Bad spirits are abroad, and right now they're particularly around Coldbay Island, which isn’t even abroad, it’s only 20 miles from Skegness. The Rooks’ ‘quick call out’ to the island picks loose a thread that begins to unravel the whole place, and the world beyond.
Is this the apocalypse? This might be the apocalypse. Who knew it would kick off in an off-season seaside resort off the Lincolnshire coast? I’ll tell you who knew - Linda. She’s been feeling increasingly uneasy about the whole of the East Midlands since the 90s.
(Please note: This is the official blurb, but I believe that 'Linda' is a misprint as there's no character called Linda. There is a Brenda in the main group.)
Well, that was rather more body horror than I expected from lovely Gabby Crouch!
I very much enjoyed the Darkwood series and have been known to chase customers around to get them to try it (not really; I did follow one, but we were going to the till for her to pay, so...) This is rather darker and more grown up, and I'm not sure I'd give it to kids the same way. It's still funny, but not every-other-second funny.
There's some very clever story telling here, and bits of language that made me think 'this is absolutely Gabby.' I did kind of feel like I'd dropped into the middle of the story at the start, but as it went on things started to fall into place. I was a little confused by parts of the ending, but I'm sure they'll be cleared up in the next installments (which I can't wait to read. Is this a trilogy, does anyone know?)
Fantastic, clever, funny, not really spooky - maybe creepy? - read, with a great hook for the next part. I can't wait.
Wish You Weren't Here publishes on the 7th of October, 2021. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment