Petra's Ghost - by C S O'Cinneide (Paperback)

About the Book

A man's pilgrimage becomes something from his darkest nightmares when secrets arise and ghosts haunt his path. The lines start to blur between reality and madness, between truth and the lies people tell themselves.

Book Synopsis

A man's pilgrimage becomes something from his darkest nightmares when secrets arise and ghosts haunt his path.

A woman has vanished on the Camino de Santiago, the ancient five-hundred-mile pilgrimage that crosses northern Spain. Daniel, an Irish expat, walks the lonely trail carrying his wife, Petra's, ashes, along with the damning secret of how she really died.

When he teams up to walk with vibrant California girl Ginny, she seems like the perfect antidote for his grieving heart. But a nightmare figure begins to stalk them, and Daniel's mind starts to unravel from the horror of things he cannot explain.

Unexpected twists and turns echo the path of the ancient trail they walk upon. The lines begin to blur between reality and madness, between truth and the lies we tell ourselves.

Review Quotes

Petra's Ghost is an evocative, creepy read that turns up the tension and the chills as the protagonists go further into their epic hike, in a tale where we have a classic unreliable narrator with a secret, who can't even trust himself and what he believes he is encountering.-- "The British Fantasy Society"

Petra's Ghost is compelling and haunting, the psychological narrative propelled by the physical journey, as twisty as the path itself, with a vivid and visceral grittiness: you can smell the dust and feel the heat of the pilgrim trail.-- "James Brogden, author of The Plague Stones"

[A] beautifully haunting debut-- "The Fiction Fox"

[A] thrilling, eerie story that kept my eyes on the page ... Petra's Ghost is a tightly-woven tale with succinct character descriptions and steady pacing ... If a macabre story with a chilling atmosphere piques your interest, grab this book as soon as you can.-- "Flyleafunfurled.com"

By turns atmospheric, pulse-pounding, and achingly lyrical, Petra's Ghost is that rare, exceptional thriller that's sure to leave you haunted long after the final page.

-- "Andy Davidson, author of The Boatman's Daughter"

C.S. O'Cinneide uses the archaic rituals and settings of the Camino de Santiago ... to tell a very modern ghost story-- "Toronto Star"

Chilling and mysterious, yet pure and sweet, Petra's Ghost soars from the very first page and accomplishes unforgettable heights. The characters, the imagery, the prose...everything shines. A beautiful journey. A mesmerising novel-- "Rio Youers, author of Halcyon and The Forgotten Girl"

In prose as clean as bone O'Cinneide tells an unsettlingly elegant tale. By turns horrifying and beautiful, this is a very fine ghost story indeed.-- "Angela Slatter, author of Vigil"

The kind of rare, immersive read where you feel like you're breathing the characters' air and walking in step with them. Part page-turning mystery, part exploration of pain, loss and guilt, part highly original ghost story -- the novel defies categorisation and is all the better for it. Atmospheric, brilliantly and engagingly written, I didn't want the journey to end (although what an ending it is).-- "Sarah Lotz, author of The White Road"

Vividly realised, eerie, compelling and unputdownable, the novel is haunted at every step - I absolutely loved it.-- "Allison Littlewood, author of The Hidden People"

While every story will take you on a journey, it is a rare one that takes you on a pilgrimage. Petra's Ghost does that: it is a marvellous tale of love, death, and human spirit.-- "Francesco Dimitri, author of The Book of Hidden Things"

About the Author

C.S. O'Cinneide is a writer and a blogger on her website, She Kills Lit. Her short stories have appeared in journals such as untethered and Minola Review, as well as in Mantid Magazine and on the podcast No Extra Words. She lives in Guelph, Ontario.