The Haunting Scent of Poppies by Victoria Williamson is a short, spine-chilling winter ghost story set in the months after the Great War.
Title: The Haunting Scent of Poppies
Author: Victoria Williamson
First Published: December 1, 2023
Publisher: Silver Thistle Press
Genres: Historical Fiction, Horror, YA
Acquired: from the publisher and The Write Reads book tours
*** Thank you to The Write Reads book tours for the opportunity to join this tour, and to the author, Victoria Williamson and the publisher, Silver Thistle Press for providing me with copy of this book, along with some book-related goodies.
The War is over, but for petty criminal Charlie his darkest days are only just beginning.
Charlie Briggs is never off-duty, even when a botched job means he’s forced to lay low in a sleepy Hampshire town for the holiday season. Always searching for his next unwitting victim, or a shiny trinket he can pilfer, he can’t believe his luck when he happens upon a rare book so valuable it will set him up for life. All he needs to do is sit tight until Boxing Day. But there’s a desperate story that bleeds beyond the pages; something far more dangerous than London’s mobsters is lurking in the shadows.
Could the book be cursed? Why is he haunted by the horrors of war? Can he put things right before he’s suffocated by his own greed?
A haunting ghost story that will stay with you
This was a haunting ghost story that manages to evoke a chilling sense of dread in a short amount of time (the book is only 59 pages long). I was drawn to it for several reasons: it’s a ghost story with a Christmas setting, it has a gothic vibe to it, and it features poppies, flowers which always seem both beautiful, sad, and dangerous.
Charlie is a thoroughly bad apple and you are definitely not rooting for him to succeed. But the story is so chilling, and the war-time trench battles so choking, that you almost (*almost* – he’s still a bad person with no redeeming qualities) start to feel sorry for him.
I was really impressed with how much of a story the author fit into such a short amount of pages. This book has so much atmosphere and brilliantly captures the horrors of war in a short span of time. Even the secondary characters are vividly captured in a way some full-length books can’t manage to do. If you’re looking for a short ghost story that will haunt you for a long while, then definitely give this one a try.
About the Author, Victoria Williamson
Victoria Williamson is an award-winning author who grew up in Scotland surrounded by hills, books, and an historical farm estate which inspired many of her early adventure stories and spooky tales. After studying Physics at the University of Glasgow, she set out on her own real-life adventures, which included teaching maths and science in Cameroon, training teachers in Malawi, teaching English in China and working with children with additional support needs in the UK. Victoria currently works part time writing KS2 books for the education company Twinkl and spends the rest of her time writing novels, and visiting schools, libraries and literary festivals to give author talks and run creative writing workshops.
Victoria’s previous novels include The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, The Boy with the Butterfly Mind, Hag Storm, and War of the Wind. She has won the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award 2020/2021, The YA-aldi Glasgow Secondary School Libraries Book Award 2023, and has been shortlisted for the Week Junior Book Awards 2023, The Leeds Book Awards 2023, the Red Book Award 2023, the James Reckitt Hull Book Awards 2021, The Trinity School Book Awards 2021, and longlisted for the ABA South Coast Book Awards 2023, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2020, and the Branford Boase Award 2019.
Her latest novel, The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams, is a middle grade fantasy inspired by classic folklore. Twenty percent of the author royalties for this book are donated to CharChar Literacy, an organisation working to improve children’s literacy levels in Malawi.
You can find out more about Victoria’s books, school visits and free resources for schools on her website: www.strangelymagical.com
Quote from The Haunting Scent of Poppies
I keep hearing great things about this book! Congrats to Williamson!