David Barnett: Withered Hill
Withered Hill (2024) is the first foray into folk horror for David Barnett, having previously written, among other things, romantic comedies. One could wryly say this novel, drawing slightly on that…
J.M. Walsh: A Journal
A Journal (2020) by J.M. Walsh is an experimental account of April 2017 through to the end of March the following year. Each entry, though undated, is identifiable by a very…
Asta Olivia Nordenhof: Money To Burn
The Scandinavian Star was a passenger ferry that, in the small hours of April 7th, 1990, went up in flames, killing 159 people. Generally considered an insurance job, given the…
Mark Morris (ed): After Sundown
After Sundown (2020) is the first from an annual non-themed horror anthology by Flame Tree Press. With no particular focus, editor Mark Morris has cast the definition of horror wide,…
Alain Claude Sulzer: A Perfect Waiter
The role of a waiter is to perform unseen, to serve people and, barring the occasional nod or small talk, to be both discrete and unmemorable. They must give nothing…
R.B. Russell: Fifty Forgotten Books
Fifty Forgotten Books (2022) by R.B. Russell is as enjoyable as browsing in a dusty old book shop on a rainy day. Much of the book mirrors that experience, as…
Rita Bullwinkel: Headshot
Headshot (2024) is Rita Bullwinkel’s first novel, following on from her 2022 collection, Belly Up. It’s an exciting, somewhat experimental tale delivered in the structure of a boxing tournament for…
Sian Northey: This House
The titular abode of Sian Northey’s This House (2011, tr: Susan Walton, 2024) is Nant yr Aur, a solitary cottage somewhere in rural North Wales. As a young girl, Anna…
Ramsey Campbell: Demons by Daylight
Demons by Daylight (1973) was Ramsey Campbell’s second collection of short stories, following on from The Inhabitant of the Lake and Less Welcome Tenants (1964). Truth be told, I’ve never…
Mark Valentine: Lost Estates
Mark Valentine’s collection of short stories, Lost Estates (2024) is bookended by two long tales that begin with journeys through an England abundant in history and arcana and ultimately end…