The Secret Of Crickley Hall

I've never been a big 'horror' book reader.  Sure I like Stephen King and a few other authors but I never deliberately search for new horror titles. 

But, something intrigued me by about James Herbert's new novel, The Secret Of Crickley Hall.  It's a haunted house story. But it's not just any old haunted house story.  No, it's far more than that.  It's scary on many levels.

Enter the Caleigh family-nothing remarkable about them-just your average family consisting of a mom, dad and two children: girls.

The father has accepted a job in a remote rural area and rented a rather stark old manor for the summer.  His wife, slowly recovering from the disappearance of her young son almost a year ago, reluctantly agrees to the move, as do the two daughters.

Once in the old Crickley Manor they family begin to witness strange happenings: voice and noises during the night, the appearance of ghosts and disturbing physical encounters with a strange nude ghost wielding a cane.

As the mother delves into the past of the Manor what she discovers is a horrifying tale of death and dementia.  But can the horror be stopped before it envelops and smothers the entire Caleigh family?

The Secret Of Crickley Hall, published by Tor, is chilling horror story that bends and twists the genre so that the reader never knows what to expect.  The real horror of the book is the uncertainty of the outcome that the author cleverly orchestrates and directs.  I was truly scared and yet I could not put the book down.