Warning contains spoilers.
I love a good ghost story, however this was not it! The story was not at all scary or even slightly spooky. It didn't make a lot of sense at times and certain details did not seem to have been thoroughly thought out. For example, towards the end, when Sue was in hospital, the nurse was adamant that the brothy did not exist, yet this was not mentioned again. Did it not exist or not? Ending the story stating that it did not would have given it a twist and added some of the spooky detail that was lacking. There were also many occasions when Sue and/or Martin could have left the brothy but chose not to. How can you be terrified of a place, but still stay there when there are chances to leave? Especially if you fear for your life and don't trust the person you are with. This leads me onto the fact that the characters were not at all likeable and I could not relate to them. Maybe this was the author's intention, as you were immediately made to feel dislike towards Martin. But Sue was worse as she was so contradictive and I could not imagine many people putting themselves in this situation with somebody. Yes there are (unfortunately) lots of people in the world who are in abusive relationships, whether physical or not. Yet this was not an abusive relationship per say. Yes Martin had verbally and physically abused Sue once in the past, and she seemed to just block it out and carry on as if nothing had happened. But what was unbelievable was the fact that she was married to a man who bullied her, but she didn't want to 'rock the boat' and ask for a divorce because it was an inconvenience and would disrupt their lives. Afterall who would have the sofa? Or the fridge? It seemed that she was more concerned about splitting assets and finding a new flat than she was of the bullying and belittling she put up with on a daily basis. I wanted to slap some sense into her! I found that the more I continued with the book, the more I disliked both characters and the story as a whole. I only continued reading under the hope that it would improve. I therefore couldn't recommend this book to anyone. ( )