I finally ordered a copy of this & read it this morning. There are some thrills and chills as expected, but for the most part the stories refrain from the gory and grisly, which might put some of you off. Certainly it has a touch of M. R. James about it.
Yellow Glass
Ilse travels from Germany to the southern French commune of Saint-Hamond to prepare a survey of their ex-cathedral's odd stained glass window. Fr Etienne tells her the story of Canon Lecouturier who oversaw and took part in it's creation. Ambitious and greedy the Canon apparently did more than dabble in the black arts. Her first night's sleep is disturbed by loud noises and unpleasant dreams. Life takes a turn for the worse when she gets up close and personal with the window.
This Is My Book
Bournegate Books is in it's dying days. Proprietor Roger derives a meagre income from creating trompe l'oeil (fake) bookshelves for
people, from books he gets from various sources such as house clearances. When hoarder Shabby Annie dies, he gets a windfall. Strange that each book bears the inscription -
I curse you thief who this book took
My curse on him who mars this book
This is my book I shall not part
With this my book by any art.
(I should get that made into a rubber stamp). Clearly, Annie's a bibliophile who's not ready to let go of her books despite her having assumed room temperature.
Afturganga
Simon is asked to return to Iceland by an old flame who's dying. They had an affair in the 70s while he and her late first husband Egill were involved in "geothermal boreholes". Poor Egill fell into a rift that he and Simon were examining, an accident for which he still feels unexplained guilt. Along with an old-fashioned hand-written letter, Heiðrún (you're welcome for the copy & paste) helpfully includes a rune that's supposed to allow poor Simon to see her late husband as well as she now does.
The Leaven of the Pharisees
After his mother's passing Victor, his wife Marina and daughter Wendy move into Farrers Hall, the old country house his late father bought in the 70s for a song. He's never told anybody about the fairy encounter he had at age 11. One day he finds an old Bible hidden inside a built-in cupboard. A verse in Matthew's Gospel is underlined, and accompanied by a doodle of a circle with a broken cross in the centre. It looks the same as a fossil urchin Wendy found the other day in the old coach house. But what it is and what is it's purpose.
The Ivetot Pedigree
Jim Ivetot is overjoyed with the heraldic family tree he just had commissioned, even though he can't really afford it. Opening Wolstaneford to visitors every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from March to April is just something he has to put up with as heir & custodian. It's unfortunate that an ancestor, Sir Roger Ivetot and all his descendants, were cursed by a vagrant former monk of the abbey that he was in the process of transforming into Wolstaneford. "Miseri Ivetoti nepotum destituti" are words one doesn't hear every day, thankfully.
The Devil's Breath
Recently widowed Lady Sarah Marden is shocked to see her supposedly dead brother-in-law, Saul, now 7th baron of Silborough, return from South America. After being cashiered from the army, he went there to seek his fortune; not long after word came back that the body of an Englishman had been found, strangely burnt, high in the Andes. An unburnt letter from Sarah's late husband was found on the body, which was thought to confirm his identity. Yet here he appears, after midnight, and immediately seeks sanctuary in an upstairs bedroom. His chaplain, Mr. Andrews, has accompanied him & tells Lady Sarah to continue her excellent management of the estate. Just what exactly went on in South America?
The Dreamt Book
As children, Jocelyn, Ryan and Lloyd all had the same bizarre dream. They'd walk over a narrow, hump-backed bridge towards a raised bank of earth, held in place by tree roots. Under one of the trees is a large, heavy beautiful book, half buried. Bound in sky-blue leather & tooled in gold, the dream always ends as they're opening the book. What can it mean?
"This is My Book" and "The Devil's Breath" were my favorites. I'm looking forward to Dr. Young's upcoming book:
