Number 36- (Don't) Call Mum- Matt Wesolowski

 

Another cheat read from last weekend. It's another of the novella's in Wild Hunt Books' Northern Weird Project. I think I only have one more till I've read the full set, and very good they've all been so far.

This is set almost entirely on a train. Our protagonist Leo is trying to get home to the remote town of Malacstone. An obnoxious man boards the train thinking he's headed for London, but he couldn't be more wrong.

When the train starts breaking down in the middle of nowhere, they can hear noises from outside. There are local legends surrounding the next stop, if they ever make it.  Could there be truth to the stories of the mysterious Underwood?

This short novel manages to build an incredible atmosphere, as well as making us well and truly loathe the man who initially thinks he's headed south.

It's a masterpiece of how to create convincing characters with minimal brushstrokes. I raced through this book in a couple of hours and loved every page.  

Highly recommended.

For reference, the other Northern Weird Project books are This House isn't Haunted But We Are (Stephen Howard), The Off Season (Jodie Robins), Good Boy (Neil McRobert), Turbine 34 (Katherine Clements), all of which I have reviewed in the past 12 months or so, and The Retreat (Gemma Fairclough) which is close to the top of my TBR. It's an excellent selection of short novels.