A dark, dark tale of horror, torture and grim, grisly incidents. Glenn Stuart has once again proved his worth as a writer with this, his ‘three in a row’ hat-trick. Following from “Cold Hell in Darley Dene” and “The Well of Constant Despair” his latest book is actually the prequel to the latter, although can be read totally independently with as much thrilling enjoyment. In fact, even more, if that is possible.
This is the story of a young teenager, Max, whose family move takes him to live in a converted apartment block of what was once an old military hospital. It is, from the very beginning, an experience in spine-chilling suspense of the most intense kind and should most definitely not be read by those of a nervous disposition. What happened in the home of our young hero, during World War II, gradually begins to come to light and unfold at an ever-increasing pace as the Author vividly describes scenes of unspeakable horrors and torture from the past. But has it remained in the past, or are some of the perpetuators still alive on the remote island where Max now lives? Life on the island appears to be controlled by a group of very powerful men secretly dominating with duplicitous ease, and as Max begins to discover the secrets of what happened there in the past, he is compelled by supernatural forces beyond his control to reveal the truth and put right the wrongs carried out in that once-hellish place.