase Links: Amazon Barnes & Noble Goodreads

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I received a complimentary digital copy of this book through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours. My comments are an independent and honest review.