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Post by ripper on Nov 20, 2014 10:05:37 GMT
Chris Priestley - The Dead Of Winter (Bloomsbury, Oct. 2011) Blurb: `DELICIOUSLY CREEPY' - D*ily M*il
Deep in the English countryside, there is a house which holds a terrible secret.
Evil happened here and now madness lies behind every door.
This house is Hawton Mere and it does not take kindly to strangers.
This house is Michael Vyner's new home ....The Dead of Winter by Chris Priestley (Bloomsbury, 2011) Upon the death of his mother, the narrator, young Michael Vyner is left orphaned, his father having been killed while saving the life of an officer while fighting in the Afghan war. At his mother's funeral, Michael is approached by Jerwood, the solicitor of Sir Stephen Clarendon, the man whom Michael's father had saved. Sir Stephen wishes to help Michael financially, and invites him to visit his house for Christmas. Michael, resentful that his father gave his life, but having nowhere else to go, reluctantly accepts the invitation. Sir Stephen and his sister, Charlotte, together with their servants, live at Hawton Mere, a remote and gloomy old house, surrounded by a moat and marshes. Approaching Hawton Mere at night, Michael is startled to see in the light of the carriage's lanterns a woman appear briefly, dripping wet and pleading silently for help. No-one else sees the figure, though Michael feels that some at Hawton Mere know more about the mysterious woman than they will say. Sir Stephen is cared for by his sister as he suffers from a nervous complaint, which grew much worse after his wife, Lady Margaret, died. Gradually, Michael realises that Hawton Mere holds many secrets and past tragedies that impinge on the lives of the current inhabitants of the house. Though I am familiar with Priestley's Tales of Terror series, this is the first full-length novel of his that I have read, and I enjoyed it very much. It has a classic Victorian setting in a rambling, shadowy old house, and there are lots of thrills and chills to keep the reader's attention. It is written in first-person, with Michael Vyner putting down on paper the events of that Christmas at Hawton Mere many years later. The characters are pretty well drawn, with Michael being a sympathetic and likeable protagonist. The story has a fast pace and kept me turning the pages. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good, well-told ghost story in the classic style.
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Post by dem on Nov 20, 2014 10:35:41 GMT
Hi Rip, I borrowed The Dead Of Winter from the library just yesterday so have scanned the cover & details into your post. Daren't read your review just yet as I'm planning to get stuck in once i'm done with Zombie Apocalypse - Endgame.
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Post by ripper on Nov 20, 2014 11:36:49 GMT
Hi Dem, I hope you enjoy the book. I thought it was a cracking read and just the thing for these cold, autumnal nights. My copy was also borrowed from my local library :-D.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Nov 26, 2014 18:35:02 GMT
I thought it was a cracking read and just the thing for these cold, autumnal nights. Same here--it had a "Le Fanu does a Young Adult novel" feel to it. Speaking of Priestley, I just bought a copy of his 2013 novel Through Dead Eyes. I plan to begin reading it tonight. |
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Post by ripper on Nov 28, 2014 9:15:05 GMT
Hi CB...Dead of Winter was my only exposure to Priestley's novels so far and I would be very interested in hearing how you get along with Through Dead Eyes. I would like to read another of his novels as I had such a good time with Dead of Winter.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Nov 29, 2014 16:44:15 GMT
Hi CB...Dead of Winter was my only exposure to Priestley's novels so far and I would be very interested in hearing how you get along with Through Dead Eyes. I would like to read another of his novels as I had such a good time with Dead of Winter. I just finished it, and liked it a good deal. I should mention that it's a departure from Dead of Winter and the Tales of Terror series in that it's set in the present (though it does have an historical angle). It also focuses heavily on the psychological state of the protagonist, a troubled teenage boy visiting Amsterdam with his author/historian father. The plot concerns the boy's purchase of a Noh mask that seems to be haunted by the badly burned daughter of a stern Dutch painter. |
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Post by ripper on Nov 30, 2014 9:15:06 GMT
Thank you for your thoughts on Through Dead Eyes, CB. It sounds like a good 'un to me, and I will certainly give it a go.
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Post by ripper on Dec 17, 2014 9:54:31 GMT
Picked up a copy of Through Dead Eyes yesterday and hope to read it over the festive period. Also, I couldn't resist purchasing Chris Priestley's Christmas Tales of Terror--only available on Kindle, I believe.
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Post by valdemar on Apr 17, 2015 6:27:48 GMT
Michael Vyner - I wonder if Chris Priestley got the name from the Michael Viner of 'Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band'? Even if you don't know the band, I guarantee that you will have heard them. Their version of 'Apache' by 'The Shadows', has a quite superb drum and bongo break, which has been sampled literally thousands of times. Just wondering, that's all.
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