A Plethora of Phantoms by Penny Hampson #BlogTour

 

"THUD, thud, THUD, thud...

The uneven footsteps he'd heard the night before. A sense of sadness and desolation seemed to fill the room. With the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end, Freddie slid into a sitting position and fumbled for the bedside light. The footsteps stopped and the feeling of dreadful misery departed.

"Who's there?" Freddie whispered into the darkness, He held his breath and waited.

Nothing".

"I must say, I've found this whole thing fascinating. You certainly seem to have a plethora of phantoms here at Lanyon Park".

A Plethora of Phantoms by Penny Hampson is a haunting tale about the everlasting power of love. It is an engaging mystery with ghostly shenanigans, and a huge dose of romance.

After several years working in the City, Freddie Lanyon, son of an earl, returns to his family home "to learn the ropes of running the estate" and help his father. On the outside, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and has it all: a grand stately home of his parents, a privileged upbringing, a loving family, and don't forget his good looks too. However, he is deeply unhappy, being in denial about his sexuality.

"The truth was that, out of fear of the consequences, he'd avoided being honest with everyone, and importantly, himself for years. Why couldn't he be brave?"

He's lacking confidence and believes his parents might not be understanging. As a child, Freddie had a horrible time at school, being bullied by the nasty kids, and has learnt to hide his true feelings from everyone including himself.

Freddie has always being able to see the spirits. Living in the old manor house, he can see and sense the ghosts from the past of Lanyon Park. That's another side of his personality that he hides from his parents. When jokingly mentioning the ghosts in the house, he's met with a dismissive remark from Charles, his father, "Ghosts? What nonsense, no such thing."

Practical Charles even comments, "If there is a ghost, perhaps we can use the fact in our marketing for the open weeks. I don't believe in all that nonsense myself, but there's nothing like a bit of the supernartural to draw the punters in, and we could certainly do with the income".

An antique gentleman's dressing case is Freddie's new prized possession. What Freddie doesn't know is that the dressing case brings along an unhappy spirit attached to it. His latest acquisition triggers a disturbing poltergeist activity. Every night he's awakened by an anguished spirit.

It appears nobody else in the family is bothered by the fretful spirit of the dressing case or the in-house ghosts. It's either that, or they don't want to confess to seeing things.

Meeting an antique dealer Marcus Spender is a momentous event in Freddie's life. Finally there's someone who understands him and who has the same psychic abilities. There is an immediate spark between Freddie and Marcus. 

They decide to investigate the origins of the dressing case, and find out as much as possible about its previous owners. Their search brings them to Cornwall. The manor house where they read the old housekeeping accounts, unsettles Freddie, he finds it really oppressive. He is compelled to uncover the secret of the desolate phantom and the cause of its grief.

Marcus is a bit more sceptical about the whole mystery. He is also trying to persuade Freddie that he needs to be open with his family about his sexuality. 

The quest to find answers about the dressing case turns into a test of their growing relationship.

Will the restless spirit be laid to rest for good? And will Freddie finally come out to his family and friends, and be true to himself?

A Plethora of Phantoms is a charming and enjoyable mystery/ghost story, with a lovely main character, and a gripping and skilfully tangled plotline. There's more than one mystery to solve, and the characters that you really care about.

The story is pacy and engaging, with a supernatural chill. It has a little bit of everything - a modern romance, a doomed past love, dramatic history, unhappy ghosts, and a wonderful setting. There is plenty of tension and suspence as Freddie and Marcus follow the leads to try to untangle the mystery of the grieving phantom.

A couple of years ago I reviewed The Unquiet Spirit, and was pleased to meet some of the characters from that ghost story making their appearance in A Plethora of Phantoms.

Purchase Link  - http://mybook.to/plethoraofphantoms

This post is part of the blog tour for A Plethora of Phantoms.

Many thanks to Penny Hampson and Rachel's Random Resources for my e-copy of the book!

Author Bio – Some time ago Penny Hampson decided to follow her passion for history by studying with the Open University. She graduated with honours and went on to complete a post-graduate degree.

Penny then landed her dream role, working in an environment where she was surrounded by rare books and historical manuscripts. Flash forward nineteen years, and the opportunity came along to indulge her other main passion – writing. Penny joined the New Writers’ Scheme of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and  three years later published her debut novel, A Gentleman’s Promise, a  historical mystery/romance. Other books in the same genre soon followed.

But never happy in a rut, Penny also writes contemporary suspense with paranormal and romantic elements. Her first book in this genre is The Unquiet Spirit, published by Darkstroke.

Penny lives with her family in Oxfordshire, and when she is not writing, she enjoys reading, walking, swimming, and the odd gin and tonic (not all at the same time).

For more on Penny’s writing, visit her blog: https://pennyhampson.co.uk/blog/

Twitter: @penny_hampson

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pennyhampsonauthor