The Haunting of Hattie Hastings

(Part One)

by Audrey Davis 

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Amazon US / UK

The Haunting of Hattie Hastings 

The Haunting of Hattie Hastings Part Two

The story continues … Hattie is used to her deceased husband Gary dropping in and out of her life. His timing might not always be great, but at least he’s still around. Although – when Hattie tentatively tries a spot of dating – his interference isn’t entirely welcome.
Best friend Cat is lapping up her new relationship with teacher Jamie, but ex-husband Stewart isn’t prepared to fade into the background.
Hattie’s mother Rachel faces a daunting battle, one she doesn’t want to burden family and friends with. But there’s someone waiting in the wings who might be more than a shoulder to cry on.
Gary still doesn’t know what his mission on earth is, and spirit guide Clarence isn’t offering any clues? Will an encounter with another provide him with answers, or put Hattie in an impossible situation?
Prepare for more laughs and tears in the second installment of a trilogy which takes a darkly comic look at life … and the afterlife.

Warning: Cliffhanger ending

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Part 1 

Hattie kept one eye firmly closed, and squinted through the other. Why she thought this would change anything she had no idea, but she wasn’t ready for the reality of full-on vision.

 

 A few days after the funeral, they’d returned in a taxi, his mum insisting on carrying his urn in her capacious handbag. Unfortunately, the driver took a speed bump a little too fast and the contents of the urn upturned and mixed with the contents of the aforementioned bag. Thus, Gary’s remains were scooped back into the receptacle along with ancient biscuit crumbs, loose change and a couple of mangled Werther’s Originals.

 

You just farted! Silent but deadly. Christ, Hats, I might be on the other side but that could fell North Korea. Or serve as their nuclear deterrent.

 

Jeez, bro. You took your time getting that off your chest! I had you down as a bottom bandit for – ooh! – at least three years.

 

The last she’d heard – they hadn’t seen each other for more than five years – he’d moved to Switzerland where he was something big in private banking… Cat allowed herself a small grin as she recalled Hattie insisting that a ‘w’ was more appropriate than a ‘b’.

 

 Part 2

 

Gary did the finger thing, which looked more like an ‘up yours’ than the three-fingered salute synonymous with the organisation. Cat doubted he’d ever been a Boy Scout. More like a street gang member, all swagger and lager.  

 

It’s been a very long time… but they say it’s like riding a bike. Although we might have to go through a few gears to hit our stride.

 

Stewart looked uncomfortable at her question. Seeing him squirm in his seat was akin to watching a politician being grilled about dodgy expense claims.

 

Lost her husband? How she hated that phrase. As if she’d misplaced him, like a house key or a phone.

 

There was nothing wrong with Roger; he was just a million miles from right. Maybe his perfect match was in French Polynesia, patiently weaving a hair garland and dreaming of a man with cartoon character undies.

 

How he could display remarkable dexterity when shooting down villains on Play Station yet miss the toilet bowl by inches when peeing was another of life’s mysteries.

 

My Review:

 

The Haunting of Hattie Hastings was a delightful and witty treat. Part 1 was a quick and fun read that had me primed and eager for the rest of the series.  Part 2 added several new wrinkles and concerns, some of which squeezed my heart. Death has always been a difficult and uncomfortable process for me to work through, it was how I knew the medical field was not for me and brought about a swift change in career planning.  I don’t know how I would handle Hattie’s conundrum of a deceased husband who has not… departed, yet isn’t an angel or a zombie.   I smirked and giggled-snorted over the witty twist used for a child’s orange-faced troll doll named Grump, who was named for the man he resembles in the media.   Snort. 

I enjoyed the unique storylines, endearing and quirky characters, and Ms. Davis’s amusing and clever humor. I started this series knowing it was a serial of three parts, so I was prepared and braced for the cliffhanger endings. I was warned to ward off a possible… okay, probable tantrum. And, score!   I have a new addition to my Brit vocabulary list with doolally, which means Mr. Google told me was “temporarily deranged or feebleminded.”   Which is how cliffhangers generally make me feel 😉  I  am extremely eager for Part 3 to magically appear on my Kindle. Hurry Ms. Davis, please!

About Audrey Davis

Audrey Davis survived secondary school on the West coast of Scotland. Rubbish at science but not too bad at English, she originally wanted to be an actress but was persuaded that journalism was a safer option. Probably wise. She studied at Napier College in Edinburgh, the only place in Scotland at that time to offer a journalism course.

Her first foray into the hard-nosed newspaper world was as a junior reporter in Dumfriesshire. Duties included interviewing farmers about the prize-winning heifers to reporting on family tragedies. She persuaded her editor to let her launch an entertainment column which meant meeting the odd celebrity – or just the downright odd. From there, she moved to the loftier rank of senior reporter back in her home patch. Slightly more money, less farm animals but a higher crime rate. As Taggart would say: ‘There’s been a murrrrder!’

After a stint in London on a video magazine – yes, she is that old – Audrey moved to Singapore with her fiancé. She tried valiantly to embrace the stinking heat, humidity and lack of jobs, although she did work briefly on a magazine which was banned by the government for ‘artistic’ use of naked men’s bottoms.

Next on her adventures was a land Down Under where her main focus was raising Cost Centre One (aka firstborn) and coming to terms with the imminent arrival of Number Two. Still, she loved the Aussie way of life – BBQs, beaches and bring your own booze to restaurants – so it came as a blow when OH announced a move back to the UK. Not a job between them, the climate a possible deal breaker and an Exorcist-style vomiting infant on the flight home didn’t bode well …

Always a survivor, Audrey sought out similar-minded friends (i.e. slightly bonkers), got the children into a good school and thought about taking up writing again. Sadly, thinking about it was as far as she got, unless you count shopping lists. Then, hubby drops another bombshell. Switzerland. As in – it’s packing time again. Off to the land of cheese, chocolate, scarily efficient trains and a couple of teeny, tiny issues. Like driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road and speaking a foreign language (French). The former was conquered fairly quickly (we’ll skip over the wall demolition in week two), the latter remains an ongoing battle of the hopeful against the hopeless. At least she provides amusement for the local workforce.

It wasn’t until 2016 that Audrey rediscovered her writing mojo with an online Writing Fiction course. From there, her first novel – A Clean Sweep – was born, although it took a bit longer than nine months from conception. A short, darker prequel – A Clean Break – followed, and in November 2017 she published the first in a novella trilogy, The Haunting of Hattie Hastings Part One. Part Two is published on 21 March 2018, with the conclusion following in May/June. After which she might have a wee lie down …

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