by Adam L.G. Nevill

Ritual Limited, out now.

 

An ancient terror still holds sway.

The Reddening returns to the folk horror landscape that Adam Nevill visited so successfully in The Ritual. Set near the South Devon Coast, the author paints a vivid, if menacing, view of the landscape – to the point that the area and its surroundings become a central character.

Katrine is a writer for a local magazine, Devon Life and Style, and together with her photographer partner is excited by a discovery about a local property, Redstone Farm, and its inhabitants – the farm is owned by a reclusive seventies folk music star, still protective of his privacy and unwilling to be interviewed.

Helene is looking into the apparent suicide of her brother, Lincoln, who was investigating and recording weird sounds close to an archaeological dig in the area. She’s not satisfied with the story being told about his death and is looking for the truth.

When they start to scrutinise both the farm and the surrounding area, including the nearby caves, they discover that they’re not the first to look into strange occurrences around the property; and previous enquirers have either committed suicide or had ‘accidents’; and it’s not long ancient forces come into play and the three find themselves the target of the Red Folk in their turn.

As always, Nevill paints a vivid, disquieting picture of what goes on just beneath the surface of what passes for normality; the old beliefs are never far away, and still as dangerous as they ever were. The novel builds a steadily increasing sense of danger, the atmosphere becoming ever more disquieting until all is revealed and battle is enjoined.

Verdict: Folk horror at its best. 9/10

Marie O’Regan