Number 54- the Retreat- Gemma Fairclough

 

The last of the books in the consistently good Northern Weird series from Wild Hunt Books. This one involves strange cults, miraculous cures, and mysterious disappearances.  

Richard's sister Julie was caught up in a cult like wellness centre in deepest Cumbria. Not long after she left, she was found dead.  Years later, Richard discovers the full story behind her death and starts investigating the Hartman centre.  He meets a recent escapee called Lucy whose story is scarily similar.

This is told in a mix of narrative styles, interview transcripts, letters, partial biographies etc.  The whole thing is the literary equivalent of a found footage as it claims to be a manuscript found in Richard's belongings.

I really enjoyed this.  The Northern weird series doesn't have a miss in the whole collection. The shifting viewpoints and styles are well handled and build tension nicely.

A quick and easy read with some unexpected twists and turns in the story.