A dark folk horror tale of a deadly family curse, crime and murder that is sure to turn your blood cold, from the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of Netflix’s The Silence.
When Jodi, BB and Matt decide to burgle a derelict country home as a thrilling dare, they become embroiled in a twisted legacy of supernatural terror. There are rumours of a bizarre curse hanging over the hoard of antiques and jewellery within the house. And unbeknownst to the others, one member of the trio has darker motives for breaking into the property.
Lem is a brutal man obsessed with a gruesome family legend. He is determined to right the wrongs of the past and lift the curse placed on his bloodline. By completing the work of his father and bringing a bizarre selection of scattered relics back together, he hopes to be free of the malign influence that has hounded every generation of his family for two centuries.
Across a single day a deadly pursuit will culminate on the desolate, storm-swept Crow Island, and those involved are given cause to wonder… can believing in a curse deeply enough bring its own bad luck?
Dark bleatings, my secretive tribe! You know what’s funny? Despite reading Tim’s books for years, I don’t think I’ve ever reviewed any of them here.
….Just kidding. Tim is, in fact, the most reviewed author on this website so far. This is my (checks notes) 16th Tim Lebbon book review in the last 3 years, since I launched the site!
This is the brand new novel that will be released in August, so I’m here with my thoughts! I loved a lot about it, and the more time that passes between now and finishing the book, the more that occurs to me. Tim mostly writes horror but also forays into the realms of thrillers and what you might call “weird fiction”. Style-wise, this one most reminded me of his thriller, ‘The Hunt’ (which I’ve reviewed, and you can find that review HERE if you’re interested). The stories are worlds apart – Secret Lives of the Dead is a horror story centred around a curse and a competitive race against time, and The Hunt is about a man who is forced to (quite literally) go on the run for the amusement of human poachers. The similarity is in the pacing.
What I love about the way Tim paces his books is that the tempo is always dictated by the story. The Hunt is about a man who is constantly on the move and trying to outrun predators, and the pacing reflects that. This story is about Jodi, who is trying to find something before someone else can, and then her subsequent panicked actions afterwards. Her world suddenly ignites and then becomes a series of explosive events, as reflected in Tim’s writing. The whole story takes place over a single day. It’s such a page-turner and I only put it down once (and that was only because I had to sleep).
Jodi is a complex, layered character who is driven by a mystery surrounding her father. What I loved about her was how conflicted she was (but ultimately set on her lifelong goal), and how that made me conflicted about her. Her motivations are understandable but some of her actions are very selfish…and yet, still understandable. She sets off a chain reaction for the people she loves, though the horrible things that happen aren’t actually her fault, but the fault of a heinous guy called Lem.
But is Lem heinous, actually? I mean…yes. But also, is he? We get glimpses of his background too, and in those glimpses, I forgot about present-day Lem and felt a lot of sympathy for him. But I still didn’t like him.
Tim’s characters and talent for using locations shines here, as usual. I’d describe his work as character-driven (my favourite), and I was as invested here as I usually am. The way he uses landscapes, buildings, hell – even cave walls, makes them feel like secondary characters, and quite often, secondary antagonists. I don’t know quite how he does it but he has this ability to set you in a place and make you feel and see it, but without describing it in an overly wordy way.
I gave this 4/5 stars (for me, that means I loved it (5 stars for me means an absolutely perfect read all around)). I no longer judge his work by comparison to the works of other authors, but by the standard he has himself set in his own books, and therefore, by the last book of his that I rated 5/5. Stephen King and Rachel Harrison are also in this category, which I admit is probably annoying for them all. The thing that would have nudged this over the top for me would have been even more scary folky elements and scenes, but I loved it and would highly recommend it to people who enjoy fast-paced and action-packed horror with supernatural aspects.
If you’d like to check out (and pre-order!) the book or the author, I’ve popped some links below for you:
Bleeeeat!
Happy Goat Horror 
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