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(Spirited Encounters Book 2)
By Penny Hampson
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Oh look, a nice quiet country-house story (in which the family estate comes with entirely too much history attached, unsettling visions, and a deeply inconvenient attraction to a man who keeps turning up precisely when things become alarming).
A Plethora of Phantoms is a warm, witty, and quietly haunting tale of identity, inheritance, and the rather persistent problem of the past refusing to stay where it belongs.
I went into this expecting something pleasantly familiar. You know the sort: old estate, slightly eccentric family, perhaps a few odd noises in the night that can eventually be explained away with a combination of draughts and imagination.
Instead, the book takes that expectation, gives it a polite nod, and then immediately introduces footsteps that absolutely should not be there.
Freddie Lanyon has returned to his family home to take on his responsibilities, which is already quite enough to be getting on with without the additional complication of things moving about when no one is looking and an increasing suspicion that he may not be alone in his own house.
This becomes rather more difficult to ignore when the disturbances begin to feel… personal.
Enter Marcus Spender, an antiques dealer with an interest in a particular dressing case and, somewhat inconveniently, in Freddie himself. As first meetings go, this one involves a great deal of mutual attraction, a healthy amount of suspicion, and the creeping sense that something is unfolding around them that neither of them entirely understands.
Which, as foundations for a relationship go, is perhaps not ideal.
Marcus, to his credit, approaches the situation with a mixture of curiosity, patience, and a willingness to stay involved even when events take a distinctly unnerving turn. Freddie, on the other hand, is attempting to manage an estate, a family, a haunting, and his own long-standing habit of not saying what he actually feels.
This proves challenging.
Most of the story follows Freddie as he tries to untangle a series of increasingly complicated problems: the identity of the ghost, the history attached to the house, and the small matter of his own deeply buried truths. Unfortunately for him, these issues are not separate.
They are, in fact, very much the same problem.
The more Freddie learns about the past, the clearer it becomes that this is not simply a matter of an inconvenient spirit. It is a matter of old secrets, unresolved grief, and a love story that ended badly and has been waiting, rather stubbornly, to be acknowledged.
Quite a long time, in fact.
Freddie spends much of the book attempting to make sense of things, which would be easier if the answers did not have a tendency to produce further questions. Usually at inconvenient moments. Often late at night.
Meanwhile, Marcus finds himself increasingly entangled in both the mystery and Freddie’s life, dealing with ghosts (literal), emotional repression (considerable), and the growing realisation that he is falling for someone who is, in several respects, more complicated than he initially appeared.
Again, not ideal.
Their relationship develops with a lovely mix of awkwardness, tenderness, and urgency. This is not a leisurely “we shall consider our feelings at a sensible pace” sort of romance. This is very much a “there is a ghost in the house, everything is escalating, and we may as well be honest about at least one thing” situation.
Which, under the circumstances, feels entirely reasonable.
The family dynamics are also a delight. The Lanyons are chaotic, affectionate, occasionally exasperating, and far more perceptive than Freddie gives them credit for. There is a great deal of warmth here, which balances the darker elements of the story beautifully.
And the haunting itself is handled particularly well. It is not simply there to be frightening (though it can be); it is there to be understood. The mystery unfolds gradually, revealing layers of history, emotion, and injustice that give the supernatural elements real weight.
Every revelation matters.
What I enjoyed most is how the story steadily expands. It begins with a house and a few strange occurrences, then becomes something deeper, stranger, and far more emotionally resonant. By the time everything comes together, the resolution feels earned rather than imposed.
And rather moving.
Inheritance, hidden histories, family secrets, a romance that refuses to wait for convenient timing, and a haunting that is as much about love as it is about fear.
What can I say? This one starts with footsteps in the night and ends with something altogether more meaningful.
I had a thoroughly lovely time with it.
You can grab your copy of this book over on Amazon. This book is available with #KindleUnlimited.
Penny Hampson
Penny Hampson writes mysteries, and because she has a passion for history, you’ll find her stories also reflect that. A Gentleman’s Promise, a traditional Regency romance, was Penny’s debut novel and the first of her Gentlemen Series. There are now four novels in the series, with the latest, An Adventurer’s Contract, released in November 2024. Penny also enjoys writing contemporary mysteries with a hint of the paranormal, because where do ghosts come from but the past? The Unquiet Spirit, a spooky mystery/romance set in Cornwall, is the first in the Spirited Encounters Series. Look out for A Plethora of Phantoms coming soon.
Penny lives with her family in Oxfordshire, and when she is not writing, she enjoys reading, walking, swimming, and the odd gin and tonic (not all at the same time).
If you’ve enjoyed any of Penny’s books please leave a review on Amazon, Bookbub, or Goodreads, and let other readers know!
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