Link :Amazon, Goodreads. Price:£6.99
Young solicitor Arthur Kips is summoned to attend the funeral of recently deceased client Mrs Alice Drablow and organise affairs at her isolated home, Eel Marsh House. When he spots a woman, dressed all in black, it is the beginning of a creeping unease that spirals into nightmare as he falls into the grip of the terrible purpose of the woman in black.
This is an exceptional piece of storytelling. Susan Hill writes both beautifully and economically, her language entrancing without ever obfuscating the plot or confusing the reader. This is one of those books that will grab you, keep you turning the pages, keep you up at night – both wanting to finish it and, afterwards, because you’ve finished it and you’ve found out what really happens.
There’s a moment about half-way through where you really start feeling you’ve read this story before. That wouldn’t be too surprising – there’s a reason they call this book “The Classic English Ghost Story”, and as well as drawing on Victorian roots it has inspired many writers after it. Still, unfair as that is to Hill, it does start to feel a bit predictable.
Then, suddenly, it isn’t.
And that’s all I’m going to say about that. Sweet dreams!
