Book Review – A Ghost and His Gold by Roberta Eaton Cheadle

56 Replies

I’m delighted to share with you my five-star review of A Ghost and His Gold, by Roberta Eaton Cheadle. It is a dramatic historical paranormal story set in South Africa, and if you love history then I can’t recommend this highly enough.

Roberta Eaton Cheadle is a South African author with a keen interest in history. She wrote her novel, A Ghost and His Gold, with the intention of sharing some of the history of the Second Anglo Boer War and the impact it had on the various people of South Africa. The historical elements are interwoven with a modern storyline to draw parallels between the past and the present and demonstrate how the same issues and problems that existed in the past continue to blight our modern lives.

What Amazon says

After Tom and Michelle Cleveland move into their recently built, modern townhouse, their housewarming party is disrupted when a drunken game with an Ouija board goes wrong and summons a sinister poltergeist, Estelle, who died in 1904.
Estelle makes her presence known in a series of terrifying events, culminating in her attacking Tom in his sleep with a knife. But, Estelle isn’t alone. Who are the shadows lurking in the background – one in an old-fashioned slouch hat and the other, a soldier, carrying a rifle?
After discovering their house has been built on the site of one of the original farms in Irene, Michelle becomes convinced that the answer to her horrifying visions lie in the past. She must unravel the stories of the three phantoms’ lives, and the circumstances surrounding their untimely deaths during the Second Anglo Boer War, in order to understand how they are tied together and why they are trapped in the world of ghosts between life and death. As the reasons behind Estelle’s malevolent behaviour towards Tom unfold, Michelle’s marriage comes under severe pressure and both their lives are threatened.

Available at all Amazon outlets including Amazon US

My Review – also posted on Goodreads and Amazon Australia

A dramatic paranormal historical story set in South Africa

I’m familiar with Roberta Cheadle’s wonderful Sir Chocolate series for children (written under the name of Robbie Cheadle), and I was looking forward to reading one of her adult fiction books. I was not disappointed with this dramatic and enthralling story set in South Africa and dealing with the Second Anglo Boer War.

This is a moving supernatural thriller that weaves two intertwining stories together. There is a modern-day story about a married couple, Michelle and Tom Cleveland, whose lives are horrifically impacted by a poltergeist, Estelle, who died in 1904. The story switches between past and present. When we go back to the past, we learn a great deal about the Second Anglo Boer War and one farming family at the time.

I knew a little bit about that war because Australia was involved on the British side. But I had no idea what a cruel and brutal conflict it was, and the horrific ordeal suffered by so many people at the time, including in concentration camps. The history is magnificently brought to life in this very intense story, particularly involving a Boer farmer, Pieter, and his daughter Estelle, who has a very tragic life. It also deals with emotional abuse and trauma within family relationships. Estelle’s story is supremely sad, and that spart of the story will stay in my memory for a long time.

The modern story I found to be a real page-turner, as Michelle’s husband descends into madness and has all sorts of other problems as secrets from his past are revealed. The problems within their relationship are very complex and disturbing.

The ghosts from the past have a devastating impact on the modern characters, but the two stories weave together brilliantly. I didn’t know how the modern couple could possibly resolve their differences, but I was swept along as the author managed to bring everything to a very satisfying conclusion.

If you are interested in history and enjoy mysteries, then this book would be a very good choice. I give it a resounding five stars.

About Roberta Eaton Cheadle

robbie-cheadle-w-ghost-gold-cover-2021

Roberta Eaton Cheadle is a South African writer and poet specialising in historical, paranormal, and horror novels and short stories. She is an avid reader in these genres and her writing has been influenced by famous authors including Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, Amor Towles, Stephen Crane, Enrich Maria Remarque, George Orwell, Stephen King, and Colleen McCullough.

Roberta has short stories and poems in several anthologies and has 2 published novels, Through the Nethergate, a historical supernatural fantasy, and A Ghost and His Gold, a historical paranormal novel set in South Africa.

Roberta has 9 children’s books published under the name Robbie Cheadle.

Roberta was educated at the University of South Africa where she achieved a Bachelor of Accounting Science in 1996 and a Honours Bachelor of Accounting Science in 1997. She was admitted as a member of The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants in 2000.

Roberta has worked in corporate finance from 2001 until the present date and has written 7 publications relating to investing in Africa. She has won several awards over her 20-year career in the category of Transactional Support Services.

Roberta Eaton Cheadle’s Other Books

Copy of Roberta Writes - independent pub 2 theme.

You can find her Amazon author page HERE

Thank you for stopping by. My name is Toni Pike, a multi-genre author who loves writing thrillers for adults, non-fiction, and hilarious books for children.

I’m the author of DESOLATION BLUFF, DEAD DRY HEART and The Jotham Fletcher Mystery Thriller Series: THE MAGUS COVENANT, THE ROCK OF MAGUS, THE MAGUS EPIPHANY and HOLY SPEAR OF MAGUS.

The Brody Cody Series is for children aged 6-9: BRODY CODY AND THE STEPMOTHER FROM OUTER SPACE and BRODY CODY AND THE HAUNTED VACATION HOUSE.

I’m also the author of two non-fiction books. THE ONE WAY DIET is a no-nonsense guide to losing weight and HAPPY TRAVELS 101 is a short book of travel tips.

All My Books Blog

All my books can be found HERE.

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Website: tonipike.com

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Email: authortoni.pike@gmail.com

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56 thoughts on “Book Review – A Ghost and His Gold by Roberta Eaton Cheadle”

  1. petespringerauthor

    I just zipped past your review, Toni. I know this one is coming up soon on my Kindle in the next month, and I like to double-back and compare reviews afterward.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓
  3. robbiesinspiration

    HI Toni, thank you for this wonderful review. I am glad you enjoyed the historical aspects. Estelle was a very tragic figure. Sadly, what happened to her is a common occurrence during times of war and that is one of the most horrifying thoughts for me. Civilians are so defenseless during times of war and women and children bear the brunt of the abuse by the conquerors. I appreciate your review very much.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓
  7. olganm

    Great review, Toni. I follow Roberta’s blog and have read about her process of research for this book, and I find it fascinating. I don’t know much about the Boer wars, although I read a book that mentioned some of the terrible events that happened to the general population, and it makes perfect sense that Robbie would choose such a period to set part of the story in, as it was tragic and not fully dealt with yet. Thanks for the recommendation and congratulations to the author.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓
        2. Miriam Hurdle

          No worries, Toni. I did that a few times. When I answered the comments, I looked at someone else’s picture, and wrote that person’s name instead.

          How are you doing? Are things okay with you?

          Liked by 1 person

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