The Haunting of Briarwych Church (The Briarwych Trilogy #1)
Author: Amy Cross
4 out of 5 stars
In 1942 Britain, Father Lionel Loveford has just been assigned to take over the church in the village of Briarwych. Upon arrival, he finds a village that has been haunted by events that ended in a woman, Judith Prendergast, dying in the church. The entire village has since seen her spirit in the church’s windows. Father Loveford doesn’t believe in ghosts and thinks the villagers are merely feeling guilty. But as the months go by, he starts to wonder if it is that simple.
The paranormal elements are very subtle for most of the book. A lot of what Father Loveford sees and hears can be easily dismissed. Although, there were a couple of instances where he denied something that was very obvious. Instead of the paranormal, the story is very character-focused. It really focuses on the way the village comes to process their guilt around Judith’s death and how they’re dealing with the ongoing war.
Father Loveford starts off very optimistic, and he always does his best. Over time, the villagers’ unwillingness to go to church or face their guilt does wear him down and make him want to love. It also becomes apparent that he actually doesn’t have a lot of experience with leading a congregation as he sometimes has trouble finding the words to offer comfort to someone.
Overall, the writing was very good. There were some decent descriptions of the church and the village. The story had a good pace and flow. There were also some 1940s details added in, like the blackouts and the RAF airbase being nearby. There were some editing mistakes, but nothing that affected the story.
I will say that when Father Loveford is first told about Judith Prendergast and how no one checked on her and basically left her to die, it felt like he really glossed over it. His reaction did not feel strong enough for hearing about something like that, and then he barely thought about it, instead he focused on the villagers saying they were seeing a ghost. I just feel like that part could have been better.
This is the first in a trilogy, but also works as a complete story on its own. Honestly though, I’m more interested in reading the final book, which is a prequel telling the story of Judith Prendergast. I’m curious if she was really as bad as the villagers say she was, and what her thoughts and motivations were.
Overall, I liked this book. None of the negatives I mentioned were big problems, so I decided to rate it 4 out of 5 stars. If you’re looking for a scarier and more intense paranormal book, then this isn’t for you. But if you prefer more character-focused paranormal stories, then definitely give it a read.
Current price through amazon Kindle: $0.99
Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JC69RZD
(I do not benefit from the use of this link.)