Read and Reviewed: Where the Shadows Hide by Amy Clarkin

Sunday, 5 October 2025

Where the Shadows Hide by Amy Clarkin

✦ BLURB ✦

The chill intensified, and Archer opened his eyes to see the candles extinguish one by one …

PSI – Paranormal Surveyance Ireland – are in deep water. When the operators of a luxury cruise ship ask for their help with a series of unexplainable events, Raven and the team are hopeful that this case, for once, won’t endanger their lives.

As they try to blend in with the wealthy passengers, it quickly becomes clear to Davis, Fionn and the others that there is more lurking in the shadows than they've realised. With the eerie encounters escalating and rising tensions threatening to tear the team apart, time is running out for PSI. Can they save the ship – and themselves – before it’s too late?

Creepy cruise ship hauntings, rising personal tensions, and the slow unravelling of both secrets and sanity—Where the Shadows Hide keeps the PSI crew (and readers) firmly on edge.

PRE-READING THOUGHTS

The PSI series has been brilliant so far at blending supernatural chills with grounded, real-world struggles—identity, illness, trauma—all woven in naturally. With a luxury cruise as the backdrop this time, I was expecting claustrophobic tension, eerie encounters at sea, and a few gut punches of emotional honesty along the way.

POST-READING

As I thought…
The atmosphere was deliciously tense. Clarkin knows how to build creeping dread without ever needing to rely on cheap scares. The cruise ship setting amplifies everything—no way to escape, nowhere to hide, and too many shadows to trust. The supernatural chills are matched with equally compelling interpersonal drama.

It surprised me by…
How seamlessly the representation was handled. Gender identities, chronic illness, and trauma aren’t treated as “plot devices”—they’re part of who these characters are, enriching the story without ever feeling forced. The characters’ vulnerabilities made the haunting feel sharper, more personal. And honestly? I wasn’t expecting that much emotional punch while also checking the locks before bed.

🎵 MUSIC PAIRING

Featured Song: Bury a Friend — Billie Eilish (eerie, unsettling, whispering in the dark)
Vibe Album: Dead Man’s Party — Oingo Boingo (playful shadows masking real menace)
Artist Recommendation: Chelsea Wolfe (haunting, atmospheric, perfectly suited to this story’s eerie-but-intimate tone)

🎨 VIBE CHECK

Colour Palette: Deep navy, candle-flame gold, shadowy black
Soundtrack: The creak of a ship in the night, waves slapping at the hull, whispers in an empty corridor
Season: Autumn sliding into winter—dark, cold, uncertain
Mood: Claustrophobic dread mingled with fragile hope
Scent: Saltwater and extinguished candles

🃏 TAROT PULL

Nine of Swords (Nightfall Tarot): A lone figure lies restless in bed, haunted by nine hovering blades—a stark image of fear, anxiety, and sleepless nights. It’s a perfect reflection of the PSI crew’s journey in Where the Shadows Hide: the terror isn’t only in the haunted corridors, but also in the weight of grief, trauma, and doubt that threatens to consume them. The card is a reminder that shadows inside can be just as dangerous as shadows outside.