The Patchwork House By Richard Salter

Maxine (Booklover Catlady)

I am in the process of re-sharing great books I read years ago. This is one of them…

Remember watching a scary, creepy movie with the cushion ready to hide behind as the music builds and you say to your friend 'has it gone now?' and your trusted friend says 'yes, all safe to look now' and as you pull the cushion away you see the very moment you were scared to see? So you throw the cushion at your friend, but you are still scared enough to ask said friend to go to the bathroom with you and wait outside (you are 40 years of age). This book is like that.

I loved this book, because Richard Salter has captured the true atmosphere of underlying terror you need in a good ghost story. You BECOME the characters, you feel their hearts pounding, sweat on the brow, adrenalin pumping and wish you had been grown up enough to right a will.

How do you escape an entity who can manipulate time itself?

Accompanied by his American girlfriend Beth, British ex-pat James Randal has come home to assess his father’s latest real estate venture. The house at Binsham Park is an enigma of patchwork architecture from various eras, nestled in the remote Herefordshire countryside.

And it is haunted.

Having invited James’s old school friend Derek and his wife Chloe to join them, both couples prepare for two days of ghostly adventure and excitement.

But something is waiting for them inside The Patchwork House. Something so terrifying it will push James and his friends beyond the limits of sanity.

This is a true page turner.

I had to read it in one sitting, don't be mistaken that this is a gory horror book, it's not. It's about a very unique haunted house that has the most incredible power to manipulate life or death built within it.

Each character is unique and we see their true colours both in group settings and as they get isolated from each other in the house, the ghosts are up to tricks and have every desire to mess with their heads, relationships and concepts of reality. Mind bending, time twisting.

Some of the scenes are hide behind the cushion moments, but so well done. The author has written a book that would be awesome to read out loud around a campfire in a remote location. Everyone would have full bladders through fear of leaving the safety of the group.

The plot is taut and terrifying, it builds up in energy and sucks you into starting to work out what is actually going on in this house, then you have to work out which of the character are above board. Nothing is clear, it's smoke and mirrors, and I LOVE Richard Salter's imagination, it's a hell of a story to come up with, very clever indeed.

I am not giving much more away but watch for moving furniture, dark things in the corridor, time not being what it seems, deadly deception, and ghostly anger and power. These four are going to wish they had never set foot in this large hours.

The question is do any of them get out again? The ending is spectacular and I was riveted for every bit of it.

A great book, recommended to anyone that can read, it's on Maxine's Favourites List, which is a sacred space to end up. Well done Richard, you wrote an absolute gem with this one. I would love to see a sequel and some visits back to the house. I shall bring my cushion.

I requested a copy of this fine book from the author as basically I really wanted to read it, new fan here! Thanks Richard for the book and the opportunity to review it.

I could see this book as a brilliant movie or TV Miniseries - someone needs to get on to that.

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Jemma

Picture the scene; an old creepy mansion without electricity, an endless night trapped in time, four people who can’t seem to stick together…

‘The Patchwork House’ isn’t just your run of the mill spooky story; it is a terrifying journey which contains time travel, insanity and a healthy dose of revenge. James and his girlfriend Beth have gone to stay in his father’s newest investment; a huge country house in Herefordshire, which is said to be haunted. Despite this, they have invited an old friend, Derek, and his wife Chloe, to stay with them. Whilst the foursome naïvely joke about ghostly entities, the night soon turns from laughter to screaming as that bump in the night becomes something so much more sinister…

This is an unnerving book taken straight from a horror-film script – it is packed full of jumps and terrifying moments. And I am not just referring to cheap scares, but a genuinely disturbing psychological element which is constantly in play. The time travel component which the author introduces to us is innovative and scary, and crops up when you least expect it. The laws of physics don’t apply to this house, and conventional means of escape are out; it is both thrilling and unnerving experiencing this first hand from our narrator, James. James’s laidback narrative possesses a unique kind of familiarity with the reader from the onset. Not only does this make easy reading, it tricks the reader into relaxing when in reality it is a decoy for the sinister things which await us in this book.

The viscous effect of claustrophobia is forever present whilst reading, and it’s easy to immerse yourself in the trauma the characters are suffering. Saying this, I did find that the characters lacked a certain depth, though they were fairly realistic for what we were shown of them. I do believe this is because the focus was more on their reactions to the predicament they were trapped in and the fact that we see everything through our biased narrator’s eyes.

