Book 205: The Quickening by Julie Myerson
Book 205: The Quickening.
Author: Julie Myerson, 2013.
Genre: Horror . Ghost story.
Other Details: Hardback. 274 pages.
Rachel and Dan want to go somewhere hot in January. Recently married and expecting their first baby, they decide on an island in the Caribbean. Why not turn it into a honeymoon, Dan says? A holiday in paradise. It ought to be perfect. Except that, for Rachel, it's not. Things take a sinister turn as soon as they arrive. As furniture shifts and objects fly around, as a waitress begs her to leave and a fellow guest makes her increasingly uneasy, Rachel realises everything she holds most dear is at stake and nothing is quite as it seems... - synopsis from UK publisher's website.
This is part of a series commissioned by Hammer, the former horror movie company, in which contemporary authors were invited to write short novels along the lines of the classic horror films that Hammer was famous for.. So much more old-fashioned chills than the modern trend for more visceral horror.
Myerson played to the strengths of the tropical island setting. A seeming paradise but with just the hint of sinister goings-on that increase as the story develops. While I felt its climax left far too many issues unresolved I still felt Myerson delivered an entertaining, creepy tale.
Cross-posted to 50bookchallenge.