Product Description

The Demons have woken, the Dreaming has begun...

When a young man goes missing from the Fen village of Crow Haven, Inspector Jack Trent is sent to investigate. He finds an isolated, insular community which harbours a shocking secret. A secret he has already glimpsed in his dreams. Now, in a race against time, Jack must piece together the mystery surrounding Dr Elijah Mendicant and the ancient Darkness of Crow Haven. He must save the life of an innocent child and stop an ageless evil from rising once more.

But doubt remains. Can Jack overcome the demons from his past? And what will he make of the Doctor s final, devastating revelation?

The Doctor will see you now...

'A truly skin-crawlingly terrifying book.' - Bertrams Books

'The best horror novel I read this year.' - Dark Wolf

'An unnerving joy.' - Mathew F Riley

'Horror is alive and kicking and it has a name...Bill Hussey.' - Garry Charles, author of Heaven s Falling

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12482 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-10
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Customer Reviews

Believe the Hype!
This is a great horror novel, beautifully written and populated with fully-rounded characters. In fact it is this ability on the author's part to build up such textured characters that adds to the horror - you're so invested in Jack Trent, Dawn Howard, Father Brody etc that when the horrors come - and boy, what horrors! - you really feel the terror of their situation. This was particularly the case with Jamie Howard - a well-thumbed kid character who experiences a particularly nasty bug infestation!

I had read many reviews before purchasing this book. The praise for this new writer is everywhere at the minute - just google him and find out what I mean. I'd also spoken to people who attended a recent book group where `Through A Glass, Darkly' was the book of the month: they all seemed to enjoy it. I really didn't think the book could possibly live up to my expectations but, if anything, `Through A Glass, Darkly' surpasses all the reviews and opinions I've heard so far. It is a magic blend of good old-fashioned shocks and chills with a cast of thoroughly modern characters. It really reminded me of my favourite horror writers - particularly early Clive Barker and Stephen King.

The writing is top-notch - Hussey is a master mood-builder and the evocation of landscape is just so haunting. I've seen in one review the book described as a masterpiece in `psycho-geography' : spot on - I've rarely read a book that placed me so directly in the environment the author is trying to conjure. The quiet terror of Crow Haven just slithers off the page. There are also great turns of phrase here - `the apotheosis of those dark enchanted woods from Grimm fairy stories... ', 'his voice slipped into her like a warm scalpel' - and stylistic flourishes that go beyond what one would expect to read in a horror novel. In fact this book really deserves to be labelled `literary horror'.

And as for the bogeyman of the piece? Dr Mendicant is menace incarnate: a reminder of how great horror villains should be written. On the whole `Through A Glass, Darkly' is bold when boldness is demanded and subtle when a defter hand is called for. The sheer scale of painstaking research and depth of knowledge - both arcane and police procedural - is also evident, though never intrusive.

I just cannot believe this is Hussey's first novel. A tour-de-force that promises a stunning career ahead! Buy it, read it, you won't regret it!

A Stunning Debut
A really stunning debut novel - written with breathtaking pace and, unusually for the genre, great literary skill. This is a detective story too, and the pieces come together in such a clever way that the twist ending is not only surprising but entirely earned. Again, unusually in horror fiction, there is a lot of subtlety and subtext here - the relationship between parents and children, psycho-sexual neuroses, the sins of the fathers - are all touched upon. The character of Jack Trent is one of the most complex and intriguing protagonists in recent fiction. Having said all that about subtlety, the visceral scenes are just that: I, for one, was left pretty shaken up by one or two of them! `Through A Glass, Darkly' is an impressive calling card, and I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more from Bill Hussey in the future.

Gripping New Horror Novel
A brilliant new horror novel from a new master of the genre! Gripping and fast-paced, `Through a Glass, Darkly' oozes menace and is chock full of thrilling set pieces. This is a classic literary horror novel in the vein of Dennis Wheatley, HP Lovecraft and MR James, but told in a fresh new voice and with a modern sensibility. There are traces here, too, of Stephen King at his chilling best. All the characters are well-drawn and the dialogue snaps along. The dark world Hussey creates just drips off the page, keeping you awake long into the night as you lose yourself in forlorn woodlands, creepy catacombs and mysterious libraries. Not to be missed!