Things that go swish-thwack in the night! (The Secret of Crickley Hall - James Herbert)

Member Name: sunmeilan

Product:	The Secret of Crickley Hall - James Herbert
Date:	01/12/07 (120 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Compelling reading

Disadvantages: Some parts clumsy

The Caleighs - mother and father Eve and Gabriel, and daughters Loren and Cally - have experienced a family tragedy and as the anniversary of the tragedy is fast approaching, Gabriel decides to move them temporarily out of London to a rural location. However, on arrival, none of them take to their new home, Crickley Hall, which seems unwelcoming. Their dog hates it so much he runs away. And then the strange happenings begin - unexplained noises in the night, flashes of white, puddles and doors opening of their own accord. Yet the Caleighs stay, for reasons that only they can explain. Could the evil that they feel have something to do with the history of Crickley Hall, where eleven children were reportedly drowned? Or is the reason closer to home?

At the centre of our story are the Caleighs, who are still grieving from a loss in the family. This sadness, although tragic, does help the reader to identify with the family. The characterisation is not particularly deep, but we do get to find out how the dynamics of the family have changed since the tragedy and this is enough to persuade the reader to root for them. During the course of the book, other characters are slowly fed into the mix, each bringing with them a part of the story that we need to know in order to fully understand what is going on. There is very much a sense of black and white, in that each character is either good or bad, without anything in between. We are also taught that good always triumphs over evil whether in this world or the next. The author just about gets away with this, but he does come across as moralising unnecessarily at times.

This is a ghost story rather than a horror - although there are some pretty scary happenings at times, it is more of a build-up of suspense and fear of the unexpected that frightens. I thought the author told the story very well. We are fed bits and pieces of information, just enough to keep the reader intrigued and wanting to keep turning the pages. At the same time, we are given an insight into the family as they go about their everyday lives. This provides a constant switch from the ghostly to reality so that we are never quite sure what is real and what is not - the weird happenings can nearly always be explained away by something concrete, but then something else happens which seems inexplicable and the thought process starts all over again.

Another factor that draws the reader in is the author's tendency to skip between characters, so that one chapter is about Eve and Cally and the happenings at Crickley Hall and the next is about Gabe and something that he has experienced outside of the Hall. This is a great way of encouraging the reader to keep reading - I would always plan to read just a chapter or two, then realise I'd read about ten in one go.

I don't believe in the spiritual world myself, and although it is necessary to enter this world to a certain extent in order to follow the book, it is never forced on the reader and I was quite comfortable reading about it. As with any thriller though, it is not suitable for the very young or easily impressionable - there are some scenes that involve the harming of children which are particularly unpleasant.

There was only really one thing that I didn't like about this book and that was in the section where we begin to find out the reason for all the strange happenings at Crickley Hall and one of the people involved goes to visit the only other person who knows what went on. As the latter plays dumb, the story is told in a form of a monologue - you remember what we did, I did this, you did that...This seems very forced and really ruined the flow of the book for me. I understand why the author did it, but it could have been avoided and a little more thought into ways around it would have made the book stronger for me.

Although I enjoy psychological thriller films, I don't often read books in the same genre and I haven't read anything by this author. However, something about this particular book intrigued me and I decided to give it a go. And I'm glad I did. This is a long book, but makes compelling reading and I found myself galloping through it, especially towards the end when I was dying to find out what was going to happen. I class a superb book as one that can transport me into another world; this one didn't do that, but it wasn't far off. Recommended, especially if you aren't particularly familiar with this genre.

The book is available from play.com for £5.49, although it is worth looking out for deals on other sites. Published by Pan Macmillan, it has 400 pages. ISBN: 9780330411684.

Summary: Compelling reading, but not a masterpiece