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Post by Calenture on Aug 5, 2008 14:10:47 GMT
Flush as May First published 1963, this Panther edition 1966 A vanishing corpse; a very unusual policeman, sinister and mistrustful; a celebrated archeologist and TV personality involved in the macabre rites of a primitive religious sect - these are just some of the dark ingredients of a novel whose every page is vibrant with menace. P M Hubbard has a disturbing talent for evoking terror in the most unlikely settings: in this case, a sleepy English village is shown to conceal a pit of horror, a terrifying nightmare world that destroys all those who would pierce its secrets...Margaret is out walking early on a May morning when she finds a dead body lying against a bank in the middle of a field. Until this point she has been enjoying her walk. Finding a body somewhat spoils the mood. When she returns with a policeman the body is missing. She's just decided that her morning has now been well and truly spoiled when she is approached and chatted up by a smooth-talking and very handsome chauffeur. Pretty soon these two beautiful people are playing at amateur detectives, trying to solve the riddle of the missing corpse. These central characters are engaging, terribly English and almost dangerously intelligent. The subtle air of menace hanging over the perfect English village is well contrived. Hubbard has an often unusual turn of phrase, particularly when describing natural things. This is probably also one of the first novels to draw on the 'old straight tracks' - the village lies on a ley line - and their possible ritual use in the past, as part of its theme. The contemporary horror reader would admittedly find little to chill his spine; there's nothing here that couldn't be televised before the nine o'clock watershed. But it's never dull, sometimes exciting and nicely atmospheric. I enjoyed it.
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Post by clarence on Mar 22, 2015 17:34:46 GMT
I remember reading these about 30 years ago and they made an instant impact. Described as novels of suspense or, as the Mystery File feature on Hubbard states 'Mystery Novels with a large admixture of the "Gothic". Some of them have now been reprinted. Not true horror, but for anyone who likes a well told story with believable characters I recommend these without hesitation.
Clarence
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