Victoria Williamson

In a Nutshell: A paranormal historical novella dealing with two kinds of horrors: the horror of war and the ghostly one. Both are equally haunting. A quick and fairly satisfying read.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Story Synopsis:

Just a few months after the Great War has ended, petty criminal Charlie Briggs is forced to lay low in a small Hampshire town during the holiday season. But he hasn’t stopped looking for the next victim to be cheated or the next object to be purloined.
When he discovers a precious antique book, he steals it and waits for his fence to set up a life-altering transaction that will bring him enough moolah. The book, however, has other plans.
The story comes to us through the limited third-person perspective of Charlie.

At just a hundred pages long, this novella is a quick read that can be easily completed in a single sitting. But don’t assume that it is an easy read, as well. There are many gut-wrenching scenes in the descriptions of the war scenes. It is painful to remember that such events actually occurred, and men did suffer because of such weapons. The paranormal elements are also eerie, but at some corner of our minds, we always think of paranormal content as fiction. Therefore, to me, the war-related horrors were more traumatising. It was quite ironic that the book Charlie was trying to fence was Sun Tzu’s famous ‘The Art of War’.

The titular poppy is the perfect floral choice for this book. Not only do poppies symbolise remembrance and respect for veterans of WWI and later wars, but the flowers also stand for imagination, sleep, and blood in various interpretations, all of which are applicable to this plot. The haunting scent of the flowers is quite visceral in the storyline.

I enjoyed the atmosphere of the book. Though things get a tad bit repetitive in between because of the similarity of Charlie’s nightmares, the writing is still gripping enough to keep the reader going. Some scenes are so vivid that I felt almost claustrophobic while reading them.

The writing creates a nice interplay between actuality and imagination. Even until the end, it is tough to figure out how many of Charlie’s experiences were a result of his distraught mind and how many were genuinely caused by the ghost. This adds a nice layer of complexity to the already intriguing plot. The story being set at Christmas time adds to the impact as everything in Charlie’s life is exactly the opposite of what Christmas stands for.

Charlie is an unusual main character in that he is a person you would love to hate. It is tough to feel sorry for him when the rare book turns his life upside down. This is one of the stories where you would be supporting the ghostly entity rather than its (his?) victim.

That said, I wish there was some more detailing to Charlie and his experiences. One basic fact that is skipped out is Charlie’s age. Age isn’t always material to understanding characters, but it sure helps. In this case, knowing how old Charlie was would have guided me much in evaluating his life choices and his behaviour. Moreover, I never figured out why Charlie was the “chosen one” for the ghost. There were others who owned the book before and they didn’t seem to suffer the same way. The repeated “Remember me” also didn’t clarify matters. Keeping in mind the personality of the human who haunts Charlie in the ghostly avatar, the post-death behaviour didn’t make sense.

The ending is a winner in every way except one. There’s no closure, no explanation of the whats and whys. Things just happen and then they end. That was a big disappointment to me as I like to know the justifications behind a supernatural entity’s actions so that I can sleep better at night.… (more)

War of the Wind was fast-paced and easy to tear through.

Max’s development adjusting to his deafness and his interactions with his family, his friends, and society at large changed because of it. He was a compelling character, being a bit of a bully or at least cruel out of cluelessness before his accident and suddenly being flipped to the other side of the bully-bullied equation. He’s angry about his disability and more so about other people’s responses to it — refusing to use alternative ways to communicate, treating him like the disabled kid and nothing more, refusing to listen when he tells them what he is and isn’t capable of — even though he still holds many of the same ideas that make people act like that. His journey and mixed feelings were the best part of the book.

The thriller aspects were enjoyable too. The mystery didn’t stay a mystery long and the resolution to that plot line was a bit underwhelming, but it was fun and had brought in some legitimate horror elements too.

As it’s described as an eco-thriller, I expected there to be some viewpoint explored about environmentalism or clean energy, but it doesn’t engage with that angle much. It almost seems to be going for conspiracy theory territory with the use of the turbines and the phones to mind control the populace, but swerves away from that by making it kind of inconsequential that those were the methods used. If it wasn’t called an eco-thriller I might not have even thought about it that way. Seems like odd marketing.… (more)

Contrasting lives meet in caring for animals. One person doesn't have to be crushed under poverty and uncertainty nor another by well-intentioned loved ones who fear for your life while you despair of your dreams. It is by sharing with another and giving to animals in need that lessons are learned and hope is regained. I feel that is the lesson of this simple moving book.
Well suited for reading alone or WITH someone of any age including ESL, and great for gifting to anyone, but especially to a school, church library, or your local public library!
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from Neem Tree Press via NetGalley. Thank you!
Pub Date Mar 04, 2025 #MiddleGrade… (more)

Book source ~ TWR Tour

In 1697 Christian Shaw was 11 and she accused many people of being witches. Seven were condemned to death. In 1722, Christian is obsessed with creating the whitest thread ever seen. But her past keeps haunting her and it’s affecting her state of mind. Will her obsession drive her mad? Or is she already there?

I’ve read several books by Victoria Williamson and enjoyed them. This one is a bit of a miss for me. It’s definitely a dark book. And that’s fine. I don’t mind dark books. But the writing put me off. The constant repetition of certain words is irritating. It’s a different writing style and for this story it probably works for most people, but not me. Christian is a horrid person, but is she that way naturally or did a certain servant push her to that edge? Maybe a bit of both? In any case, she is definitely off her rocker. In modern times she could be given meds to help her mental illness, but back then she only has one person watching her back and trying to keep her in check. The ending is an interesting twist. Nicely done. If you like short stories involving dark characters mentally falling apart then this is the one for you.… (more)