The Exiled by William Meikle starts of as a gruesome crime story centered around the disappearance of several young girls from in and around Edinburgh.  The only thing that links these mysterious disappearances is the mutilated corpses of black swans.   Leading the investigation is police detective John Granger who, when following his reporter brother to a farmhouse that may hold hold the answer to the abductions.  There he discovers that the answer to these crimes is something beyond the scope of human reasoning, something far more dangerous than anyone could have imagined.  

When I bought this book, I had recently read an excellent short story in Black Static about a group of people hunting something nasty in the woods. With my tastes whetted, I eagerly downloaded this book as the synopsis seemed to paint it along the same lines. Although I enjoyed reading it, I didn’t finish this book and I’m not sure I’d pick it up again, even for closure.

The writing is visceral. The atmosphere is set from the first scene with the traditional death of the hapless wanderer in the woods. Dunbar’s writing drew me in to such an extent that I could almost feel the heat of the humid air on my face and in my lungs. I read on with morbid glee as the victim was hunted down, and then I was completely put off by the sexual overtones of the kill. It wasn’t blatant or excessive, but it was clear and it made me uncomfortable.

Still, I read on. In particular, I applauded Dunbar’s choice of disabled heroine. He never lets the reader forget her disability, yet his focus is always on how her disability has forced her to confront unpleasant truths throughout her life, which has equipped her for dealing with this new, nasty threat. While her disability makes her the most physically vulnerable character, she is clearly the mentally strongest one, and a true heroine. That said, I could have done with her being a little less self-pitying in her quieter moments!

The mother-son relationship in this novel is also non-traditional and a refreshing change from the mawkish sentimentality you sometimes get in horror novels. To stop you losing all sympathy with the mother, there is a blossoming romantic relationship between her and the ostensible hero which shows her softer side.

There are plenty of killings, all of which are suitably gruesome, if you like that sort of thing. Dunbar keeps you guessing about the creature’s true nature until the big reveal and then, I must confess, I put the book down. The creature and its killings drove the book and, while the characters and their relationships are interesting, I really didn’t connect with any them beyond wanting to know that they had dealt with the threat and were safe. 

Throughout the book, Dunbar’s description of the Pines is gloriously oppressive, a perfect environment for the murders. If you enjoyed the gruesome aspects of novels such as the High Moor trilogy, check out this book. A good read, but not one for delicate stomachs or for those who are sensitive when it comes to adding sexual elements to murders.

Charlotte Bond 

Charlotte has had several short stories published in various formats from print to electronic and even audio. She has a novella out with Screaming Dreams publications, and a short story anthology due out this year. She is currently working on a novel and some radio productions.

Charlotte is thrilled to join the Ginger Nuts of Horror team, and is looking forward to indulging in two of her favourite things - reading new books and spouting opinions.

Originally from North Yorkshire, Charlotte now lives in Leeds and that's as far south as she's prepared to go. She is married and lives with a small child and a very fluffy cat. One of them is a small bundle of hurricane-level energy which tears up everything it passes; the other leaves hairballs wherever it sits. It is left up to the reader to decide which is which. 

This is an outstandingly fun little book. It’s one of a series of anthologies, each focussing on a different area of England. I read this while on holiday in the Lakes and I got a delicious thrill from reading about places I’d been or was planning to visit.

For the opening tale, Adam Nevill’s writing is vivid and terrifying. Yet while I enjoyed his story, it didn’t leave me with the lasting unease that some of the others did. I believe I can attribute this to the fact that it was not focussed on a particular place that I could identify on a map, and so was too easy to distance yourself from once you’d put the book down (although it scares the hell out of you the minute you start reading it again).

Many authors are limited by  style and genre, and when they write outside of their comfort zone the resulting book can feel like a letdown.  

Regular readers of this website will be  aware of how I feel about Mark West's writing.  He is one of those  rare breed of horror writers that is capable of wrapping up a horror story within a framework full of heart and soul.  His stories have a deep emotional core that elevates them to a whole new level.  So what happens when Mark decides to take his writing in a new direction.....

There are short story collections and then there are short story collections that break out of the confines of the short story to deliver a collection that brave, inventive and full of wondrous stories.  

Autumn in the Abyss collects five stories from the mind of John Claude Smith that explore themes such as good and evil, balance in the universe, the  extreme ends of humanity, all wrapped up under the gaze of cosmic horror.  Autumn in the Abyss  will make you think, and might make you look at our place in the grand scheme of things in a different way. 

There was a time when an A-Z was a rather dull map and list of places to go.  However thanks to books such as this and  Phobopobia, the A-Z  has transformed into a much more entertaining book.  Within the pages of this tome are 26 tales featuring a catalog of mythical beasts and demons from such great authors as Barbie Wilde, Mark West, Adrian Chamberlin, Tim Dry, and Raven Dane.  The Bestiarum Vocabulum, is a wonderful menagerie of tales that cannot fail but entertain you.   

Water contrary to popular belief   is not life, it is death, judging by the stories in this anthology.   Dead Water is the fifth in a themed series of  anthologies from Hersham Horror in what is fast becoming a must read set of books for all fans of horror. 

Following in the footsteps of Stuart Young and Mark West, horror legends Maynard and Sims have edited this superb anthology  based around the theme of water. Featuring Simon Bestwick, Alan Spencer, David Moody, Daniel S. Boucher and Maynard, Dead Water is one of those anthologies where every story hits the mark dead on.