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The Curse of Clyffe House
It was supposed to be a holiday, time away whilst his friend and neighbour wrote a book about their last adventure. But as soon as Mister Jones arrives at the holiday cottage things start to go wrong, and waking up to find a skeleton in his bed is only the start. Terror stalks this cottage and before long Mister Jones discovers an ancient Evil is plotting to wreak devastation across the land; and it will start with his death.
Poison, fear and a horrific Shadow from long ago stand between their survival: can Mister Jones and his friend defeat the Curse of Clyffe House and live?
Praise for the Mister Jones Mysteries collection on Amazon:
‘I could not put the book down’
‘Creepy and unsettling’
‘Don’t read alone in the dark’
‘Sparsely told in a classic horror style’
‘A mad rush into danger that horror lovers will adore’
‘A classic, Dennis Wheatley feel’
‘Read it in one sitting’
‘Two days later, I can still remember every detail’
Poison, fear and a horrific Shadow from long ago stand between their survival: can Mister Jones and his friend defeat the Curse of Clyffe House and live?
Praise for the Mister Jones Mysteries collection on Amazon:
‘I could not put the book down’
‘Creepy and unsettling’
‘Don’t read alone in the dark’
‘Sparsely told in a classic horror style’
‘A mad rush into danger that horror lovers will adore’
‘A classic, Dennis Wheatley feel’
‘Read it in one sitting’
‘Two days later, I can still remember every detail’
172 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 20, 2016
2 people want to read
About the author
Will Macmillan Jones
53 books163 followersI'm a just sixty (honest) poet, novelist and oral storyteller working in the shadow of The Black Mountain, in the mist and myth haunted land of Wales. When not writing I'm usually lost (with the help of a GPS) on top of a mountain, looking for dragons. I haven't found one yet, but it's only a matter of time...
I'm a speculative fiction writer, with emphasis on horror, fantasy and now sci fi. I've also some pedigree in Flash Fiction, which is both challenging and tremendous fun to write - and maybe to read.
I'm a speculative fiction writer, with emphasis on horror, fantasy and now sci fi. I've also some pedigree in Flash Fiction, which is both challenging and tremendous fun to write - and maybe to read.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 19, 2016
Sheila, a neighbour of Mr Jones, the unwitting and unwilling participant in several previous supernatural tales, is writing a book. She has an urgent deadline and wants company at a remote holiday cottage near the South Wales Coastal Path. Eagerness makes her go but nervousness about being there alone makes her urge Mr Jones to accompany her. Cliffe House is a seriously unquiet dwelling.
I confess I would have left on the first night but Sheila and Jones, though scared, are made of sterner stuff. Eventually, Jones calls upon his friend Eric who comes to help. We get yet another tantalising peek behind the curtain of Eric's past. Take a remote cottage, a wild coastal path, a derelict farmhouse and a pre-historic hill fort and all the ingredients are there for a tale of unease. Welsh legend comes to life and the resultant battle is to the death. A very readable story indeed.
I confess I would have left on the first night but Sheila and Jones, though scared, are made of sterner stuff. Eventually, Jones calls upon his friend Eric who comes to help. We get yet another tantalising peek behind the curtain of Eric's past. Take a remote cottage, a wild coastal path, a derelict farmhouse and a pre-historic hill fort and all the ingredients are there for a tale of unease. Welsh legend comes to life and the resultant battle is to the death. A very readable story indeed.
September 5, 2022
Mister Jones is thrust (or fated) to experience more supernatural activity due to his neighbor/friend, Sheila. A writer, Sheila has a deadline to meet. To fully concentrate, She decides to escape to the countryside and invites Mister Jones to accompany her. By no means are they romantic partners. Mister Jones accepts because he believes that it will be a glorious holiday excursion; he gets to walk, enjoy the fresh air, and support his neighbor/friend. While this is supposed to be a relaxing trip, the stay at Clyffe House turns dismal. Of course, Mister Jones is prepared. He does not travel without his 'borrowed' silver sword.
Though this book is not lengthy, it is a tedious read. Scenes lingered for much too long and the consistent repetition read as filler or a means to figure out what should come next. It was not long before I kept highlighting all the areas that said the same thing. For example, on page 47 (Kindle version), "Her laptop was open on the coffee table, and none of the papers appeared disturbed, despite her rapid flight from the building. Understandably, she did not feel inclined to go back inside."
Then, on page 48, "..the front door was still open and she could see into the living room. Her papers were undisturbed, and she began to feel that she was being foolish, and worse, cowardly." Another instance appears on page 48, likely within the next paragraph or two. "Despite her having fled from the room in terror, the living room was tidy and her papers and the laptop undisturbed."
I wondered how this book received so many phenomenal reviews. Please know that I say this, not only due to the repetition but also because of the plot. Sheila is the main focus of what occurs in this story. It is not that Clyffe House has no eldritch presence. Something is amiss. But when Sheila commences snooping and ends up in the center of a ceremony, the whole point is due to another being's loneliness. Really? Children of the Corn had more operatives, and "He Who Walks Among The Rows" was formidable. The followers in this story are just rehashing something that their ancestors participated in years ago, especially when there were more of the creature they worship. In this case, the entity is weak and has ambitions that are borderline government conspiracy. Think in terms of 'how' COVID spread in Wuhan. And do not forget that his plans and reasoning for holding onto Sheila are just as ludicrous.
Based on this book's content, it is possible that Sheila and the author are synonymous. They are both writers who have deadlines to meet. In this case, Sheila's reasoning is that she is caught snooping and taken. Macmillan Jones, like Sheila, wanders and endures a consistent Groundhog Day before he gets to the point if one can call it that.
The first three books in this series are much better. You can afford to skip this one before proceeding to book 5.
Though this book is not lengthy, it is a tedious read. Scenes lingered for much too long and the consistent repetition read as filler or a means to figure out what should come next. It was not long before I kept highlighting all the areas that said the same thing. For example, on page 47 (Kindle version), "Her laptop was open on the coffee table, and none of the papers appeared disturbed, despite her rapid flight from the building. Understandably, she did not feel inclined to go back inside."
Then, on page 48, "..the front door was still open and she could see into the living room. Her papers were undisturbed, and she began to feel that she was being foolish, and worse, cowardly." Another instance appears on page 48, likely within the next paragraph or two. "Despite her having fled from the room in terror, the living room was tidy and her papers and the laptop undisturbed."
I wondered how this book received so many phenomenal reviews. Please know that I say this, not only due to the repetition but also because of the plot. Sheila is the main focus of what occurs in this story. It is not that Clyffe House has no eldritch presence. Something is amiss. But when Sheila commences snooping and ends up in the center of a ceremony, the whole point is due to another being's loneliness. Really? Children of the Corn had more operatives, and "He Who Walks Among The Rows" was formidable. The followers in this story are just rehashing something that their ancestors participated in years ago, especially when there were more of the creature they worship. In this case, the entity is weak and has ambitions that are borderline government conspiracy. Think in terms of 'how' COVID spread in Wuhan. And do not forget that his plans and reasoning for holding onto Sheila are just as ludicrous.
Based on this book's content, it is possible that Sheila and the author are synonymous. They are both writers who have deadlines to meet. In this case, Sheila's reasoning is that she is caught snooping and taken. Macmillan Jones, like Sheila, wanders and endures a consistent Groundhog Day before he gets to the point if one can call it that.
The first three books in this series are much better. You can afford to skip this one before proceeding to book 5.
July 23, 2017
Everything But the Haunted Kitchen Sink
This is the fourth in the series of Mr. Jones supernatural mysteries. I've read this one and the first and I think they're a hoot. If you are tired of "classic" ghost stories in which maybe the room temperature drops 2 degrees, or maybe there's a little girl peeking in the window, or maybe a "shadow" passes over someone's face, and if you want a ghost story that slaps you in the face every few pages, well this might be right up your alley.
The Jones books start off mildly. Mr. Jones visits his childhood home, or a neighbor buys a cursed antique thingy, or, as here, Mr. Jones goes on holiday to a remote cottage with a neighbor who wants some quiet company while she finishes writing a book. Then, some things go bump in the night, maybe there's a ghostly apparition, maybe the lights keep going off. But, once we've laid the classic groundwork, anything can happen. NO SPOILERS, BECAUSE I'M EXAGGERATING, but you might get aliens, demons, ancient gods, sea creatures, or any variation on some of the eldritch things that writers like Lovecraft would pull out of the Elder Days.
