<\/p>\n\n\n\n I read this earlier this month\u2026 and let me tell you, it left me shocked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This slim read follows Juliette and Richard in the aftermath of their son\u2019s premature death. Juliette is obsessed with listening for signs that their son lingers on, while Richard spends his days excavating the field over the fence, hunting for remnants of an ancient oak tree. When a group of occultists come to their home to help Juliette commune with her son, and Richard uncovers the skeleton of a hare, a series of increasingly uncanny happenings occur\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Potentially the eeriest book I\u2019ve read in years, Starve Acre<\/a><\/em> will leave you feeling deeply uncomfortable and severely suspicious of that empty field near your house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pine<\/a><\/em> transports you to a remote town in the Scottish Highlands and follows Lauren and her father, Niall, in their ongoing struggle to cope with Lauren\u2019s mother\u2019s disappearance years before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The book kicks off when, on Halloween, Lauren and Niall encounter a woman on the road. They take her home, but by the morning, she\u2019s disappeared. Only Lauren seems to remember that she was there at all. In a series of amnesiac events and haunting visitations, Francine Toon crafts a contemporary story which feels reminiscent of the Victorian gothics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At turns chilling and comforting, I\u2019d recommend Pine<\/em> to fans of The Haunting of Hill House<\/a><\/em> as well as The Woman in White<\/a><\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s no secret that I\u2019m a complete Max Porter stan (if you haven\u2019t read Grief is the Thing with Feathers<\/a><\/em> yet, kindly add to your TBR). Although it seems that his books are a little like marmite \u2013 you either love them or hate them \u2013 Lanny<\/a><\/em> is not a book you\u2019ll want to miss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lanny <\/em>is in many ways similar to Starve Acre<\/em>. They could be sisters. It follows the story of the unlikely but heart-warming friendship between an aging artist, Pete, and a young boy called Lanny. But when Lanny disappears, Porter calls the innocence of Pete and Lanny\u2019s friendship into question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A kind of prose-poetry hybrid, the story is overshadowed by the presence of Dead Papa Toothwart, a figure reminiscent of the Green Man or Robin Goodfellow, who insidiously slips between the pages and watches the town Porter\u2019s other characters reside in. Whilst Lanny<\/em> is not classed as a horror, Toothwart\u2019s observation of the book\u2019s characters leaves you feeling estranged, haunted and desperate for reassurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/vervebooks.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Starve-Acre.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nPine<\/a><\/em> <\/strong>by Francine Toon<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/vervebooks.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Pine-2.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nLanny<\/a> <\/em><\/strong>by Max Porter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/vervebooks.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Lanny.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nTrigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances<\/a><\/em><\/strong> by Neil Gaiman<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/vervebooks.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Trigger-Warning.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n