The Patience of a Dead Man by Michael Clark is an amazing and terrifying tale about a man that purchases a property and then learns that it is haunted.
But these ghosts aren’t just floating specters that he sees from time to time… They leave puddles of water on the floors, dead geese in the kitchen, and they can even get physical…
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
Let’s dive in!
My Thoughts on The Patience of a Dead Man by Michael Clark
This is a tale about a man named Tim. Tim purchases a property in New Hampshire after his divorce in a last-ditch effort to ease his financial situation. He thinks that it’s a great property to flip in order to make some money. Much to his dismay, he soon discovers that there are ghosts on the property and it’s not long before he learns that there is some major unfinished business keeping those ghosts tethered to the property.
Like most unfinished business, the solution is wrapped tightly in the web of mystery. As Tim and his real estate agent, Holly, work to learn more about what happened and why the beings remain, they learn things that are more and more unsettling the deeper into the web they go.
Can they solve the mystery and help the ghosts pass on before their lives are abruptly ended too?
Oh. My. Goodness. THIS BOOK!
I loved that the author included a map of the property as well as a layout of the house right at the start. That really helped me to imagine exactly where everyone was at any time.
I also really enjoyed that the very first chapter opens with the previous homeowners… I had already fallen for them when things were turned upside down. Of course, from there, we dive into the story-line with Tim. I also fell in love with his character immediately! But thanks to that first chapter, I was already nervous for him!
The rest of the characters were amazing as well! I loved Johnny and Holly for their humor, loyalty to Tim, and their willingness to dive right in to help. Each of the ghosts were really interesting as well! I loved that we slowly learned more about them. And man, what a force Mildred was!
Check out this amazing bookmark of Mildred created by A Stranger Dream:
As this was a scary and very unsettling story, I had a really hard time putting it down! I just couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next. There were quite a few scenes that startled me quite a bit! On more than one late-night reading session, I found myself turning on an extra light in the house… just in case.
This is a book that I could easily go on and on about, but it’s really best if you just dive right in!
My Favorite Passages from The Patience of a Dead Man
“Well, I guess I’d rather have a false sense of security than no sense of security.”
In a normal house, you walk in, pick up your tools, and start hammering. In this house, you listen and check your surroundings.
He felt as though he was trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle while missing half of the pieces.
Worrying does nothing to strengthen tomorrow. It only ruins today.
My Final Thoughts on The Patience of a Dead Man
If you’re looking for a really spooky tale with amazing characters that is wonderfully written, I highly recommend that you go snag a copy of this one! It’s a ghost story that’s truly haunting on many fronts. It’s a tale that will lock you right in until the final page.
But be ready, you’ll want to start reading the second book immediately!
This is a story that was written so wonderfully that I could really see it playing out on my head. I would love to see a series adaptation of this story one day!
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Thanks for reading!
Next, feel free to check out my review of the second book in this series, Dead Woman Scorned.
And shout-out to Michael Clark! Words cannot express how grateful I am that I somehow ended up on your list of bloggers to contact! When the books arrived on my doorstep, I was absolutely giddy! Then the mug arrived and I couldn’t believe it! THEN THE BOOKMARK?! I’m in horror heaven!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I’m glad you liked this one, Erica. I read it too. I almost liked it, almost! I enjoyed the plot, haunting, characters, and the romantic diversions, but I thought too many passages sounded either repetitive or like filler as if Clark were trying to meet a word count.
However, I wouldn’t hesitate to read another story from him because I think there’s a lot of good stuff going on, and Clark is only going to get better as his writing career progresses.
I just finished book two in this series today. I cannot wait to see where he takes it from here!! 🙂
I have been looking for a good ghost story. Adding it to my already massive tbr. 😂
Great review!
Wahoo!! I hope you love this as much as I did!!
Agatha Christie does the kind of thing where she includes a diagram of the layout of the crime scene house or whatever for her mysteries and that helps with the visualisation of the whole book so much. I am glad you could fall in love with this one so much!
Oooh! That rules!!
Scary and unsettling is good! It looks like a good start to a series for you!
100%! They’re such amazing books!! I would love to see what you think!