A fair warning; to harmonise with this book you must accept the existence of (fictional) ghosts as you accept that the sky is blue. There is little to no speculation from the characters on whether the paranormal exists, and if you were looking for a subtle entrance to the supernatural world, it isn’t there.

I also did find that the plot does get slightly unfocused in the middle of the book due to the vast amount of speculating, and for this reason only I have deducted a star in my rating. I found I was concentrating more on unravelling the story and this removed the scare factor for me temporarily – though the creepiness is eased back in as you continue the book and I thought the end was pretty amazing.

I would love to read more from this author, I think this story really encompasses the kind of spine-chilling ghost stories that keep you awake in the dark, seeing things lurking in the shadows. I can say without hesitation that you should read this book; under one condition. Make sure you have a night light.

Leah Polcar

I was pleasantly surprised to find I really really liked this book. I am sucker for haunted house stories, so there was no way I could pass up The Patchwork House , but given that the genre is mostly played out (especially those featuring ghost hunters), I did not have high expectations. However, Salter surprised me. First, these are non-traditional ghost hunters in that they aren't ghost hunters at all. Instead we have some relatively normal folks wanting to see a ghost and playing ghost hunters. Second, there is actually some explanation here for the haunting. Albeit, it was pretty weird (though creative) and not fully explained, yet it was still nice to have something to hang on to.

The bad bits involved a main character complaining constantly about not being brave -- yeah, yeah, we get it already -- and the lack of full explanation of the source of the haunting .

As a side-note for those looking for something terrifying: I didn't find it particularly scary, but I am pretty sure it is hard to scare me any longer. Yet, for the less callused, there are some frightening moments here.

Overall, if you are a fan of the haunted house/ghost/supernatural genre, this is a must read. If you are looking for something creepy, and you haven't developed a thick skin, you will probably find this disturbing (but not all out horror-type genre gross). Decent writing, pretty good plotting, and something a bit more than you average ghost story -- recommended.

Tim

Proper creepy! Richard has tapped into a murky mine of suppressed memories in the characters of this haunted house novel. Darkness fills the pages, the meagre sources of light only illuminating things you'd be far better off not seeing. The time travelling house pushes the characters, and this reader, with ominous and foreboding flashes of things to come, and unsettling moving/removing of personal affects. Combined with a poltergeist who likes to throw their weight around too, this is a sinister and gruesome read.

The first person perspective is very immersive and I liked the way the book had been divided into 3 sections called Truth, Half Truth, and Lies. I hope the author has plenty more where that came from.

Hal Bodner

I understand that THE PATCHWORK HOUSE is author Richard Salter's first novel. If my information is correct, Salter has come out of the starting gate with a bang.

Salter has taken the traditional haunted house trope, the age-old chestnut concerning a group of people trapped in a house for a certain amount of time, and cleverly tinted it with just enough of science fiction element to create something truly interesting and unique. The ghostly entity in THE PATCHWORK HOUSE can manipulate time to its own ends--and its ends are not pleasant ones.

The key to the temporal distortion in Salter's fictional haunted house is a large clock in the basement. At first, I feared that the time travel elements would rapidly become confusing. Novels that rely on temporal dissonance as a fundamental plot element must balance a tremendous burden so as not to descend into the confusing plot lines which cause the reader to regret not having a degree in mathematical theory. Few authors are as skilled as, say, Tanya Huff who brilliantly pull off the technique in SMOKE AND MIRRORS to produce a deliciously fun result.

Salter avoids the trap but, in truth, he had me concerned for awhile. His main character starts out with an uncomfortably complicated theory as to how the clock works and how it might be manipulated. When some of the other characters begin figuring out the "when" of their location by means of whether Chinese take out boxes have been disposed of, whether crumbs have been swept from a table, and whether a certain window has been broken, I cringed not a little. But the author quickly and wisely abandons any attempts to provide confusing exposition about how the "monster" works, allowing the reader to get the general idea and then discarding the details in favor of solid story telling.

And the adventure of the thing, the "hero's journey" (to use a high-falutin' literary term) is a hoot, a maliciously macabre amusement park ride of a story that never fails to keep the reader interested and wondering what will come next.

True, the novel has problems, as most first novels do. I found the "haunts" lacked more than cursory background; if you're going to have a few ghosts wandering around the premises, you might as well ease the reader's frustrated curiosity and tell us a little bit about who they were in life and how they got there. This, Salter largely neglects to do other than by means of some cursory snippets of information. It's a pity as, I think, having that information would have added even more to the overall fun of the story.

