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Latimer's Demon
Newly published for June 2014!
D. M. Mitchell has been compared to Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Ruth Rendell, M. R. James, Linwood Barclay, Umberto Eco, the Bronte sisters, Charles Dickens and many others. His novel, The Soul Fixer, has been optioned for a Hollywood movie in conjunction with the famous director Dominic Sena (director of Gone in 60 Seconds, Swordfish etc). Discover for yourself why D. M. Mitchell is being regarded by some as one of the UK’s most original and exciting writers of psychological thrillers and supernatural fiction.
April 1918. David Latimer is a young man badly injured by the war, not only physically but mentally, too. Sent to Isherwood Sanatorium to recover, he meets Christopher Gilbourne, a fellow-sufferer of shell shock. They become firm friends until Christopher is discharged and is sent home to recover at his parents’ home.
But David Latimer is haunted by something far more sinister and terrifying than the war. He is haunted by a demon which comes every night to torment him. Is this demon real or a cruel symptom of his illness? He is contacted by a Doctor Harradine, who believes he can cure him of his affliction, the way he helped cure his friend Christopher Gilbourne, and so David Latimer finds himself bound for Somerset in England.
Here he meets Christopher’s parents at Gilbourne House, a crumbling old estate in the heart of rural Somerset. The Gilbournes – Sir Christopher and his wife Margaret – are in the throes of grief after losing their son, who returned to the Front and was killed, but they want to help his last good friend, David Latimer, and are paying for his treatment. Margaret is also dabbling in the occult, trying to contact her dead son, using a local young woman called Megan Attwell as a medium – a young woman who reputedly can speak to the dead.
David Latimer is soon attracted to Megan Attwell, and finds himself torn between the logic of Doctor Harradine and the occult beliefs of Megan. Moreover, he finds out she is desperately trying to clear the name of her husband-to-be William Pike, a man accused of murdering the Gilbournes’ estate manager, yet no one will believe the young man did not commit the crime.
Not only is David Latimer still suffering his demonic tormenting, but he is drawn inexorably into a labyrinthine world of the supernatural, secrets, lies and murder, and during his treatment his own dark and tragic past is dragged to the surface – a past that will have dire implications for all involved.
With his trademark detailed and fully believable characters, and intelligent plot twists and turns, D. M. Mitchell pens a brilliantly taut, multi-layered murder/mystery shot through with the supernatural and horror; a unique novel that will leave you gasping for breath from its quiet beginning all the way to its shock ending.
D. M. Mitchell has been compared to Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Ruth Rendell, M. R. James, Linwood Barclay, Umberto Eco, the Bronte sisters, Charles Dickens and many others. His novel, The Soul Fixer, has been optioned for a Hollywood movie in conjunction with the famous director Dominic Sena (director of Gone in 60 Seconds, Swordfish etc). Discover for yourself why D. M. Mitchell is being regarded by some as one of the UK’s most original and exciting writers of psychological thrillers and supernatural fiction.
April 1918. David Latimer is a young man badly injured by the war, not only physically but mentally, too. Sent to Isherwood Sanatorium to recover, he meets Christopher Gilbourne, a fellow-sufferer of shell shock. They become firm friends until Christopher is discharged and is sent home to recover at his parents’ home.
But David Latimer is haunted by something far more sinister and terrifying than the war. He is haunted by a demon which comes every night to torment him. Is this demon real or a cruel symptom of his illness? He is contacted by a Doctor Harradine, who believes he can cure him of his affliction, the way he helped cure his friend Christopher Gilbourne, and so David Latimer finds himself bound for Somerset in England.
Here he meets Christopher’s parents at Gilbourne House, a crumbling old estate in the heart of rural Somerset. The Gilbournes – Sir Christopher and his wife Margaret – are in the throes of grief after losing their son, who returned to the Front and was killed, but they want to help his last good friend, David Latimer, and are paying for his treatment. Margaret is also dabbling in the occult, trying to contact her dead son, using a local young woman called Megan Attwell as a medium – a young woman who reputedly can speak to the dead.
David Latimer is soon attracted to Megan Attwell, and finds himself torn between the logic of Doctor Harradine and the occult beliefs of Megan. Moreover, he finds out she is desperately trying to clear the name of her husband-to-be William Pike, a man accused of murdering the Gilbournes’ estate manager, yet no one will believe the young man did not commit the crime.
Not only is David Latimer still suffering his demonic tormenting, but he is drawn inexorably into a labyrinthine world of the supernatural, secrets, lies and murder, and during his treatment his own dark and tragic past is dragged to the surface – a past that will have dire implications for all involved.
With his trademark detailed and fully believable characters, and intelligent plot twists and turns, D. M. Mitchell pens a brilliantly taut, multi-layered murder/mystery shot through with the supernatural and horror; a unique novel that will leave you gasping for breath from its quiet beginning all the way to its shock ending.
- GenresAmazon
198 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 27, 2014
7 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
D.M. Mitchell
23 books51 followersD. M. Mitchell has been compared to Ruth Rendell, Martina Cole, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Linwood Barclay, Dickens and even the Bronte sisters! This wide array of writing styles is appropriate - though Mitchell is known for his psychological thrillers, he is determined that each of them will be different, so they might be set in different eras, may be straightforward thrillers or have a supernatural or horror twist, and he avoids like the plague the standard and unimaginative serial killer format! You'll find he uses different styles of writing to suit different types of books - it also keeps him from getting bored...
D. M. Mitchell was born into a small mining community in Yorkshire, England. His career advisor said he had two options - go down the mines or become a policeman. Being scared of the dark and never having much meat on his bones, he declined both and in his early years bounced like a pinball from job to job - warehouses, cinema projectionist, market trader, salesman - you get the picture. He sort of made a success of himself and now lives in a money-pit of a cottage in a tiny village in the cream tea heart of the South West of England.
His first remembered attempt at pushing the boundaries of creative writing was during a school lesson at the age of nine. Titled simply 'Rain' his proud masterpiece began with 'It started to rain' then there followed eight pages of nothing but the words 'pitter-patter', concluding with 'and then it stopped'. It was handed over and duly reviewed by his brick wall of a teacher, whose eyebrows flickered up and down ominously, his cheeks flushing bright red, before declaring it total rubbish. He tore it up into ribbons, showered him with his first, and no doubt only tickertape ceremony, and gave him a meaty slap around the head (they could do that sort of thing in 1967). He made him write 'I will not write stupid things for eight pages' for eight pages. Thus he learnt a number of valuable early lessons - the meaning of irony, writing is very subjective, everyone's a critic, and no-one likes a smart-arse.
He persevered, his first novel appearing in 1986 and disappearing into the attic the same year. It's still up there. Many manuscripts later he used to save the piles of rejection slips to paper his bare walls. So the adage is, keep at it, in these times of economic depression you'll soon have the house fully redecorated. Nowadays, writing is the one thing he feels totally comfortable with, except perhaps for a cup of Horlicks on a cold winter's night when the rain goes pitter-patter against the window panes (there it is again...).
Characterisation is an important and noticeable aspect of all Mitchell's novels. It allows him to be whoever he wants to be when he gets fed up of being himself, which is quite often. So too is a sense of mystery and the exploration of the darker side to humanity. There are always strong elements of a complex puzzle to be solved in a D M Mitchell novel, many disparate parts ultimately coming together, tragedy and comedy sitting side by side. As in life, nothing is as it first seems. He takes a keen interest in history, a thread which runs through his writing, whether it's the 1960s or 1970s, as in 'Max' and 'Pressure Cooker', or the Victorian 1880s, as in 'The House of the Wicked'.
His favourite novelists include Barry Unsworth, Thomas Hardy, John Steinbeck and Graham Swift. Top two favourite historical books: Culloden, by John Prebble and The Face of Battle by John Keegan. He also collects first edition novels and takes a keen interest in anything old, tatty and in need of love and restoration. His wife says he needs to get out more.
He has three grown children and also enjoys photography, painting and walking the Blackdown Hills with his wife and an overly excitable Border Terrier - or is that an overly-excitable wife and a Border Terrier... One of the two.
He'd like to thank his growing legion of fans for allowing him to practice being
D. M. Mitchell was born into a small mining community in Yorkshire, England. His career advisor said he had two options - go down the mines or become a policeman. Being scared of the dark and never having much meat on his bones, he declined both and in his early years bounced like a pinball from job to job - warehouses, cinema projectionist, market trader, salesman - you get the picture. He sort of made a success of himself and now lives in a money-pit of a cottage in a tiny village in the cream tea heart of the South West of England.
His first remembered attempt at pushing the boundaries of creative writing was during a school lesson at the age of nine. Titled simply 'Rain' his proud masterpiece began with 'It started to rain' then there followed eight pages of nothing but the words 'pitter-patter', concluding with 'and then it stopped'. It was handed over and duly reviewed by his brick wall of a teacher, whose eyebrows flickered up and down ominously, his cheeks flushing bright red, before declaring it total rubbish. He tore it up into ribbons, showered him with his first, and no doubt only tickertape ceremony, and gave him a meaty slap around the head (they could do that sort of thing in 1967). He made him write 'I will not write stupid things for eight pages' for eight pages. Thus he learnt a number of valuable early lessons - the meaning of irony, writing is very subjective, everyone's a critic, and no-one likes a smart-arse.
He persevered, his first novel appearing in 1986 and disappearing into the attic the same year. It's still up there. Many manuscripts later he used to save the piles of rejection slips to paper his bare walls. So the adage is, keep at it, in these times of economic depression you'll soon have the house fully redecorated. Nowadays, writing is the one thing he feels totally comfortable with, except perhaps for a cup of Horlicks on a cold winter's night when the rain goes pitter-patter against the window panes (there it is again...).
Characterisation is an important and noticeable aspect of all Mitchell's novels. It allows him to be whoever he wants to be when he gets fed up of being himself, which is quite often. So too is a sense of mystery and the exploration of the darker side to humanity. There are always strong elements of a complex puzzle to be solved in a D M Mitchell novel, many disparate parts ultimately coming together, tragedy and comedy sitting side by side. As in life, nothing is as it first seems. He takes a keen interest in history, a thread which runs through his writing, whether it's the 1960s or 1970s, as in 'Max' and 'Pressure Cooker', or the Victorian 1880s, as in 'The House of the Wicked'.
His favourite novelists include Barry Unsworth, Thomas Hardy, John Steinbeck and Graham Swift. Top two favourite historical books: Culloden, by John Prebble and The Face of Battle by John Keegan. He also collects first edition novels and takes a keen interest in anything old, tatty and in need of love and restoration. His wife says he needs to get out more.
He has three grown children and also enjoys photography, painting and walking the Blackdown Hills with his wife and an overly excitable Border Terrier - or is that an overly-excitable wife and a Border Terrier... One of the two.
He'd like to thank his growing legion of fans for allowing him to practice being
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 12, 2017
A Riveting Good Read
I enjoyed this book so much I read it in 2 days whilst on my holiday. Very absorbing. Well done.
I enjoyed this book so much I read it in 2 days whilst on my holiday. Very absorbing. Well done.
June 6, 2014
Long Path for Demon to Find Home
This is a very gripping and visceral story of a British veteran of the Front in France against Germany, who comes back physically, as well as mentally wounded. He also has picked up a demon.
This poor man is not only handicapped by his physical injuries, but David Latimer is visited by his demon every night. Considering what you find out about his life, it is amazing that he is still anxious to look for a solution with Dr. Harridine, a famous doctor known for working with shellshocked soldiers. He tells David the demon is in his head, based on all kinds of past history, and it can be made to go away.
The story gets much more complicated when Megan enters the picture, as she is a natural medium for the dead, claims to have spoken to his dead brother Peter, as well as telling him his demon is real. What is a poor, tortured guy supposed to think?
So much happens in this book - it reminded of an Agatha Christie novel with the tortured bits added. The way it all wound up, with many of the players ( those that were alive ) together at the end, hearing what really took place. Classic. The rest was classic Mitchell, idiosyncratic characters you either love or hate. Incredible twists in the plot, bizarre situations and phenomenal writing made me read straight through.
I have only one complaint: ( SPOILER ALERT ) I know why you stated the demon clung to David every night and then didn't, but why did David have to suffer years of getting killed every night? Supernatural beings should be able to target whoever they want, wherever they want. I realize that it would have messed with the plot, but that bothered me, hence 4 stars and not 5, which is typical for your novels which are outstanding.
Bottom Line: This is a tight, gripping read. It is a wolf in sheep's clothing. The murder mystery is not what you expect, so just hold on tight and enjoy the ride. Once you start, you won't stop! Highly Recommended...
This is a very gripping and visceral story of a British veteran of the Front in France against Germany, who comes back physically, as well as mentally wounded. He also has picked up a demon.
This poor man is not only handicapped by his physical injuries, but David Latimer is visited by his demon every night. Considering what you find out about his life, it is amazing that he is still anxious to look for a solution with Dr. Harridine, a famous doctor known for working with shellshocked soldiers. He tells David the demon is in his head, based on all kinds of past history, and it can be made to go away.
The story gets much more complicated when Megan enters the picture, as she is a natural medium for the dead, claims to have spoken to his dead brother Peter, as well as telling him his demon is real. What is a poor, tortured guy supposed to think?
So much happens in this book - it reminded of an Agatha Christie novel with the tortured bits added. The way it all wound up, with many of the players ( those that were alive ) together at the end, hearing what really took place. Classic. The rest was classic Mitchell, idiosyncratic characters you either love or hate. Incredible twists in the plot, bizarre situations and phenomenal writing made me read straight through.
I have only one complaint: ( SPOILER ALERT ) I know why you stated the demon clung to David every night and then didn't, but why did David have to suffer years of getting killed every night? Supernatural beings should be able to target whoever they want, wherever they want. I realize that it would have messed with the plot, but that bothered me, hence 4 stars and not 5, which is typical for your novels which are outstanding.
Bottom Line: This is a tight, gripping read. It is a wolf in sheep's clothing. The murder mystery is not what you expect, so just hold on tight and enjoy the ride. Once you start, you won't stop! Highly Recommended...
November 25, 2014
This book really messed with my head. I mean that as a compliment, of course. I like having my head messed with. This book also used a tactic I remember well from reading Agatha Christie mysteries, where I wasn't sure who the killer was but I had it narrowed down to two choices, and then right up until the end those two characters would be together acting all suspicious or knife fighting or whatever, so I still couldn't be sure. I love a book that keeps me guessing. I also couldn't put this book down once I hot about 20% in, so it was a whirlwind ride. I love D.M. Mitchell and I hope he keeps writing books do I can keep reading them.
November 20, 2014
A very good read
I enjoyed it. I thought that it started off slow but I became intrigued and ended up enjoying the book.
I enjoyed it. I thought that it started off slow but I became intrigued and ended up enjoying the book.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews