TOO NEAR THE DEAD BY HELEN GRANT (BOOK REVIEW)

4/7/2021

the final fireworks of suspense and terror left me totally enraptured.
Be smart and secure a copy as soon as you can.

TOO NEAR THE DEAD By Helen Grant
(Fledgling Press 2021)

Reviewed by Mario Guslandi

Let me start with a confession. I don’t particularly like novels. My suspension of disbelief doesn’t last long and with novels I may get easily bored. That’s why I mostly read ( and review) short stories. But occasionally I make exceptions when the novel’s author is one of my favourite short story writers. That’s exactly the case with Helen Grant, whose short stories I simply loved.

So here I am, commenting upon her latest dark novel, a long ride across the secrets of a comparatively new house, actually built on the foundations of an older mansion now long gone, in the Pertshire countryside.

Fen , a copy editor, and James ,a fairly successful writer, engaged and planning to marry shortly, move from London to the beautiful country house. Soon, however, terrible dreams start to torment Fen’s nights and even her relationship with James gets a bit strained.

Something or someone from the past is exerting a very bad influence spoiling Fen’s life.

And discovering the true nature of the menace won’t be either easy or quick.

Grant leads the reader with masterful hand within the dark, scary depths of a past still haunting the place, displaying once again her great storytelling ability.

Even for a short fiction lover like me, Grant’s novel worked beautifully ( although, personally, I would have made some trimming in the middle part of the story) and the final fireworks of suspense and terror left me totally enraptured.
Be smart and secure a copy as soon as you can.

TOO NEAR THE DEAD BY HELEN GRANT

Sometimes it’s terrifying, loving someone this much... For Fen Munro and her fiancé James, it is a dream come true: an escape from London to a beautiful house in the stunning Perthshire countryside. Barr Dubh house is modern, a building with no past at all. But someone walks the grounds, always dressed in lavender. Under a lichenous stone in an abandoned graveyard, a hideous secret lies buried. And at night, Fen is tormented by horrifying dreams. Someone wants Fen’s happiness, and nothing is going to stop them \- not even death...