The Unquiet Spirit

A new beginning. A house with a past. A man with secrets.

It was a dream come true…that turned into a nightmare.

Kate Wilson thinks moving back to Cornwall might be the answer to her prayers. But it isn’t long before she begins to have doubts. Is the house she inherited from her godmother haunted? Or is she going out of her mind? With a stalker, threats, and attempted break-ins, Kate’s troubles multiply.

Then there’s her enigmatic neighbour, the brooding Tom Carbis; a man with secrets he doesn’t wish to share. Can she trust him when he says he wants to help?

In her quest to unravel the mysteries surrounding her, will Kate uncover more than she bargains for?

Set in beautiful Cornwall, The Unquiet Spirit is a gripping suspense with paranormal and romantic elements. Fans of Barbara Erskine will enjoy this tale.

Purchase Links – getbook.at/theunquietspirit

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

Extract

Dr Kate Wilson has unexpectedly inherited a house in Cornwall from her recently deceased godmother, Win. Because her private life has gone wrong, Kate has decided to make a fresh start, and leaving Oxford and moving down to Cornwall seems to be the ideal solution. We meet her on her journey to Cornwall as she remembers her last meeting with Win.

It was good to be finally on the move, but Monday morning was definitely not the best time to travel. Kate’s knuckles clenched round the steering wheel. Whose idea was it for so many roadworks to take place at the start of the holiday season? she asked herself. She should’ve waited until rush hour was over, but impatience had triumphed over common sense. The miles crawled by. Two hours later, and not a minute too soon, the sign for the exit she needed came into view. Kate exhaled a breath of relief. At last she could leave the motorway behind, taking the A30 and skirting the top of Dartmoor. Crossing the Tamar before Launceston, her shoulders relaxed. She was home.

Cornish by birth, Kate and her family had moved to Oxfordshire when she was still a baby. Her parents had brought her back each year to visit grandparents and of course, Mum’s dearest friend, Auntie Win, Kate’s godmother. Win wasn’t really her aunt, but Kate had always called her that. She’d always felt close to the diminutive, intelligent woman who’d spoiled her rotten whenever she’d stayed with her. It was Win who’d encouraged Kate to follow her dream of studying history, when her parents – both scientists – had wanted her to have a more ‘useful’ degree.

Kate had last spoken to her godmother at Christmas, when Win had come to stay with Kate’s parents at their home in Burford. Her mum and dad had gone to bed, leaving Kate and Win alone in the living room. It was past midnight, and the sound of late-night revellers singing tuneless carols as they returned from the pub could be heard in the distance. The twinkling of the Christmas tree lights gave the room a magical glow.

“No young man to celebrate Christmas with, then?” asked Win, a wicked gleam in her eye.

Kate chuckled. “’Fraid not… Not that I’d neglect family at Christmas. Men are too much trouble anyway.” She sipped her gin and tonic, enjoying the tang and feeling of warmth as it went down her throat. It soothed the lingering bitterness of her last break-up. Robin had certainly been too much trouble. She silently wished him a miserable Christmas, hoping his wife was giving him a hell of a time. He deserved it. She would never have got involved if she’d known he was married – his divorce just another of his fabrications. She wondered how long it would be before she could trust someone again.

Win sipped her whisky and gave Kate a speculative look.

“You should come down to Falmouth. Help me with a bit of research if you’re at a loose end. I think it would be just up your street.”

“Oh? What’s that then?” Kate’s interest was piqued, despite her inner gloom.

Win’s mouth pursed. “I’m not going gaga, but I’m sure…well, I’m almost sure that The Beeches is haunted.”