1,064 books
—
1,317 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “Naomi's Room” as Want to Read:
Naomi's Room
by
Charles and Laura are a young, happily married couple inhabiting the privileged world of Cambridge academia. Brimming with excitement, Charles sets off with his daughter Naomi on a Christmas Eve shopping trip to London. But, by the end of the day, all Charles and his wife have left are cups of tea and police sympathy. For Naomi, their beautiful, angelic only child, has dis
...more
Get A Copy
Paperback, 212 pages
Published
April 15th 1992
by HarperCollins
(first published 1991)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
Naomi's Room,
please sign up.
Popular Answered Questions
This question contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)
Kelly B
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)
This question contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)
Kelly B
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
OH MY GOG !! This is the creepiest/Scariest novel i ve read damn man ! that was really unexpected ! i knew Naomie ( 4 years old ) was going to die but that didn’t stop me from crying when they told her father that they found her body and she is dead and you wouldn't believe who the killer is (view spoiler)! just DAMNNNN
‘Daddy.’ Her voice, behind me, at the door. ‘Daddy. ...more
‘Daddy.’ Her voice, behind me, at the door. ‘Daddy. ...more
"There was something on the carpet, just outside the old nursery door, Naomi's door. A length of blue ribbon. I didn't touch it, of course. It might still have been warm."
On a Christmas Eve shopping trip to London, Naomi becomes separated from her dad, Charles. Days later her murdered and mutilated body is discovered. But is she really dead?
It had been a while since I had read a REALLY good horror book - and this one delivers. Ages and ages ago this was recommended to me by someone on bookstagra ...more
On a Christmas Eve shopping trip to London, Naomi becomes separated from her dad, Charles. Days later her murdered and mutilated body is discovered. But is she really dead?
It had been a while since I had read a REALLY good horror book - and this one delivers. Ages and ages ago this was recommended to me by someone on bookstagra ...more
The first half of this book was scary with good atmosphere. But the second half, especially the last fourth of the book, went totally downhill and the story became gory and unpleasant. This was a disappointing read.
Let me whisper in your ear....
It has been ages since I last read a good ghost story. Naomi's Room is just what I'd been missing. In fact, it's great! The story is told from the perspective of Naomi's father, who recounts how his four-year-old daughter went missing on Christmas Eve and was later found murdered. He and his grieving wife soon begin to hear strange sounds up in the attic and in Naomi's room. Before long, they start witnessing paranormal activity. A journalist confronts Naomi's fat ...more
the first 3/4 of this book is probably the scariest novel I have ever read and a worthy successor to M R James. it disappointed me by being too explicit in it's explanation of the reason for the hauntings, and it's gruesome and unnecessarily nasty finale.
Oct 12, 2015
Chris_P
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
bring-ur-daughter-to-the-slaughter
"Like the cold, the darkness was more in me than outside me. It was my own darkness, my own night."
I've been lingering between two and three stars for some time now. In fact, the first half is amazing. The narrative builds an eerie, creepy atmosphere and as the plot thickens, it gets better and better. It even managed to scare me, which is no easy task. A good, traditonal ghost story like they used to make them back in the day. That's the main reason I decided to give it three stars. It is suc ...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I love to read horror books every year from about mid-September through the end of October, when the weather is just starting to cool, the leaves are falling, and Halloween is approaching. I like to dig around online to see what other people recommend and have found scary, and Naomi's Room pops up time and again as a favorite, with lots of people saying it's the scariest book they've ever read. Well, after reading it myself, I must say that I do concur! It's very tense and suspensful, darkly atm
...more
This was such a disappointment, since the beginning of the book was so well-done.
The narrator seemed such a familiar literary type--an aging professor ruminating over his past. The prose was atmospheric and genuinely creepy, as long as it kept its monster in the reader's imagination, where all the scariest monsters live.
The last quarter of the book made everything explicit and nasty (gratuitously so). Worse, it complicated the plot in an unnecessary and illogical fashion (perhaps because the a ...more
The narrator seemed such a familiar literary type--an aging professor ruminating over his past. The prose was atmospheric and genuinely creepy, as long as it kept its monster in the reader's imagination, where all the scariest monsters live.
The last quarter of the book made everything explicit and nasty (gratuitously so). Worse, it complicated the plot in an unnecessary and illogical fashion (perhaps because the a ...more
Stay out of Naomi's room, better yet stay out of the whole house. Pretty good ghost-haunted house creeper that will keep you entertained to the very end. You're not going to find Casper here because those beyond the pall have their own fun and games for us that are left behind. As in all good ghost stories the revenants are bad news. This is no rattle the silverware and move the furniture around type of haunting, these are ghosties that can reach out and grab you and cut your arm off.
Our poor na ...more
Our poor na ...more
Sep 17, 2018
Rachel (TheShadesofOrange)
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
horror
3.5 Stars
This horror novel is pretty much every parents worst nightmare. I recommend this one to readers willing to read a haunting, emotionally-gut wrenching piece of horror.
This horror novel is pretty much every parents worst nightmare. I recommend this one to readers willing to read a haunting, emotionally-gut wrenching piece of horror.
What a shocking tale. The daughter of a Cambridge prof gets lost in London before Christmas. A photographer takes pictures of the familie's home and there are more people to behold than in reality. Charles, the main character, begins some research. Who was Liddley, the former owner of the house and what has he done to his family? Can his sister Carol and her daughter Jessica helped the desperate parents Charles and Laura? At the end this story gets an extremely nasty twist. What a pageturner. Yo
...more
A child is brutally murdered, then returns as a ghost. But is she the *first* ghost to haunt her parents' Victorian home?
The writing on this is very engaging, but the plot was ehhhh. It's a very short book, which I very quickly burned through. I've been reading a lot of horror, mystery, and big twist books over the last year, and this one felt overly obvious from the get-go. I won't spoil it here, but if you think you're on to something, you probably are. The ending was a bit of a train wreck fo ...more
The writing on this is very engaging, but the plot was ehhhh. It's a very short book, which I very quickly burned through. I've been reading a lot of horror, mystery, and big twist books over the last year, and this one felt overly obvious from the get-go. I won't spoil it here, but if you think you're on to something, you probably are. The ending was a bit of a train wreck fo ...more
#lukewhoreviews
Naomi's Room - Jonathan Aycliffe
.
I am first of all going to say a massive thank you to our Johann (@jobis89) for me losing quite a few hours of sleep because of this book!
.
The story is a simple one and right from the very start we are thrown into the heart break of a young couple who are getting ready for the Christmas festivities.
I really don't want to delve right in as the story line is one of the best I have read in regards to paranormal!
.
Daddy and Daughter go on a little day t ...more
Naomi's Room - Jonathan Aycliffe
.
I am first of all going to say a massive thank you to our Johann (@jobis89) for me losing quite a few hours of sleep because of this book!
.
The story is a simple one and right from the very start we are thrown into the heart break of a young couple who are getting ready for the Christmas festivities.
I really don't want to delve right in as the story line is one of the best I have read in regards to paranormal!
.
Daddy and Daughter go on a little day t ...more
The story of a man who loses his daughter and then starts looking into paranormal activity occurring in his house only to find it harbours a terrible secret. Muahahahahaaa!
Maybe that sounds a little cliche, I guess it is. I was enjoying the book in the beginning. I continued to enjoy it, despite one of my pet peeves surfacing somewhere in the middle. Basically, the identification of the specific person perpetuating the haunting. I personally find not knowing who or what something is creepier tha ...more
Maybe that sounds a little cliche, I guess it is. I was enjoying the book in the beginning. I continued to enjoy it, despite one of my pet peeves surfacing somewhere in the middle. Basically, the identification of the specific person perpetuating the haunting. I personally find not knowing who or what something is creepier tha ...more
Not the best writing in the world; it was rather choppy and dragged on in some places, but it was entertaining and original nonetheless, and it does have its eerie and chilling moments.
Creeeeeeeepy. :D
A few loose ends, but I still enjoyed it immensely.
A few loose ends, but I still enjoyed it immensely.
HOLY S*** SNACKS. That was honestly the creepiest book I have read in a long time. I don't know why but the haunted house trope always gets me right in the anxiety. But this? This was like a haunted house story but amped up by a thousand. So so insanely gripping, tense and disturbing. The atmosphere throughout was absolutely bang on as well. I finished it in just two sittings in one afternoon as I simply NEEDED to know how it panned out. Cannot recommend it enough for those who love a proper cre
...more
Aug 28, 2017
Helen
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
paranormal-fiction,
fiction
Wow, this was good! So although you might think the premise has been done a thousand times before (loss of a child, creepy house harbours terrible secrets), it's the execution that sets this novel apart. Told from the perspective of Cambridge academic Charles Hillenbrand, who recounts the abduction and murder of his daughter Naomi, one becomes thoroughly immersed in his grief and soon after his cold, abiding fear of what he can hear in the attic. Although the writing was excellent I'm not giving
...more
When Oxford Don Charles and his lovely wife Laura lose thier only child to a horrible murder that's only the beginning of the nightmare for them. Investigating police officers are turning up murdered in foul ways, a local newspaper photographer is capturing images not visible to the naked eye, and footsteps echo through the attic, while voices urge them on to harming one another. Ayecliff's writing keeps an atmosphere of foreboding and dread alive throughout this thoroughly frightening chiller.
...more
I felt a mixture of relief and repulsion after reading this book. I've never read anything like it before and am not sure I ever should again. I want to forget what I know happens in here and never think of it again. It is well told and doesn't go on and on (thank goodness). The author knew the subject matter itself was enough, without having to go into unnecessary detail... I got the point loud and clear.
Horror month continues with another haunted house story.
If you're keeping score at home kids, this follows Anne Rivers Siddons The House Next Door in my scary reads month. Now, while Ms Siddons' work was more of a subtle getting under your skin sort of thing, Naomi's Room was considerably more grim.
There was a lot to like about this one, particularly for the first half of the novel or so, and especially towards the beginning where the sense of dread was a palpable thing. I can't imagine suddenly ...more
If you're keeping score at home kids, this follows Anne Rivers Siddons The House Next Door in my scary reads month. Now, while Ms Siddons' work was more of a subtle getting under your skin sort of thing, Naomi's Room was considerably more grim.
There was a lot to like about this one, particularly for the first half of the novel or so, and especially towards the beginning where the sense of dread was a palpable thing. I can't imagine suddenly ...more
MILD SPOILER ALERT. While I can understand the fear factor in this book (the events certainly are a parent's worst nightmare), I'm an advocate of cruelty only when it's essential to the plot/character/context, etc., so I provide this review from that perspective. In Naomi's Room, the horrific details were unnecessary and disturbing--and to what end? I'm admittedly not well versed in contemporary horror, and I understand this book is mild in comparison to other works. For me, a more subtle, reade
...more
Well-written as far as voice, technique, style. This author knows how to write. However, the ending seemed trite, almost contrived and was a major letdown. I expected something more clever or compelling. It's as though, four-fifths of the way in, the author had a personality transplant. Anyhow, I still liked the book - just wish I liked it more. As for the title, the story really wasn't about Naomi's Room, so I don't get that, either. (Or perhaps the title was an editor or publisher's change.) I
...more
Thrilling, spine chilling! What a book!
The first half of this book gave me the absolute creeps. Without much detail the author managed to weave together a terrifying story with just the environment, there was no masked person stalking the family, no jump scares, no gore, it was just the house and the presence and the events that take place.
And then you hit the last half of the book.
The book is very short (a little over 200 pages in my version), it's nothing, but that didn't stop me from wishing it would just end already. It was very ...more
And then you hit the last half of the book.
The book is very short (a little over 200 pages in my version), it's nothing, but that didn't stop me from wishing it would just end already. It was very ...more
Jan 08, 2014
(shan) Littlebookcove
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
ha-reading-challenge-2016
Wasn't expecting that Twist! Naomi's Room.
I picked up this book as the Group I belong too "Horror Aficionados" Highly recommended it. A few people from the group had read it, And were truly shocked! So I snuggled up and began to read.
I love horrors That get in to your innercore and leave you thinking and This is one of those books. Jonathan Aycliffe is one of those writers and He's English! What begins as a sad tale and I Must say at 1st I was like oh no, This isn't a horror, This is a sad c ...more
I picked up this book as the Group I belong too "Horror Aficionados" Highly recommended it. A few people from the group had read it, And were truly shocked! So I snuggled up and began to read.
I love horrors That get in to your innercore and leave you thinking and This is one of those books. Jonathan Aycliffe is one of those writers and He's English! What begins as a sad tale and I Must say at 1st I was like oh no, This isn't a horror, This is a sad c ...more
OK, well that was kind of creepy. The slow build up was what hooked me, and even though the ending became something horrific and not like the first part at all, I was still scared. I guess more scared that for all the scariness of ghosts and hauntings it really is humans I fear the most, and what they are capable of.
At just over 200 pages, this was a quick read for me. I mentioned the slow build up, which for me was a good thing. We're getting hints and glimpses, but I still think the end might ...more
At just over 200 pages, this was a quick read for me. I mentioned the slow build up, which for me was a good thing. We're getting hints and glimpses, but I still think the end might ...more
English
3+ stars
This book is well-told, I liked the narrator, and the mysterious and strangely calm prose made me love it.
The reason I give this book such an average rating is because of the story. Yes, the ending wasn't what I was expecting at all but the rest of the book was pretty predictable.Castellano
3+ estrellas
Este libro está bien contado, me gustó el narrador, y la prosa misteriosa y extrañamente calmada hizo que me encantara.La razón de que le de una nota tan mediocre es la histo
...more
Voices whispering, chatting, laughing,
in the dead of night.
Calling me into the darkness
where they dwell in and of this world.
Unaware that anything is affected, wrong.
Just wanting to continue on, belong.
I go quietly, listening, singing,
the promise of Naomi's death song.
by Nikki
3.5 stars
It was a good read and got better towards the end. Something, maybe the photographer and all of his trips and phone calls, slowed down the read a bit for me and the story turned into a fact-finding mission when it ...more
in the dead of night.
Calling me into the darkness
where they dwell in and of this world.
Unaware that anything is affected, wrong.
Just wanting to continue on, belong.
I go quietly, listening, singing,
the promise of Naomi's death song.
by Nikki
3.5 stars
It was a good read and got better towards the end. Something, maybe the photographer and all of his trips and phone calls, slowed down the read a bit for me and the story turned into a fact-finding mission when it ...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Letras Macabras: La habitación de Naomi, de Jonathan Aycliffe | 58 | 116 | Jul 08, 2017 06:44PM | |
| Did Charles kill Naomi? | 2 | 72 | Jan 13, 2015 06:45AM | |
| Disappointed by ending | 4 | 155 | Jul 15, 2014 10:34AM | |
| What's the Name o...: SOLVED - Horror book about a man being haunted by the images of 2 little girls [s] | 12 | 105 | Oct 22, 2013 02:41PM |
Readers also enjoyed
aka Daniel Easterman
Jonathan Aycliffe (Denis M. MacEoin) was born in Belfast in 1949. He studied English, Persian, Arabic and Islamic studies at the universities of Dublin, Edinburgh and Cambridge, and lectured at the universities of Fez in Morocco and Newcastle upon Tyne. The author of several successful full-length ghost stories, he lives in the north of England with his wife, homeopath and heal ...more
Jonathan Aycliffe (Denis M. MacEoin) was born in Belfast in 1949. He studied English, Persian, Arabic and Islamic studies at the universities of Dublin, Edinburgh and Cambridge, and lectured at the universities of Fez in Morocco and Newcastle upon Tyne. The author of several successful full-length ghost stories, he lives in the north of England with his wife, homeopath and heal ...more
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
