Belle Vue by C.S. Alleyne

Release date: August 25, 2020

Subgenre: Horror thriller, Paranormal mystery

 

About Belle Vue:

 

Jealousy. Betrayal. Murder. And a hunger for vengeance that spans the centuries...

History student Alex Palmer is thrilled when his girlfriend, Claire Ryan, buys an apartment in Belle Vue Manor, formerly a Victorian lunatic asylum.

But as Alex begins to discover the dark truth about the asylum's past, he, Claire, and their friend Marianne find themselves on a nightmarish journey. Each will face the deadly consequences of the evil that began with the construction of the first Belle Vue Manor by an aristocratic French émigré in 1789, as well as the cruelty and satanic practices that continued when it became an asylum for the insane.

As the two strands--past and present--unfold, Alex uncovers a supernatural mystery where revenge is paramount and innocence irrelevant--without being aware of the price he, and those around him, will pay.

 

Excerpt:

 

“Oh, dear God.”

The stench hit her first, then the pain. Ellen whimpered and struggled to open her eyes. The sticky crust split to reveal an impenetrable darkness. She squirmed, but short heavy chains chafing her ankles and wrists held her spread-eagled on the stone floor.

A rough piece of cloth covered her but despite the intense heat, she couldn’t stop shivering. She tried to swallow but her throat was too parched and swollen. Panic rising, Ellen gasped for air.

Without warning, violent cramps ripped at her insides. She dry-retched, splitting her lips further. Another wave of agony pounded through her. Exhausted and knowing she couldn’t take much more, she prayed and prayed.

New sounds cut into her consciousness. The rattle of metal on metal, a key turning in a lock, the creaking hinge of a reluctant door.

She blinked and twisted her head away from the flickering light. Her blistered tongue gave a tentative lick at the blood on her lips. Ellen welcomed the soothing dampness but craved more. A sliver of hope won out and she turned her face toward the new arrival. Through narrowed eyes, she could just make out a shadow.

“Help me.”

The shadow became a man lunging toward her. Two steps to the center of the room. One quick motion and a gush of cold water slapped into her face. She spluttered, shaking her head.

“Today’s water.” The man sneered. “No more ‘til tomorrow, if yer lucky.”

The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn’t think who it might be. A sharp kick in the side from a metal-tipped boot; then another added to her indescribable pain. The man’s eyes glittered with malice as he increased the onslaught. She cried out and struggled uselessly against her chains. The pail clattered onto the flagstones.

“No food either.” The boot went in again. “You. Only. Waste it.”

With every kick and grunt, his sweat sprinkled over her like a perverted holy rite. But now, beyond her flesh yielding to the repeated blows, she didn’t move.

 

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About C.S. Alleyne: 

C S Alleyne grew up in Australia and originally trained as a hotel manager in the UK. After several postings in the Caribbean she changed tack and completed her MBA followed several years later by a PhD in Information Systems. She is a management consultant and also lectures in several universities.

With a lifelong love of reading, anything historical and a fascination with the supernatural and death, CS’s vacations usually include visits to such places as the Pere La Chaise cemetery and the catacombs in Paris, the tombs in Egypt, the Popes’ crypts in the Vatican and any nice English church yard with gravestones – you get the picture!   

CS was inspired to write Belle Vue by her daily journey past a block of luxury apartments that had been converted from an old asylum. Like her protagonist, Alex Palmer, she started to investigate its past and learnt that one of the inmates was murdered there in the late 19th century. The victim’s sister was hung for the crime. CS was also thrilled to discover the asylum’s overgrown cemetery in her explorations of the area!

Belle Vue is her first novel. Jonathan Myerson (Oscar nominated, Bafta and 4 Time Emmy winner) says he is ‘blown away’ by Belle Vue – “I am hugely impressed by this novel – it’s ambitious and daring and amazingly imaginative.”

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