#Spooktober-‘House Of Small Shadows’ by @AdamLGNevill

About the book…

‘House Of Small Shadows’ is the disturbing novel about a modern phobia from award-winning author Adam Nevill.

The Red House: home to the damaged genius of the late M. H. Mason, master taxidermist and puppeteer, where he lived and created some of his most disturbing works. The building and its treasure trove of antiques is long forgotten, but the time has come for his creations to rise from the darkness.

Catherine Howard can’t believe her luck when she’s invited to value the contents of the house. When she first sees the elaborate displays of posed, costumed and preserved animals and macabre puppets, she’s both thrilled and terrified. It’s an opportunity to die for.

But the Red House has secrets, secrets as dreadful and dark as those from Catherine’s own past. At night the building comes alive with noises and movements: footsteps, and the fleeting glimpses of small shadows on the stairs.

And soon the barriers between reality, sanity and nightmare begin to collapse . . .

‘House Of Small Shadows’ by Adam Nevill is published by Pan Macmillan and is available in paperback, ebook and hardback formats since its release in 2013.

A confession-I bought this book as a paperback original and was unable to finish it the first time around. It was actually thrown across the room in sheer terror a third of the way in and then hidden in a bookstack as punishment.

But this year, oh boy I decided that I would finish it come hell or high water-and amidst some terrifying nightmares- I finally, finally, did.

If you haven’t read any of his books before, I suggest starting with any of them, he is a brilliant and very British horror writer-by that I mean hi books are very set in a specific way that could be nowhere else than here. Think The League Of Gentlemen dark and then go deeper.

The tale of Charlotte and how she came to live in the Red House is simple enough-she is looking to prove herself after a traumatic work based bullying, which left her deeply scarred and in need of therapy. Working on a passion project, curating the dolls of MH Mason seems like a dream come true-not only is it an exclusive position, she won’t have to deal with many people and can take her time viewing a collection that very few have set eyes on-and for very good reason.

If you are scared of dolls and puppets then this book is terrifying. If you find the little china bastards no more chill inducing than your nana’s doilies then you might be ok. Might…

What Adam Nevill excels in is the slow burn…the build and build and then the ‘holy shit what did I just read?’ part that then turns the entire plot inside out, makes you question your very existence and then drags you by the scruff to the very last page, trembling and breathless.

By that, as I have said before, I do not talk about ‘the twist you never see coming’ or ‘big reveal’, I mean you are reading and slowly, a state of comprehension twsists itself around you like a shroud and leaves you slack jawed and shook.

Adam Nevill is a modern horror master who is described as Britain’s answer to Stephen King-and I would agree because he uses the same theme of ‘ordinary Joe-or in this case Jill-placed in an extraordinary situation’.

Men go on a bonding outward bound type of hike, what is the worst that could happen? ‘The Ritual’ is the answer.

A girl moves into a new flat,inherited from her elderly aunt-what could possibly go wrong? Read ‘Apartment 16’ and see for yourself.

And in this one? Lonesome, damaged girl seeks new employment opportunities, preferrably with things that do not talk back…

The creeping terror one feels as the icy fingers of fear play your spinal column like a xylophone will not easily be forgotten.

You have been warned…

About the author…

Adam L.G. Nevill was born in Birmingham, England, in 1969 and grew up in England and New Zealand. He is the author of the horror novels: ‘Banquet For The Damned’‘, ‘‘Apartment 16’‘, ‘‘The Ritual’‘, ‘‘Last Days’, ‘‘House Of Small Shadows’‘, ‘‘No One Gets Out Alive’‘, ‘‘Lost Girl’‘, and ‘‘Under A Watchful Eye’‘. His first short story collection, ‘‘Some WIll Not Sleep-Selected Horrors’‘, was published on Halloween, 2016, and won the British Fantasy Award for Best Collection. His second collection of short fiction, ‘Hasty for the Dark: Selected Horrors’ was published on Halloween 2017.

His novels, ‘The Ritual’, ‘Last Days’ and ‘No One Gets Out Alive‘ were the winners of The August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel. ‘The Ritual’ and ‘Last Days’ were also awarded Best in Category: Horror, by R.U.S.A. Several of his novels are currently in development for film and television, and in 2016 Imaginarium adapted ‘The Ritual’ into a major motion picture(now available on Netflix)

Adam also offers three free books to readers of horror: ‘Cries from the Crypt’ (downloadable from his website), ‘Before You Sleep’ and ‘Before You Wake‘ (available from major online retailers).

Links-https://www.adamlgnevill.com/

https://metro.co.uk/2013/10/30/house-of-small-shadows-author-adam-nevill-erotica-paved-the-way-to-horror-4165660/

Twitter @AdamLGNevill