Breathe - Cliff McNish

Jack has always had an affinity with the supernatural, people who lived long ago and whose spirits remain in this world. Following his father's death, he and his mother move to an isolated house. Instantly, Jack senses the presence of the previous owner. But he is soon aware of other spirits reaching out to claim him

At the heart of the house is the Ghost Mother - long dead, but still mourning her daughter, for whose death she feels responsible - who has imprisoned four children, from different times and families. She has intercepted their passage from the living world to the afterlife and draws her strength by leeching their souls. Is it her intention that Jack meets the same fate? Or has she other plans for her latest resident?

Jack's encounter with ghosts leads him to the terrifying Nightmare Passage - a kind of purgatory to which spirits are violently, viciously condemned. His survival depends on his own powers, his understanding of the Ghost Mother's guilt, his contact with her dead daughter, and the resolution of his own grief.

Breathe is a compelling stand-alone novel, not for the faint-hearted but immensely rewarding for its psychological depth and the literally breathless action sequences, the hallmarks of Cliff's writing.