Whispers of the Dead

by Anthony Hulse

Oliver Sangster is no ordinary man. As a renowned psychic, he deems his ability as a curse, rather than a gift. This incredible man foresaw catastrophic incidents such as 9/11, Chernobyl, Hurricane Katrina, the Tokyo gas attack, and many others. His notoriety in contacting the dead prompts police forces to utilise his skills, but the latest investigation into a murdered girl has tragic consequences. Professor Ferris-Browne is a sceptic and member of CSI, an organisation for debunking psychics. His obsession with denouncing Sangster as a fake leads to the psychic losing his wife and family, and his income from his shows. This book explores instances of spooky séances, hauntings, and the possibility that spirits do exist. A frightening, yet compulsive read!

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Mystery Thriller

206 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 20, 2014

About the author

I am an author and live in the north east of England. After working thirty-two years as a steelworker, I retired early to concentrate on writing. I have been writing approximately eighteen years and have written and published thirty-four novels and over fifty short stories. My main genre is psychological thrillers and horror, but I have published a biography of a late friend and a war novel concerning the Holocaust.
My impatience with the mainstream publishers and my former publishers folding prompted me to self publish. i have rewritten and republished my books with KDP in 2022 and 2023. When purchasing, I would advise the latter editions. I appreciate all feedback. Thank you.

Reviews

[Joni Martins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review

Basic Details:
Book Title: Whispers of the Dead
Subtitle:
Author: Anthony Hulse
Genre: Horror
Part of a series? No
Order in series:
Best read after earlier books in series?
Available: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Overall score:
I scored this book 4/5
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Short Summary of the book:
When your gift isn’t a gift but a curse. Oliver Sangster loses his family and career when a sceptic pulls out the stops to prove he’s a fake. But when a murder case falls into his lap and he receives messages from beyond, what will he do and what will it cost him?
What I liked about the book:
The book is action-packed, and full of suspense.
What I didn’t like about the book:
I enjoyed the entire book.
My favourite bits in the book:
I enjoyed the entire book.
My least favourite bits in the book:
The book was enjoyable in its entirety.
Any further books in the series? Any more planned by this author?
This is the first book I’ve read by this author, and I look forward to reading more.
What books could this be compared to and why?
This is a horror story with a paranormal touch.
Recommendation:
In summary, I would recommend this book for the following readers:

Children No
Young Adult Maybe
Adult Yes

If you like horror, this book may be the book for you.
I look forward to reading more by this author.
Book Description by Author:
Oliver Sangster is no ordinary man. As a renowned psychic, he deems his ability as a curse, rather than a gift. This incredible man foresaw catastrophic incidents such as 9/11, Chernobyl, Hurricane Katrina, the Tokyo gas attack, and many others. His notoriety in contacting the dead prompts police forces to utilise his skills, but the latest investigation into a murdered girl has tragic consequences. Professor Ferris-Browne is a sceptic and member of CSI, an organisation for debunking psychics. His obsession with denouncing Sangster as a fake leads to the psychic losing his wife and family, and his income from his shows. This book explores instances of spooky séances, hauntings, and the possibility that spirits do exist. A frightening, yet compulsive read!
About the Author:

[E.M.G. Wixley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Renowned psychic, Oliver Sangster’s life is in turmoil. The gifted man can allegedly see future disasters and is in great demand by relatives of missing victims, but is he a fake? Professor Ferris-Browne, a member of a group that denounces sham psychics is infatuated with Sangster. The psychic becomes emotionally and romantically involved with a series of murders, but are his visions genuine?
This book explores the world of the paranormal, including frightening séances, haunting, and murder. A guaranteed page-turner with a surprising ending. A wonderful read!

[Tom Leverett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the best books I've read all year, for several reasons. First, I like this author's style and sense of humor. Second, the plot is well made and takes you interesting places. And third, setting the guy who debunks psychics against the psychic is itself interesting, as if they personify the dilemma of those of us who are trying to decide whether to believe or not. One premise is that the power if it exists is a kind of curse, because he is unable to undo the bad things he predicts. Makes you wonder.

[Tom Elder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anthony Hulse. Scary.
WHISPERS OF THE DEAD.
Oliver Sangster is a very well known psychic who predicted if you believe 9/11, Chernobyl among other events. He's best known for contacting the dead, so as you can imagine there are people who do and those who don't believe in his "talent". He now helps the police in the search for missing persons. You may find this book a bit scary but you will want to read it to the end. Highly recommended.
5* 03 August 2015.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved everything about this book and the author, new to me. Whispers of the Dead by Anthony Hulse is a favorite genre of mine, horror with psychics and detectives in the northern part of England, a place I have travelled to. Yes I loved it all, except the ending. I hope someone can please explain it to me!

[Susan Tarr · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are interested in psychic phenomena, you will not be disappointed. One man follows his calling only have another man attempt to destroy it all.

[Viola · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm honestly puzzled looking at all the rave reviews and ratings.

This book was primarily boring to me.

Granted, the MC has paranormal powers and sees ghosts and visions, but as reader we never get to experience those. Everything happens off-camera, so to say.
Example: Imagine waking up to the gory sight of a murdered woman talking to you and coming closer. That's pretty scary, right? No.
We get told there was just the ghost of an abused woman standing next to the bed and vanishing again and how shaken Oliver feels now, because that apparently had happened, but we get thrown into the scene long after the fact.

This is the prefered method throughout the book. We get told what Oliver saw or didn't see, but we're never present when the cool stuff happens or only witness it through the eyes of an bystander like his girlfriend.

Then there are some clichéd characters like the hot blond woman to have sex with, the bad cop who's powerless in the face of circumstancial evidence and riles vigilantes up to kill the pedophile etc.

There are also a huge amount of chapters in the POV of an sceptic in regards to all things paranormal which annoyed me. I wanted to read this story, because I was promised scary supernatural activities, not an old man who doesn't believe in mediums and shoves his opinion in everyone's face via page-long monologues.

[Lucas W Mayberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sangster is a psychic. With a lot of people determined to prove he is a fake he very well might be the real deal. After helping the police find missing people and seemingly able to predict major disasters there doesn’t seem to be any doubt about it. Beth one of the detectives investigating the cases that Sangster helps with seems to think so. But she finds herself strangely drawn to the man who some call an enigma. The two of them develop a passionate relationship but it may cause Beth to put her career and sanity at stake. This is an entertaining read with some neat little twists and turns that I can guarantee you won’t see coming. And it might just change your mind about the supernatural.

[Art the Turtle of Amazing Girth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.42

part of my read indy authors project

just middle of the ground

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Not quite sure if it was poor character development or poor plot development that made me give this 3 stars. The concept of the book is awesome but it seems like more than 200 pages are needed to make a story like this work.

[Bernie Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this.