If you buy this expecting ghosts, gore, and rubbish, you will be disappointed. This is a story about a ghost story, passed down over the years, retold over and over until it reaches the narrator’s parents turn and in each person’s retelling there is a shadow of their own life.

It is absolutely entrancing, and a beautiful story told in a literary and haunting style. The author’s command of english paints a picture with each word. The first two chapters are more a character study than part of the main story, but they draw a reader in anyway and the arc within it is intriguing in its own right.

I turned the final page, reached the author’s note and only then realised I had tears in my eyes. “Steve Vernon is a storyteller.” goes the first line of the author’s note, and I find that to be a grotesque understatement. On the strength of this, Steve Vernon is a superb storyteller. It is the best form of literary fiction, wistful, compelling, engrossing and somehow avoiding needless angst to be truly touching.

I’ve asked another reviewer to check my rating, but I’m giving it a five and top marks.