Book Review: The Small Hand by Susan Hill

In this short book written by Susan Hill of 'Woman in Black' fame we are told the story of Adam Snow, an antiquarian book dealer, who happens upon an old house and that's when strange ghostly events begin to happen.  Adam is haunted by the ghost of a child and although it begins quite benevolent terrifying events begin to occur.  This book is only 167 pages long so its difficult to give a detailed synopsis without giving too much away.

Even though it was short I thoroughly enjoyed it as a proper spooky ghost story which suited the wintry, stormy weather we've been having recently.  The story although not exactly gripping in my opinion set the scene and atmosphere perfectly and you could quite easily put yourself in Adams' shoes...not that you would want to!  I found it hard to date and it wasn't until towards the end that I mention of the internet helped me place the story in recent times, afterwards I discovered it was published in 2010 but honestly it could have taken place any time between 1850 onwards.  Everything had that feel of dark and enclosed, almost claustrophobic feel, until the very end when doors are open wide and bright lamps are put on.

I found all the characters intriguing in their own way and although we followed the story of Adam I thought that each character played their part well and was believable.

If I had to select a favourite scene it would have to be anywhere at 'White House' where the author goes into great and glorious detail about the state of the house and gardens.  I feel it sets the background for a proper haunting very well without being overly hacked.

Although I enjoyed that the story was short and character backgrounds were kept to a minimum I felt that I came away with a lot of questions that should have been answered, but then a good ghost story should let you make up your own mind I suppose.

Physically I thought the book had a wonderfully ornate cover (shown above), I had the hardback version, and I liked the feel of the paper and the look of the font used throughout.  I liked that the initial in each new chapter was made to reflect the growing of the garden which was at the heart of the story.

If you are looking for a good proper spooky ghost story then this should be your first choice...then read the Woman in Black.