*I received a free copy of this book with thanks to the author and to Zoé of Zooloo’s Book Tours and SpellBound Books. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
Blurb: 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙩 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 , 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜…
On the day it is due to be demolished , Seven bodies are recovered from Hellsleigh, the most infamous asylum in the country ,which has lay derelict for the last 30 years.
𝟮𝟰 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗿:
On the eve of its planned demolition famed parapsychologist and author, Brandon Fiske and his team of paranormal investigators break into the abandoned hospital determined to find proof of its supernatural powers.
Local villager, Jason Hough who’s past is connected to Hellsleigh returns for one last visit along with a group of university students in search of a place to party.
But neither groups are aware that they have entered Hellsleigh on a very special anniversary, a time of evil the building remembers only too well…
𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙃𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝 , 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚.
Well, this was quite possibly my darkest and most disturbing read of the year!
Hellsleigh follows two timelines (at first): the events on the night of the 100th anniversary of the Hellsleigh Massacre, and the fall-out of the day after. Investigative journalist, Malcolm, is attempting to find out why an inoffensive homeless man would suddenly push famous paranormal debunker Brendan Fiske off the roof of Hellsleigh asylum, which has been long abandoned and is due for demolition. Then they start bringing the body parts out.
In between Malcolm’s efforts to uncover the truth, we follow Brendan and his team as they start their own investigation of the allegedly-haunted building, and a group of university students looking to party… but none of them realise that the party is already underway and the hosts think that BYOB means Bring Your Own Barbed Wire.
Note: I never realised how many disgusting ways there are to maim and kill a person using nothing but razor wire and supernatural powers!
There are some elements of mystery here, as Malcolm and Brendan separately begin to piece together the terrible events in Hellsleigh asylum 100 years earlier, but it may already be too late for most of the hapless souls who find themselves unwilling participants in a horrifically gory torture play, and while answers may be forthcoming, mercy is in far shorter supply.
Anyone looking for a robustly shocking paranormal slaughter story should pick this up immediately and prepare for a scare. I am off now to give my brain a good bleaching then cleanse my palate with a sweet romance or ten. Dark doesn’t begin to cover this one… we’re talking Stuart Semple levels of darkness!
‘”I can’t say for sure, not without more information, but there’s something off about it. It seems reminiscent of The Hellsleigh Massacre, doesn’t it?” He’d shown Wells his research into the massacre back in the early 1900s.
– D.C. Brockwell, Hellsleigh
“I don’t know. Refresh my memory. How many bodies were recovered then?”
“Seven patients were murdered by two psychiatric nurses, who then went on to murder the superintendent on duty that night. I can’t remember when it happened, exactly. I’ve still got my research, though, so it won’t be hard to find out.”
“So, what’re you thinking? Try and marry the two incidents together?”
“If these murders are what I think they are, I might be able to get an exclusive story. It could be big, Peter.” He loved making sensationalist comments to his boss. “Huge even.”
Duncan Brockwell is a full-time dental technician from West Sussex. Having completed his course at Lambeth College in 2018, he started writing in his spare time. An avid gardener and part-time mixologist, he loves nothing more than relaxing at home with his wife, Beks and pure white rescue cat, Milly.
Since Duncan started writing in 2018, he has written thirteen novels, nine of which have been, or are in the process of being published. Unlike a lot of authors, Duncan feels he is a hobby writer, toiling away on his purple couch in front of the TV in the evenings and weekends. He wants nothing more than for readers to enjoy his various offerings, ranging from romantic comedy (under pseudonym Katie Simpkins) to hardcore blood and guts horror and everything in between (Under either DC Brockwell or Duncan Brockwell).
Follow him at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dcbrockwellauthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dcbrockwell/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dcbrockwell1
Hellsleigh is available on Amazon right now!
Don’t forget to check out the other blog stops on this epic, month-long tour for more great reviews and content (see the ShOctober Week 2 poster below for details)!
Bookshine And Readbows 
Thank you so much for taking part in the tour and sharing your review today 🙂 x
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