Category: folklore
+ audio book, child abduction, fantasy, folklore, Historical fiction, kidnapping, Magical realism, mythology, review, superstition
Once Upon A River by Diane Setterfield
On a dark midwinter’s night in an ancient inn on the river Thames, an extraordinary event takes place. The regulars are telling stories to while away the dark hours, when the door bursts open on a grievously wounded stranger. In his arms is the lifeless body of a small child. Hours later, the girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life. Is it … Read More Once Upon A River by Diane Setterfield
Conditions Are Different After Dark by Owen W Knight – Publication Day Party
In 1662, a man is wrongly executed for signing the death warrant of Charles I. While awaiting execution, he asks to speak with a priest, to whom he declares a curse on the village that betrayed him. The priest responds with a counter-curse, leaving just one option to nullify it. Genres: Contemporary Horror, Alternative History, Dark Fiction, Mystery, Folklore, Thriller, Commercial Fiction Over four centuries … Read More Conditions Are Different After Dark by Owen W Knight – Publication Day Party
+ devil worship, fiction, folklore, gothic, gothic horror, magic, mythology, review, superstition, wales
The Shadow Key by Susan Stokes-Chapman
There’s something mysterious about the village of Penhelyg. Will unlocking its truth bring light or darkness? Meirionydd, 1783. Henry Talbot has been dismissed from his post at a prestigious London hospital. The only job he can find is as a physician in the backwaters of Wales where he can’t speak the language, belief in myth and magic is rife, and the villagers treat him … Read More The Shadow Key by Susan Stokes-Chapman
+ fiction, folklore, gothic, grief, poetry, review, Scotland, superstition, thriller, witchcraft, witches
Crow Moon by Suzy Aspley
When the crow moon rises, the darkness is unleashed… Martha Strangeways is struggling to find purpose in her life, after giving up her career as an investigative reporter when her young twins died in a house fire. Overwhelmed by guilt and grief, her life changes when she stumbles across the body of a missing teenager – a tragedy that turns even more sinister when … Read More Crow Moon by Suzy Aspley
+ crime fiction, feel-good, fiction, folklore, Ghost story, Historical fiction, List, Magical realism, review, Scandi noir
My Top 10 Books of 2023 – Part Four
Here are my favourite ten books of the fourth quarter of 2023. One or two of these might make it into my top books of 2023. Once again only a bit of ‘crime’, as a crime novel needs to be totally unique and exceptional to make it into my favourites. There are ten this time – it’s been a good quarter – but then hey ho … Read More My Top 10 Books of 2023 – Part Four
+ crime fiction, fiction, folklore, gothic, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, loss, murder, murder mystery, mystery, mythology, obsession, review, Scandi noir, Sweden
Yule Island by Johana Gustawsson translated by David Warriner
Art expert Emma Lindhal is anxious when she’s asked to appraise the antiques in the infamous manor house of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families, on the island of Storholmen, where a young woman was murdered nine years earlier, her killer never found. As she goes about her painstaking work and one shocking discovery yields clues that lead to another, Emma becomes determined to uncover … Read More Yule Island by Johana Gustawsson translated by David Warriner
Everyday Folklore by Lisa Frank
Daily folklore ideas to guide you through the ritual year from Brighton-based author and voice behind The Everyday Folk Lore Project, Liza Frank. Everyday Folklore ~ An Almanac for the Ritual Year, is not your traditional almanac in that it doesn’t provide the times of the tides or the phases of the moon. You can, however turn to any date and find something to … Read More Everyday Folklore by Lisa Frank
+ art, childhood, family, female friendship, fiction, folklore, friendship, Greece, Historical fiction, lies, literature, London, loss, love, museum, revenge, review, superstition
The Figurine by Victoria Hislop
In her irresistible new novel, Sunday Times No 1 bestselling author Victoria Hislop shines a light on the questionable acquisition of cultural treasures and the price people – and countries – will pay to cling on to them. Of all the ancient art that captures the imagination, none is more appealing than the Cycladic figurine. An air of mystery swirls around these statuettes from … Read More The Figurine by Victoria Hislop
+ crime fiction, family, fiction, folklore, friendship, lies, love, murder, psychopath, relationships, review, secrets, serial killer, thriller
Killing Jericho by William Hussey
Murder this twisted demands a new kind of detective. Fresh out of prison, former Detective Constable Scott Jericho is a desperate man. Disgraced and penniless after his assault on a violent suspect, he is forced to seek refuge with the fairground family he once rejected. Now, troubled by his failure, Jericho’s brilliant mind stagnates. That is until a series of bizarre murders reawaken his … Read More Killing Jericho by William Hussey
+ family, folklore, Ghost story, haunting, history, horror, murder, mystery, paranormal, podcast, review, supernatural, superstition, witchcraft, witches
The Witch Farm Podcast
It’s 1989, rural Wales, a lonely old farmhouse in the shadow of the imposing Brecon Beacons mountains. Young, pregnant Liz Rich and her artist husband Bill rent an isolated farmhouse in the Welsh countryside, with Bill’s teenage son Laurence. They’re hoping for a fresh start, but the house holds dark secrets, and the family’s new life becomes a terrifying ordeal that will change them … Read More The Witch Farm Podcast
+ abuse, alcoholism, brothers, childhood, domestic noir, family, fantasy, feel-good, female friendship, fiction, folklore, forgiveness, friendship, Ghost story, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, grief, haunting, List, literature, loss, love, music, paranormal, piano, relationships, review, secrets, sisterhood, sisters, slavery, suffragette movement, supernatural, superstition, tradition, whimsical
My Top 4 Books of 2022
It’s approaching the very end of 2022 and it’s time to reflect on my absolute favourite books of the year. Last year it was hard but this year is even harder. There were instant standouts again – about 10 of them but I had to cut it down to four. I have tried to include a mix of genres but failed yet again. I read … Read More My Top 4 Books of 2022
+ community, Devon, fiction, folklore, friendship, literature, music, review, seventies, sixties
Villager by Tom Cox
Tom Cox’s masterful debut novel synthesises his passion for music, nature and folklore into a psychedelic and enthralling exploration of village life and the countryside that sustains it. There’s so much to know. It will never end, I suspect, even when it does. So much in all these lives, so many stories, even in this small place. Villages are full of tales: some are … Read More Villager by Tom Cox
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