Now, anybody can write books like that. I just started one a paragraph ago. But, Will Jones brings a fair hand to the table. His Mr. Jones is both solid and respectable, and steady under duress, but also open minded to the unknown. How many mildly bemused but doughty middle aged men do you find as heroes in these sorts of books? Supporting characters, here the neighbor Sheila and later the investigator Eric, have some spunk. The scenes are always nicely set - here we're on the Welsh Coastal Path in a holiday cottage next to an abandoned creepy farm under the shadow of an ancient even creepier hill fort. This would be fun if all Jones did was walkabout at night on the Path in the fog looking for apparitions, (which, by the way, he does a lot). Heck, even listening to ghost stories in the local pub was fun.
It's usually about half way in that the author pulls out all the stops and goes epic. AGAIN, NO SPOILERS, but in this book the plot just keeps spinning out, (remember the ancient fort/barrow), until, as the book blurb says, Mr. Jones confronts an ancient evil intent on wreaking devastation, one bemused middle aged hero at a time.
Will Jones alternates chapters between his hero's first person account and a more traditional third person narrative. Instead of being annoying this makes the hero's travails more personal and immediate, and helps to sell the more outrageous aspects of the story. When you combine this with a generally unsettling atmosphere, a vaguely uneasy nod to Welsh legend and pre-history, derelict buildings, a remote location, and a cliff above a raging sea, well, that's a fine recipe for ghosty fun. Even when it's a bit over the top, and this book is unabashedly over the top, it's a ripping yarn.
This is the fourth in the series of Mr. Jones supernatural mysteries. I've read this one and the first and I think they're a hoot. If you are tired of "classic" ghost stories in which maybe the room temperature drops 2 degrees, or maybe there's a little girl peeking in the window, or maybe a "shadow" passes over someone's face, and if you want a ghost story that slaps you in the face every few pages, well this might be right up your alley.
The Jones books start off mildly. Mr. Jones visits his childhood home, or a neighbor buys a cursed antique thingy, or, as here, Mr. Jones goes on holiday to a remote cottage with a neighbor who wants some quiet company while she finishes writing a book. Then, some things go bump in the night, maybe there's a ghostly apparition, maybe the lights keep going off. But, once we've laid the classic groundwork, anything can happen. NO SPOILERS, BECAUSE I'M EXAGGERATING, but you might get aliens, demons, ancient gods, sea creatures, or any variation on some of the eldritch things that writers like Lovecraft would pull out of the Elder Days.
Now, anybody can write books like that. I just started one a paragraph ago. But, Will Jones brings a fair hand to the table. His Mr. Jones is both solid and respectable, and steady under duress, but also open minded to the unknown. How many mildly bemused but doughty middle aged men do you find as heroes in these sorts of books? Supporting characters, here the neighbor Sheila and later the investigator Eric, have some spunk. The scenes are always nicely set - here we're on the Welsh Coastal Path in a holiday cottage next to an abandoned creepy farm under the shadow of an ancient even creepier hill fort. This would be fun if all Jones did was walkabout at night on the Path in the fog looking for apparitions, (which, by the way, he does a lot). Heck, even listening to ghost stories in the local pub was fun.
It's usually about half way in that the author pulls out all the stops and goes epic. AGAIN, NO SPOILERS, but in this book the plot just keeps spinning out, (remember the ancient fort/barrow), until, as the book blurb says, Mr. Jones confronts an ancient evil intent on wreaking devastation, one bemused middle aged hero at a time.
Will Jones alternates chapters between his hero's first person account and a more traditional third person narrative. Instead of being annoying this makes the hero's travails more personal and immediate, and helps to sell the more outrageous aspects of the story. When you combine this with a generally unsettling atmosphere, a vaguely uneasy nod to Welsh legend and pre-history, derelict buildings, a remote location, and a cliff above a raging sea, well, that's a fine recipe for ghosty fun. Even when it's a bit over the top, and this book is unabashedly over the top, it's a ripping yarn.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews