Crossing the Threshold

by Jon Mackley

Fleeing the intensity of city life, Paul Taylor moves to the secluded village of Alston. As he tries to settle into rural life, he is disturbed by conflicting dreams of his last months in the city: one that he is certain never happened; the other is too terrible to contemplate.

Paul also learns of the legends surrounding his property, particularly one of a twisted oak tree where the devil was once said to be trapped. Paul initially dismisses these, but soon experiences unexplainable events. However, when one of the villagers is attacked, Paul is named as perpetrator and begins to uncover Altston's chilling secrets in order to clear his name.

Rushing towards a terrifying showdown, Paul realises that there is much more at stake than he could possibly imagine.

362 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 15, 2012

About the author

Jon Mackley is Assistant Professor of Fantasy Literature at Richmond University, the American International University in London. He studied a degree in English Studies at the University of Stirling and a Master's Degree and PhD in Medieval Studies at the University of York. His novels include Crossing the Threshold (2011), Twisting Fate's Arm (2012), Heaven's Devils (2013), The Gawain Legacy (2014), Isla's Insryption (2018) and Nina's Secret (2022). He has also published an academic study of the Latin and Anglo-Norman versions of the Legend of St Brendan (2008) and a Bilingual edition of the Anglo-Norman version (2012), and a bilingual edition of the foundation legend The Origin of the Giants (2014). He has edited a gothic novel which was published in 1802 and which was influenced by the work of Ann Radcliffe entitled Who's the Murderer? by Eleanor Sleath. He has also contributed essays to London Gothic (edited by Phillips and Witchard), New Critical Essays on H.P. Lovecraft (edited by David Simmons), the Routledge Companion to Literature and Food (ed Lorna Piatti-Farnell and Donna O'Brien) and all three volumes of the Palgrave Gothic Handbook (Ed. Clive Bloom) and chapters on mythology and folklore.