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Doves & Crows
Richard Carter’s grandparents enjoy a holiday in the country every year, but this time they return with more than just memories. Take that necklace, for example, the one his grandmother found in the high grass and now wants to bury. The old woman dies soon afterwards, but not before she has given it to him. Bad things begin to happen. One school bully ends up in the hospital, Richard’s estranged father, in the ground, and as the necklace works its dark magic, Richie’s mother, Susan, decides they must run, to the very house her grandparents loved so much.But what became of the family who lived there, and who is that girl in the upstairs window? Now, after the big man in the hat comes to call and the body count starts to rise, Susan Carter will wonder if she and Richie have made the worst, and last, decision of their lives.
352 pages, ebook
Published December 5, 2018
46 people are currently reading
63 people want to read
About the author
M.J.C Heathcote
1 book5 followersThe eldest of three boys, Matthew James Charles Heathcote was born to Alison and Douglas Heathcote in Carshalton, Surrey, in 1973, close to their Mitcham home. In 1982 the family moved to Norfolk, where Matthew lives today with his wife, their young daughter, and a cockapoo named Weasel. Doves and Crows is Matthew's first novel and was published by Michael Terence Publishing in December 2018, following the publication of two short stories - Dreamgirl, also by Michael Terence Publishing, and The Man in the Black Cagoule, by Park Publications. He is presently working on his second novel.
Matthew can usually be found walking the Weasel, reading, writing or listening to an audiobook (presently anything by Stephen King or James Lee Burke and narrated by Will Patton).
Matthew can usually be found walking the Weasel, reading, writing or listening to an audiobook (presently anything by Stephen King or James Lee Burke and narrated by Will Patton).
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 3, 2019
Combining supernatural or paranormal elements with human evil must be challenging, but author M. J. C. Heathcote manages admirably, intertwining evil villains, ghosts, telekinesis, paranormal mind control, coming of age (both positive and negative), spirit possession, abuse, stalking, mental illness. There's also quite a plethora of gore and violence, which I must point out, to both humans and animals--be forewarned. I also suggest that certain of these villains will not rest easy in your mind--not rest at all, and may well deliver nightmares.
May 8, 2020
Birds!
This book grabbed my attention at the very first page, but I had to really pay attention when it goes from now to then, and the future.
This haunting has been going on for years. Unfortunately Sue and her son know nothing about it and are thrust right in the middle.
The plot and the characters have been built up exceptionally well. If you love a good horror book like I do, I challenge you to read this book! I just had to give it a five star rating. It's that good!
This book grabbed my attention at the very first page, but I had to really pay attention when it goes from now to then, and the future.
This haunting has been going on for years. Unfortunately Sue and her son know nothing about it and are thrust right in the middle.
The plot and the characters have been built up exceptionally well. If you love a good horror book like I do, I challenge you to read this book! I just had to give it a five star rating. It's that good!
October 26, 2019
A mother and her young son take a summer break in an old house where her parents had spent a lovely holiday. Her husband has moved away for work and has become more and more distant and stops coming home for the weekends. Her son can't understand why his father doesn’t love him anymore. He gets into trouble at school and doesn’t really have any friends. When they go to the holiday home, they have no idea of its history. Something spooky is linked to the house and starts to work on both of them.
His mother starts to go mad on gardening, something she previously had no interest in. The boy receives a necklace from his grandmother. An item that as the grandmother suddenly started acting erratically, she kept trying to bury in her garden, along with the rest of the items in her jewellery box! She ended up in a home, but still acted oddly. The boy’s mum has gotten her son a brand new bike and he uses this to explore the area. On one of these trips, he ends up coming across a group of older teens and was badly beaten up and his bike stolen by them.
He tries to cover this up from his mother, but this is not the first time this has happened. He has been getting in trouble and blown up in anger, ending up fighting with boys previously. A certain item has quite a bit to play in his and others behaviour! A painting found up in the attic, when he thinks he saw someone looking out the window, when he was in the garden with his mother, shows a young girl, who he later learns was called Alice. Alice and her father were two of the strange and sudden deaths which hit the small village, some years before, which still seem to have a hold on people to this day.
This is a book with a slow burn and somewhat confusing threads of storyline that take a long time to understand. Events are mixed up between different timelines, which I found confusing and made it for a slow read. The ending of the book finally gives you answers to some of the storylines events, but will also leave you with more questions to be answered. A group of young girls on a nature walk give an early indicator to what a group of young teen boys are capable of and also start a saga of secrets kept and someone who keeps their actions hidden and allows them to get away scot-free!
Although, as you find out by reading this book, revenge will be served icy cold on those who have done wrong and this is where a lot of the supernatural and horror parts of this book come into their own. I didn’t really enjoy how the book kept going back and forth so much, especially when it mentions an event at the start and you don’t really understand what it has to do with the story until near the end of the book. You do at least get to finally find out more about Alice, which maybe you may not want to really know!
It was ok as a read and had some good twists, but took far too long for most of it to be made clear and also had a young policeman that didn’t seem at all capable of doing his job and made it very unrealistic. Not my favourite pace of read, nor the manner of it going back and forth confusingly, but had some fairly good surprises. I received an ARC copy of this book from Hidden Gems and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
His mother starts to go mad on gardening, something she previously had no interest in. The boy receives a necklace from his grandmother. An item that as the grandmother suddenly started acting erratically, she kept trying to bury in her garden, along with the rest of the items in her jewellery box! She ended up in a home, but still acted oddly. The boy’s mum has gotten her son a brand new bike and he uses this to explore the area. On one of these trips, he ends up coming across a group of older teens and was badly beaten up and his bike stolen by them.
He tries to cover this up from his mother, but this is not the first time this has happened. He has been getting in trouble and blown up in anger, ending up fighting with boys previously. A certain item has quite a bit to play in his and others behaviour! A painting found up in the attic, when he thinks he saw someone looking out the window, when he was in the garden with his mother, shows a young girl, who he later learns was called Alice. Alice and her father were two of the strange and sudden deaths which hit the small village, some years before, which still seem to have a hold on people to this day.
This is a book with a slow burn and somewhat confusing threads of storyline that take a long time to understand. Events are mixed up between different timelines, which I found confusing and made it for a slow read. The ending of the book finally gives you answers to some of the storylines events, but will also leave you with more questions to be answered. A group of young girls on a nature walk give an early indicator to what a group of young teen boys are capable of and also start a saga of secrets kept and someone who keeps their actions hidden and allows them to get away scot-free!
Although, as you find out by reading this book, revenge will be served icy cold on those who have done wrong and this is where a lot of the supernatural and horror parts of this book come into their own. I didn’t really enjoy how the book kept going back and forth so much, especially when it mentions an event at the start and you don’t really understand what it has to do with the story until near the end of the book. You do at least get to finally find out more about Alice, which maybe you may not want to really know!
It was ok as a read and had some good twists, but took far too long for most of it to be made clear and also had a young policeman that didn’t seem at all capable of doing his job and made it very unrealistic. Not my favourite pace of read, nor the manner of it going back and forth confusingly, but had some fairly good surprises. I received an ARC copy of this book from Hidden Gems and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
April 3, 2020
Creepy
This is the scariest book I've read since the Shining ! And I couldn't stop reading it. I would have given it a 5 star except I couldn't hardly breathe while I was reading.....
This is the scariest book I've read since the Shining ! And I couldn't stop reading it. I would have given it a 5 star except I couldn't hardly breathe while I was reading.....
January 6, 2020
Couldn't get into it
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews