The Winter Ghosts (unabridged audiobook version)

I am going through a phase, perfect for this time of year, of loving ghost stories and Kate Mosse’s latest, The Winter Ghosts, fits the bill perfectly. Quite a grown up ghost story, I was pleasantly surprised listening to this book, how Kate Mosse has moved on a little from her Labyrinth and her Sepulchre to produce a simpler yet more satisfying story, whilst still retaining some common themes to her work. I can’t really say what all the common themes are, as I don’t want to spoil the plot, apart from the obvious, that it is again set in the south of France. What I can say is that The Winter Ghosts, set during the interwar years, tells the tale of Freddie, younger brother of a soldier who dies in The Great War, still overcome with grief ten years later, in a world where everyone else is determined to look forwards, he goes travelling round France. After dangerously crashing his car, he is forced to seek refuge in a little village in a mountain village, a village with it’s own sense of sadness. A book about not forgetting but also about moving on.

Like the last book I read, The Darkest Room, these are books to read / listen to, as winter approaches and the nights draw in, I doubt somehow either would have quite the same effect in the height of summer, so read them now, I recommend them.