There are also times when certain scenes become confusing as to which character is speaking and what is actually going on. Oddly, because Salter's characters are generally extremely well-crafted, there is a distinct lack of individual "voices" in certain dialogue heavy scenes. An interlude where three characters temporarily escape the haunted house and take refuge in a caretaker's cottage where the encounter yet another ghost strikes me as a prime example.

Largely, however, Salter keeps up the pace. And if some characters reach conclusions about what's going on as if they've pulled them out of thin air, it doesn't really matter. The novel is structured more like a "puzzle" horror story than a "frights and scares" piece. The fun in is the journey and, if some of the cobblestones on the road are a bit wobbly, we've already passed them by and stepped onto the next one before we really notice that we've been off balance.

Not that Salter doesn't have a talent for horror. He does. Many truly nasty elements are present in THE PATCHWORK HOUSE. But, unlike certain other authors, his strength isn't in creating any lasting, penetrating horrific images or a deep emotional impact. Instead, Salter excels at the story telling and, though it's patchy at times, in the end he spins his tale with an consummate skill I'd not have expected to find except from the keyboard of a far more seasoned novelist.

Interestingly, while reading THE PATCHWORK HOUSE, I could not help reflecting whether or not this author's skills might be better showcased in the mystery genre. Salter strikes me as the kind of author who might find himself highly suited to crafting intriguing and complex mysteries. But, that is for him to pursue if he will.

In the mean time, I can certainly recommend THE PATCHWORK HOUSE. You'll want to read it on a cold night with the lights turned low. It's just that kind of novel.

Megan Moore

Seriously spooky and lots of fun! The Patchwork House is a classic haunted house story with an inventive twist. All the classic horror tropes are there, but turned around so you never know quite what to expect. Even the smallest moments, like the disordered ticking of a clock, manage to be very eerie. As for the big moments, well... Expect some of the most disturbing images from the story to stick with you for a while.

There are plenty of great twists and a-ha! moments that keep things fresh and exciting, even once you start to get a good idea of where the plot is going. If you manage to figure out some of the details, there are lots of surprises in store. The time travel aspect is used to full effect, and putting the pieces of this massive puzzle together is one of the most entertaining aspects of the read.

The narrator's wit is spot on, and leads to several laugh-out-loud funny moments that give you a (very) momentary respite from the sheer horror of his situation. In fact, all the characters are pretty likeable – or at the very least, relatable – and it's nice to see a group of characters in horror who are actually decently smart. (Too bad for them their smart decisions get them pretty much nowhere.)

The ending was unsettling yet satisfying, and I get the feeling that it'll be just as enjoyable to reread the story later now that I know how the various plot threads and time travel weirdness fit together.

Toni Rakestraw

I love a good psychological ghost story, and Richard Salter has done this one right. The setting is an old English house already reputed to be haunted, and like every good ghost story, our main characters decide to spend the night. What happens next, however, kept me riveted, turning pages, my heart racing. I loved the first person narrative... it put me in the thick of the darkness and fear. I could only see what the characters saw; could only feel what they felt. There was no respite.

I also loved the references to a certain popular sci-fi show I happen to love. It made the characters that much more real to me, that they had links to my world.

My verdict: Well-written, enjoyable, and absolutely horrifying. Richard, please write more of these. :)

Carson Maynard

It's been a while since I've read a book that was an honest-to-goodness compulsive page turner. My plan was to dip into The Patchwork House over at least a week of lunch hours; unfortunately for me, that plan only lasted one day. I was so hooked by the end of the first hour that, as soon as I left work, I planted myself in a coffee shop for three hours and polished off the remainder. (Now what am I gonna read tomorrow?)

I suspect that my enthusiasm for the novel comes down to two main factors. First, I'm a sucker for a good haunted-house story (or even a bad haunted-house story!) because the setting invariably creates an engrossing atmosphere. Dark corridors, candlelight, mysterious noises, inexplicably moving objects: all these are part of The Patchwork House, and its carefully-detailed ambience is definitely one of the novel's strengths.

Second, The Patchwork House is a good haunted-house story, and by "good", I mean "scary enough that I wouldn't want to read it alone at night." Some of the most frightening scenes are described so vividly that you could easily picture how they would translate to a film or video game. The Patchwork House capitalizes — as, indeed, does much of the supernatural horror genre, like The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity — on the unsettling feeling that you're being watched by a malevolent entity that wants you to know it's there. It wasn't so hard to resist looking over my shoulder in a brightly-lit coffee shop, but if I'd been at home with most of the lights out, I'd have been jumpy. For me, the story scored extra points because it also evoked several other works of slowly-mounting tension that I really like: Sapphire & Steel (the titular 'patchwork house' with its architecture from different time periods, and the idea of time being flexible and wielded as a weapon), Cube (shifting rooms that threaten to separate the protagonists), and just a whiff of The Stone Tape (residual hauntings, and the intersection of paranormal phenomena and modern-day technology). The story's central idea, however, is very much original.

What sets this novel apart from others in the genre is the time-shifting potential of the plot — the blurb promises "something so powerful it can move pieces of the house back and forth through time at will" — and these dislocations are utilized to excellent dramatic effect. The Patchwork House is one of those novels that probably required the author to make a flowchart of events (and given how free of plot holes it is, I suspect he did). As Steven Moffat might say, it's timey-wimey. While this could have made the narrative confusing at times, I never found it difficult to follow because of the clarity with which Salter guides the reader through the plot. (I probably have that Sapphire & Steel vibe to thank for the fact that I didn't find myself wondering how such temporal shenanigans were even possible. I know the rules already, and this novel fits them perfectly.) Salter also demonstrates a talent for laying out foreshadowing that doesn't feel like foreshadowing until it later becomes relevant. Even small details, including character-illuminating dialogue, take on greater significance as the novel progresses.

The plot moves quickly, landing the main characters in trouble by page 24. Once the eerie goings-on get going on, the frights don't let up until the story's end, ensuring that this reader, at least, spent the majority of the book on edge. The increasing sense of panic is partly due to the way Salter sets up the story, with the house being unusually isolated and off-the-grid to begin with, so as the protagonists' resources are rapidly stripped further and further away, their sense of security, however false, plummets with it. The storyline includes several twists that took me completely by surprise (which, admittedly, isn't terribly difficult; I'm a gullible one!) and is rounded out by some unexpectedly poignant emotional scenes.

To my delight, The Patchwork House is just as much character-centric drama as it is horror story. The protagonists all come across as genuine and complex people, motivated by their individual obsessions and insecurities. They talk like real people, too, which makes for some very entertaining dialogue. (I particularly related to outgoing, optimistic Chloe. The author, I feel sure, would not be surprised to learn that she was eventually played in my head by a plump blonde Bonnie Langford.) Mind you, they're in an unbelievably stressful situation, which does tend to bring out the worst in them all, but three of them are likeable to varying degrees. (The fourth, withdrawn and apparently harboring secrets, is just plain intriguing, but even if you don't find him likeable, he's certainly sympathetic.) This is especially true in the case of the lead, Jim Randal, who has the opportunity for some real character growth as his less pleasant — yet often relatable — personality traits become gradually apparent. I found it particularly refreshing that the characters aren't your typical "slaves to the plot" of a horror film. These people have seen horror films, and they know what clichés to expect, and that knowledge consistently (and intelligently) drives their behavior. You're never tempted to shout "Don't go in there, you idiot!" at the book, because chances are, the character in question is already thinking the same thing.

The last time I read a haunted-house novel, I remember thinking that the story was so engaging that the only thing that could let it down would be the ending. Naturally, the ending let it down. This time, I had the exact same feeling about halfway through the book, and I was really pleased when — thanks largely to the author's meticulous plotting skills — I found the resolution to be satisfying. There's a certain category of ending that often lets the wind out of the sails of a paranormal horror story, at least in my opinion, and The Patchwork House neatly avoids it. I did have a moment, early on, of thinking "I hope X isn't behind it all" and actually it kind of was X, but given just the right twist to negate any objection I might have had.

I very much hope that this first novel leads to further books by Salter. For now, I'm off to buy a couple more copies of The Patchwork House for friends.

Stephanie

When I read the synopsis, I really thought this book might have a bit too much going on. It just seemed like there might be an element or two too many. Everything came together, though, and I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of chaos and confusion in the writing itself.

Beyond the writing, there was no shortage of chaos and confusion. This is written in such a way, that you don't just read what the characters are going through, you go through it with them –so, yes, chaos and confusion everywhere! Even after several “a-ha!” moments, I was still as lost and fumbling in the dark, trying to figure out if I was right or how it would work –could it work? Just like the characters, I had no way of knowing until the moment when it'd be too late to change anything.

The time-travel was a spot of concern for me, but I love the way it was done. It wasn't always the easiest to keep track of (which just made the book come to life even more), but it also wasn't done in any way that I could have predicted. It really was done with quite a stroke of genius.

The haunting part is … haunting. My mind must have changed about a hundred times in reference to the “evil entity,” which was just plain spooky as I was left depending on the characters to put it together with me as, one by one, my theories were shot down.

The characters are real. They are likable and unlikable –often at the same exact time. They do some “stupid” things. They formulate plans. They react without a plan. They hate. They love. All around, they are just very human -even the ones that are not so human.

All around, I loved reading this book. It truly did come to life and may or may not have given me a fear of the dark.

Hannah

Well, I was put onto this book by Lovely Maxine Groves ( check our her reviews shes awesome *shameless plug* ) I usually avoid recommended films because they get talked up so much and then i read them and i'm all 'well that's a waste of a tree' this however, did not invoke this reaction!
So basically, our young hero and his missus are looking at a large house because his father has bought it to flip ( for more flipping houses related books please refer to my other reviews ) upon entering the house they discover its a patchwork of different building styles, as the house has been added too but the crazy previous owners didnt feel the need to do the house value a solid and keep the house the same style ( hashtag side rant ) and then all crazy time wiggly hauntiness ( probably not a real word ) starts happening, although the ghost tidies the kitchen after them so im considering trying to contact the ghost myself, anyway enough crazy ramblings of the Cardiff girl,

I rated this 4* as I thought it could be a little scarier, but then I am EXTREMELY desensitized and it could be a little longer. but all in all a really good story I would highly recommend, Rush to amazon people!!!

Jessica

Other than a few times the characters did things I found goofy/stupid, I really enjoyed this book! It would make a great movie. :)

Vicki

I really liked this book! I enjoyed the characters and the plot. It would make a good movie (other then having to work in the total darkness for filming!)!

Tarbuckle

For a genre that truly has been milked from nigh every angle, pretty damn good—Salter's first novel is the very embodiment of a page-turner, which, IMO, is about as high a praise for a ghost story as one can bestow. The writing is solid, the characters believable (and unlikable in crucial ways if they're sporting balls), the atmosphere chilling and creepy. If the central conceit of the five-faced wine cellar clock is a tad deus ex machina in essence, well, what the hell. I thoroughly enjoyed this, and even with certain fates voluntarily telegraphed by the author, and the ghostly pentad self-solved premature to narrative revelation (again a testament to Salter, as the plot gets you thinking along with the characters about their benighted conundrum), this is spookily entertaining, well-paced stuff. Not at the level of Jackson or Aickman or James—but, then again, precious few are, and it comes close enough.

Elisa

At first, this book may sound like many others involving a haunted house. A rich kid goes to inspect a mansion that his father bought as an investment. He brings his girlfriend, an old friend and his wife. There is a first departure from other novels, as the house at Bingham Park is a patchwork of different architectural styles. The descriptions are fantastic and it made me want to visit. Until... things go bump in the night. Very creepy occurrences start making the characters nervous. A malignant entity toys with them, like a cat with a mouse. And then... the story really takes off and The Patchwork House stands apart from other novels when Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey stuff starts happening (mild spoiler alert for Whovians). Richard Salter has actually written a Doctor Who anthology so he knows how to weave the plot to make your head hurt thinking about it. The twists and turns will keep unraveling in my head for a long time. What an enjoyable read!

Mary Snaddon

I started off loving this and was absolutely petrified. However then I got a bit confused with it all as I often do when "time travel" is involved. I never know if it's today, tomorrow or yesterday. To be really honest I was disappointed with it.

Glynis

I really enjoyed this novel and stayed up far too late reading it. There were a couple of bits that I found confusing but on the whole it had me looking under the bed for the entity and that grandmother clock I have is now banished to the bottom of the garden.

Irene

It was certainly a page turner with plenty of action. Very creepy & definitely one of the better ghost stories. I loved it & I'm not easily pleased!

Steve Sprange

No perseverance needed in reading this book, story and characters flowed from beginning to end. Very good debut, look forward to more of this authors work.

Sara

A really creepy ghost story, although I didn't find most of the characters likable.

Becky

It moved at a good pace but it lost me when it moved from haunted house story to malevolent ghost time travel story.

Title	:	The Patchwork House
Author	:	Richard Salter
Rating	:
ISBN	:	1938644220
ISBN-10	:	9781938644221
Language	:	English
Format Type	:	Paperback
Number of Pages	:	236
Publication	:	First published December 9, 2014

The Patchwork House by Richard Salter

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