The Beresford by Will Carver is a supernatural thriller. It is the story of a charming old mansion outside of London(?) that has been transformed into an apartment house with an attractive low rent and a quirky yet engaging old landlord/manager named Mrs. May. The old adage “If it's too good to be true.” comes to mind as both Mrs. May and the house have a dark secret.
The story held my attention and clips along at a good pace. With numerous tenants dieing (too many for my taste). The writing is good though a bit wooden. The author engages in that age old sin of telling and not showing. I understand that it's a semi fast paced plot driven novel but I would like a hero/heroine that I can sympathize with. The characters come and go so quickly, I'm not engaged with any of them. The character Mrs. May seems to be both protagonist and antagonist. We don't really know much about her.
Although I found the ending rather abrupt, it was worth the time to read it. If you like supernatural scary type novels, this may not be for you. If you like stories with multiple murders for little or no reasons, this may be right up your alley.
So in my opinion The Beresford is OK to visit but I wouldn't want to live there. I would give it three out of five.
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