By Neil Spring

Quercus, out now in paperback

What seems like an easy way to solve her problems is anything but for Clara Jones…

You go for years without anyone mentioning Aleister Crowley in a book, and then two come along in quick succession – hot on the heels of Stephen Volk’s Netherwood is Neil Spring’s latest, inspired by the magician’s house on the shores of Loch Ness. It’s an appropriately dark tale, with Boleskine House very much a character in the story, and a plethora of ghosts and ghoulies and things that go bump in the night. Crowley himself is key to elements of the book – something that Spring notes in his afterword would no doubt give him pleasure were he alive today.

It’s a contemporary tale, with its protagonists caught up with very real issues as well as the black magic and the myths that surround the area (and indeed some of the real events that took place – the author has given these a suitable cloak of fiction). The violence is shocking at times, and Spring doesn’t sugar coat any of the effects on his characters, increasing the tension almost imperceptibly at first, and then tightening his grip.

Verdict: A dark tale very suitable for reading as the nights draw in… 8/10

Paul Simpson