Regular readers of this blog will know I hold Mr Bestwick in high esteem. His books normally guarantee a good creepy read, and this is no exception.
After the tragic loss of her daughter in an accident leads to the end of her marriage, Alice moves back up North to her hometown of Salford to start over again. She buys an old hose in the borough of Crawbeck (a thinly disguised version of an area close to where I live).
Unfortunately, the site her new home inhabits was once home to Arodius Thorne, an industrialist and occultist who was not the most pleasant chap you could hope to meet. Thanks to his activities, there are ghostly children and other presences which all seek to hurt Alice for their own reasons.
Along with John, an ex-boyfriend who reluctantly comes to her aid, she faces a fight for her life and her sanity.
Meanwhile, in a parallel timeline, we hear the story of a woman who fell under the spell of Arodius and learned to regret it.
This is mostly written in Bestwick’s usual gritty and compulsive style. The 19th century sections are convincing enough in the language and provide extra texture and shade to the prose.
Alice’s reaction to the escalating events seems reasonable. She doubts her own sanity rather than abandoning her entire belief in the rational overnight. All the characters are nicely drawn . Thorne is a remarkably nasty villain, and our good guys are sufficiently complex and 3d characters that we can relate appropriately. I felt truly sorry for Alice when we finally learned the reason for the break up of her marriage.
The location is described well enough that I recognised the location despite the name change. When the explanations started coming in, I found myself looking to see if there were any actual urban myths of this type around the area. It felt so convincing. Sadly, it seems that the entire thing is Simon’s invention.
As usual with Simon's work there is a lot of substance behind the story. There are some flashes of black humour present too. The scene with the local vicar was a particularly dark comic highlight. He juggles several timelines with consummate ease.
Simon Bestwick is one of the unsung talents on the British horror scene and more people need to be reading his books. You really can’t go wrong folks.
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