Candlenight by Phil Rickman
A supernatural thriller exploring the darker side of rural life in a remote Welsh mountain village, where primal fears and ancient longings haunt the present day
Corpse-candles. Phantom funerals. The bird of death. It was insidious . . .
For Bethan, the schoolteacher, the old superstitions woven into the social fabric of her West Wales village are primitive and distasteful, which is why she's pleased to welcome the sophisticated newcomers: London journalist Giles Freeman and his wife Claire. Surely they'll let in some fresh air. But the Freemans are keen to absorb this different culture, a whole new way of life, rejecting the advice of an old colleague who warns them of a hard and bitter land where they've always danced on the edge of the abyss. They soon learn that this community hides an ancient, bloody, and pagan secret-one that will haunt them forever.
Part supernatural tale, part mystery, the book draws the reader in with its intricate plot and well rounded characters. Based on Welsh myths, the story follows Giles and Claire as they settle into their new lives in the remote village of Y Groes. But soon tragedy befalls and it’s up to Bethan and Berry Morelli, an American journalist and Giles’ friend, to discover the truth behind the village and its insular population.
The reader never knows who’s going to live and who’s going to die, which adds to the suspense. Rickman is one of my favorite horror writers, but it was still a surprise to learn that this was his first book.
Links are to more information regarding each book or author, not to the review.
1. The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry
2. Polaris (Alex Benedict #2) by Jack McDevitt
3. How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt
4. Mikhail Baryshnikov's Stories From My Childhood: Beloved Fairy Tales from the Queen to Cinderella by Mikhail Baryshnikov
5. The Fateful Lightning (Civil War: 1861-1865, Western Theater #4) by Jeff Shaara
6. Circling the Sun by Paula McLain
7. The Petticoat Men by Barbara Ewing
8. Lily Pond: Four Years with a Family of Beavers by Hope Ryden
9. Running with the Demon (The Word & The Void #1) by Terry Brooks
10. The Gentle Giants of Ganymede (Giants #2) by James P. Hogan
11. Ararat (Ben Walker #1) by Christopher Golden
12. If It Bleeds by Stephen King
13. American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant by Ronald C. White Jr.
14. The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
15. Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell Adventurer, Adviser to Kings by Janet Wallach
16. Snowblind by Christopher Golden
17. Women of Ashdon (Bridges Over Time #3) by Valerie Anand
18. Unworthy Republic: The Dispossession of Native Americans and the Road to Indian Territory by Claudio Saunt
19. The Family Plot by Cherie Priest
20. The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa (translated by Nick Caistor)
21. Roses are White by Lesley Lambert
22. Giants' Star (Giants #3) by James P. Hogan
23. Duma Key by Stephen King
24. Magic In My Shoes by Constance Savery
25. The Breach by M.T. Hill
26. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
27. In the Region of the Summer Stars (Eirlandia #1) by Stephen R. Lawhead
28. Later by Stephen King
29. The Bone Doll's Twin (Tamír Triad #1) by Lynn Flewelling
30. The Threshold by Marlys Millhiser
31. Echoes of Home: A Ghost Story by M.L. Rayner
32. The Picture of Dorian Gray (Talking Classics) by Oscar Wilde, Martin Shaw (Reader)
33. The Reign of Wolf 21: The Saga of Yellowstone’s Legendary Druid Pack (The Alpha Wolves of Yellowstone #2) by Rick McIntyre, Marc Bekoff
34. A Knight of the Word (The Word & The Void #2) by Terry Brooks
35. The Mummy (Ramses the Damned #1) by Anne Rice
36. City of the Lost by Will Adams
37. The Summer Queen: A Medieval Tale of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen of France by Elizabeth Chadwick
38. Last Train from Perdition (I Travel by Night #2) by Robert R. McCammon
39. Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
40. The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor
41. Erebus: The Story of a Ship by Michael Palin
42. The Shining (The Shining #1) by Stephen King
43. In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson
44. Gwendy's Magic Feather (The Button Box #2) by Richard Chizmar
45. The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
46. Harvest Home by Tom Tryon
47. The Cider House Rules by John Irving
48. The Clover Girls by Viola Shipman
49. The Hiding Place by C. J. Tudor
50. To Serve Them All My Days by R.F. Delderfield
51. The City Where We Once Lived by Eric Barnes
52. The Cleanup by John Skipp & Craig Spector
53. Pet Sematary by Stephen King
54. Gad’s Hall (Gad’s Hall #1) by Norah Lofts
55. The Listener by Robert R. McCammon
56. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Frankenstein, Or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
57. The Haunting of Hill House (Stephen King Horror Library) by Shirley Jackson
58. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
59. Candlelight by Phil Rickman
Features a Witch or Wizard - Candlenight by Phil Rickman
I Read Horror Year-Round List
*Winter Theme, or winter appearance on the cover (snow, ice, etc.):
1. Ararat by Christopher Golden
*Ghosts or spirits:
1. The Family Plot by Cherie Priest
2. Gad’s Hall by Norah Lofts
*Psychological:
1. The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor
2. The Hiding Place by C. J. Tudor
*Monster or Monsters:
1. Snowblind by Christopher Golden
*A body of water (featured in story, on cover, or in title):
1. Duma Key by Stephen King
2. The Listener by Robert McCammon
*Really scary book cover:
1. The Breach by M.T. Hill
2. Pet Sematary by Stephen King
*Woman on cover:
1. Later by Stephen King
2. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
*Written by a woman:
1. The Mummy (Ramses the Damned #1) by Anne Rice
2. The Burning Girls by C. J. Tudor
3. Frankenstein, Or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley
*Written by a best-selling horror author:
1. If It Bleeds by Stephen King
2. The Shining by Stephen King
3. The Cleanup by John Skipp and Craig Spector
4. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
*Written by an indie author:
1. Echoes of Home by M.L. Rayner
*Historical horror (must be an historical novel written by a contemporary author):
1. Last Train From Perdition by Robert McCammon
*Folk horror:
1. Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon
2. Candlenight by Phil Rickman