A huge thanks to TheWriteReads for including me in this blog tour.
Adult books aren’t something I generally review on here, but my YA reader saw the cover in my emails and deserately wanted to give this a go, so here we are.
And I’m SO glad we got a copy! Aside from the absolutely beautiful review pack (thank you!) the book itself was everything I could have hoped for.
The best way I can describe this – without giving the game away – is that it’s a festive ghost story in the spirit (see what I did there) of a Christmas Carol. There’s an almost villainous protagonist, a spectral presence, and a chance of redemption.
Set in the immediate aftermath of the First World War, we follow a London thief, hiding out in a country village until heat from a job he pulled dies down. When he discovers a rare book in the village bookshop, he decides to chance his luck and steal it, with disastrous consequences.
This couldn’t be a more perfect stocking filler/Christmas gift/Christmas Eve story round the fire.
Like I said, this is a book my YA reader was super-keen to read, and given that we’re both big fans of Williamson’s work, I thought I’d chance it. I read through this first and though there are some unsettling descriptions of wounds, and warfare, I have a fairly robust child who absolutely loved this book.
You can pick up a copy from the publishers, Silver Thistle Press, or from your usual bookseller.
You can also check out reviews of some of Williamson’s other books: Norah’s Ark, Whistlers in the Dark, and Feast of Ashes.
Do you have a favourite festive horror story?
THE INQUISITIVE NEWT 