THE SMALL HAND by Susan Hill

 

The Small Hand by Susan Hill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

We used to go on thrift-store adventures a lot, but then Covid hit and we don't do that anymore, but I've still got a bunch of unread books from those hauls in multiple piles, and this is one of them.

I wasn't planning to read anything today because I wanted to sort through these books, but once I started this one I couldn't stop. 😬

Adam Snow is an antiquarian bookseller who is going home after visiting a client, when he takes a wrong turn along a country road. That's how he stumbles on a derelict house with an overgrown garden. There's something about this place that he can't shake, and it's not just the feel of a ghostly hand taking his...

Wow. I actually read this book in two sittings because I couldn't put it down. I love a good ghost story, and this one totally hooked me in as soon as I started.

The creepy atmosphere spills into this story from the very beginning. The vivid descriptions of the garden Adam stumbles into really gives this story a strong sense of location. Actually, every place he visits is so well described that you can't help but be dragged into the middle of things.

Adam's voice is also very strong and so interesting. I loved his job and how searching for these old, rare books takes him all over the world. I mean, he even ends up in the mountains of France, where he visits a monastery full of silent monks and suffers through some pretty scary incidents.

The tension is thick and the more Adam suffers from panic attacks, gets lost in nightmares and even encounters ghosts, the spookier everything gets. Until the connection is revealed, and everything makes total sense.

This is a slow burn gothic tale that consumed me so deeply, I couldn't stop following Adam on his dark and confusing adventure. Also, it's so well written. Loved the writing style.

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