Black Ashes by Noel Scanlon (
ISFDB) is his standalone supernatural horror thriller novel set in Ranpur, India, starring a banker's family who moves overseas for a hasty job replacement, settling into the mysteriously deceased expat predecessor's house, which turns out to be haunted by him even as they, too, begin to experience the terrible things which drove him to his death, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press' Venture imprint.
This was originally published in 1986 by St. Martin's Press.
Currently free @
Amazon (available to Canadians & in the UK and pretty much everywhere else Amazon sells worldwide, since this is being done via their KDP Select exclusive-or-else program)
Description
When ""poor old Johnny Johnson,"" the manager of the Consolidated Bank in Ranpur, India, mysteriously commits suicide, responsible, 40-ish Paul Roberts is swiftly sent out by the Home Office to take over.
He brings his wife, Deirdre, and their 17-year-old daughter, Monica, and they all move happily into his predecessor's house.
Happily, that is, until they realise that Johnson (who'd hung himself in the master bedroom) is haunting the place...
Soon Paul and his family begin to understand the mysterious circumstances surrounding Johnson's suicide, and are unwillingly drawn into the same desperate struggle.
At its centre are some gruesome apparitions, and a dream setting for the family soon turns into a nightmare to try and escape from.