BEWARE THE SOUL THIEF
We all love a creepy novel for the winter, and 2024 brings a new, terrifying book from S L Howe. The Soul Thief is described as a Gothic Thriller, and promises to chill the bones and get you looking back over your shoulder.
The author is no stranger to the horror genre. As Sam Stone she has penned over 20 novels involving vampires, alien invasions, space zombies, a series of Young Adult novels about a Victorian Steampunk heroine, and much, much more. As Samantha Lee Howe she penned the multiple-award winning, and USA Today Bestseller The Stranger in Our Bed (also filmed and starring Samantha Bond, Emily Berrington and Ben Lloyd-Hughes) along with the acclaimed espionage thriller series The House of Killers.
‘The Soul Thief came out of my love for Gothic literature,’ explains Samantha. ‘I have been particularly influenced by 19th Century gothic writers such as Bram Stoker, Sheridan Le Fanu and Mary Shelley. Gothic means different things to different writers but one of the outstanding features in books traditionally described as ‘Gothic’ is a sense of place: the huge manor house; the dark and dreary parsonage; the crumbling and brooding architecture; all of which were elements that feature strongly in the city of Manchester where I was born.’
The book is set in and around Victorian Manchester, in particular the author uses the real life Heaton Hall. ‘Growing up I visited Heaton Hall many times. In those days the Hall was open every day to visitors but it is now only open at certain times a year and there have been many steps taken to protect the house and the land. There was, therefore, every chance that this influential location would appear in one of my books and it was perfect as one of the locations used for The Soul Thief.’
The book follows a gentleman detective, Mitchell Bishop, and his fiancé, Laura Carter, as they investigate the strange deaths of Laura’s brother Warren and their sister Sara. They realise there is nothing natural about these deaths, and Mitchell becomes haunted by demons from his own past which may well have an influence on the present.’
‘I love writing horror,’ smiles Samantha, ‘there’s something cathartic about the process of dealing with things that scare you. I’m not afraid of old houses and exploring abandoned places: in my childhood I did both frequently; but there’s something about ghosts from the past reaching out to influence the present which is very pervasive. One of the things that has always unnerved me is demonic possession: losing control of your own body and soul. This is an element, along with some invented horror folklore, that I wanted to explore in the novel.
‘Manchester was a pivotal city during the Victorian technological boom, but also there was a great deal of crime, as there is in any major city. In this book I wanted to explore that seedy side of Victorian Manchester: prostitution; gangs; and the rise of photography, which seemed magical, in an era ready to exploit it in all ways possible.’
ABOUT THE BOOK
At the end of a long nightshift at the hospital Dr Warren Carter is offered a nightcap by a beautiful young nurse. Warren is exhausted and he knows the consequences if he’s caught in the nurses’ quarters. He should resist, but he can’t. Rosie is very persuasive. That night everything changes for Warren and his life starts to crumble around him.
He turns to his dear friend Mitchell Bishop, a private investigator, for help – can he locate Rosie and discover the truth of that fateful night? But Mitchell can find no trace of Rosie, from what he can see she doesn’t exist. Instead, Mitchell finds a family gripped in madness.
When Mitchell sees Warren’s younger sister sectioned and his friend’s behaviour becoming increasingly erratic, he knows he must discover the truth before the whole family is lost. Mitchell is a rational man, looking for a rational explanation, but instead his investigations take him down an impossible path.
Published 5 December 2024
HarperCollins One More Chapter
Book Launch at Waterstones Doncaster. Thursday 28 November, 18:00-19:30.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS OF THE BOOK LAUNCH
