Paradise

by Ben Tufnell

A world on the brink of collapse. Dense woods, mountains, a standing stone, a barrow, and a very old house. But if you’ve only ever known concrete and glass, how do you live in a place like this?

Recruited by a mysterious organisation, Nash thinks things are finally going his way. But when a job goes badly wrong, he is taken to an isolated location to await a decision on his fate.

Paradise is a crumbling cottage deep in a forest; Nash is free to leave the house but must not leave the woods. It is winter, and this wild and remote place is unknowable and terrifying. He attempts to map his surroundings to find a way out, but they resist him, the land seemingly shifting and changing. Moreover, he begins to suspect that his employers’ intentions may be much darker than anticipated.

Forming an unlikely friendship, Nash finally begins to understand the consoling power of the place that has become his home. Brigid is sure of herself and at home in the natural world, while he is urban, lost. But she longs for his world, and he longs for hers.

Now the wheel of the year is turning. As winter gives way to spring Nash’s fate has been decided, and they are coming to deliver their verdict…

Paradise is the brilliant new novel from Ben Tufnell, an uncategorizable Kafkaesque eco-thriller combining elements of noir, folk horror and nature writing, addressing the most urgent of contemporary issues.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Horror

336 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2026

Reviews

[Paul Fulcher]

Paradise by Ben Tufnell is the author's 2nd novel.

It is billed as 'an uncategorizable Kafkaesque eco-thriller combining elements of noir, folk horror and nature writing, addressing the most urgent of contemporary issues', but for me the thriller element of the novel is rather too dominant, the ending straight out of a Reacher-style TV series.

The novel opens with Nash, in his early 20s, waiting "for them to come, wondering if they would kill him or not. Nash could not rid himself of the growing convicton that it was all a terrible mistake." He has been on some sort of mission, that went horribly wrong, and returned to his (one assumes London) flat, having thrown his gun in the canal, as instructed, en-route, and knows operatives will be coming to retrieve the envelope he had been asked to acquire. When two men - known (at least to Nash) in Reservoir Dogs style as 'Grey' and 'Black' come, they tie him up and take him to a remote and run-down cottage, Paradise, tucked away in some extensive woods, where he is instructed to stay while a verdict is reached on what should happen to him next.

The narration proceeds both forward, and into the past, and we learn that Nash, who, after a tragic accident, abandoned his plans to go to university to study maths and drifted into a series of itinerant roles, was eventually recruited by a rather shadowy organisation. His recruitment arose from the clinical way he - Reacher-style - dealt with a drunk who attacked in him a pub toilet, and his role is essentially that of a low-level fixer, largely sent to pick-up packages, transport people and occassionally to pass on warnings.

As for the organisation, when he inquires of one of those he is asked to chaffeur, he is told it is one looking to accelerate the arrival of the post-Anthropocene:

There are some optimists - deluded people - who believe it may be possible for Homo sapiens to somehow reach a more enlightened state of being, to finally work towards achieving some kind of balance with nature and to live on in harmony with the planet. But the people we work with believe such a thing is simply impossible. No, Homo sapiens is a mistake, a category error. The only way forward is to take it out of the equation. Let the garden recover. Let it flourish.

Nash - a born city dweller - initially finds his time at Paradise difficult, but over time starts to commune more with the surrounding nature (a key moment comes when he dreams of returning to the city, but that the city is overrun by nature, something, in the dream he welcomes) and the house itself - which is represented in inter-chapter interludes as a sentient entity in its own right.

Paridise is waiting. The house settles its old bones. It is patient. Around it the trees sway in the breeze. They sense the coming of Ostara, the equinox, the turning of the wheel and the beginning of the new year. They sense that change is coming. A shiver runs through the woods.

He forms a relationship with Brigid the 15-16yoish daughter of the local woman who is sent by the organisation to bring him supplies, one where the reader might infer some questionable repressed longing on either side.

But as per the opening of my review, the plot's denoument (a melancholic postscript from Brigid's perspective aside) takes us back into implausible action-thriller territory, which was rather a disappointment.

2.5 stars rounded to 2 as this was a disappointment vs my expectations.

[Sonja Charters]

Paradise is one of those books that I maybe wouldn't naturally gravitate to - however, the mix of genres here made this such a compelling and relevant read. 

 

I was initially drawn to this by the front cover and that dark and moody image contrasted with the title. Certainly not what most people would associate with paradise at all - in fact, this first gave me a forboding vibe and put me in edge before I'd even opened the book.

 

Nash gets mixed up with a mysterious organisation and when his job goes wrong, he's banished to a flaky cottage deep in the forest.

As someone not used to this amount of nature and the winter weather not on his side, Nash is obviously terrified.

Able to leave the cottage but not the forest, he starts to map the area - but there are definitely strange things going on out there.

 

This started off a little slower paced than I usually like, but I was so intrigued by the whole concept of this story that I couldn't help but be drawn forward through the pages.

 

I loved the mystery of the forest and needed to understand whether there were other elements at play here - this was dark and almost verging on folk horror at times and I loved it.

 

The relationship between Nash and Brigid was intriguing and shows just how nature makes people crave the thing they know the least. Both parties desperate to learn more about each others natural habitat.

 

The pace certainly picks up along with the tension and I inhaled the remainder of the book, almost not even blinking through the final section.

 

An atmospheric and immersive read that I'm so glad I picked up.

I'm looking forward to adding more books like this - and more from this author to my tbr soon.

 

 

 



 

[Andy Weston]

The novel opens with the protagonist, Nash, being collected up by his direct bosses after a hit goes wrong at a hotel. He is blindfolded and driven to an isolated and rundown cottage in the area of Paradise, far away from the city. Under duress, he is told to wait while the operation and is evaluated. They will return to deliver the outcome. Meanwhile he waits, alone, with the sole exception of a teenage girl, a neighbour, who pays him occasional visits.

It’s a steady build up, with elements of the surreal, but hardly Kafkaesque as some reviewers have branded it. It’s a plot-driven novel, even a thriller I guess, but not a lot happens for the large part of it, until there is a climax that is really strong, and the reader’s patience is rewarded.

[Abbie ✨]

3.5 / 5 🌟

I’m not really sure where to start with this one!

It’s definitely a slow burner, I had no idea what was going on in probably the first half of the book, but I guess that was the point.

Nash as a character was very layered. He had a traumatic past, which made him very guarded and not able to let a lot of people in. But when he did, like with Mary Owen and Brigid, he was kind, caring, and just needed a friend.

I wish the ending wasn’t as predictable (although I didn’t expect THOSE scenes to happen the way they did!!!), but overall I really enjoyed it!

Thanks to the publisher for gifting me a proof copy and a finished copy!

[AtomicBooks]

This is a brilliant atmospheric read. I really enjoyed the slow paced story building as it helped build the tension perfectly.

The contrast between the past and present narratives was striking. The stark blandness of the city vs the remoteness of the farm house. The desolation of the city vs the live of the wilderness. Both locations raw but in very different ways.

This story is multi layered and whilst at the beginning you feel adrift as you really don’t know what is happening the story gradually comes together to seep into your soul as you realise it’s a story about life, about grief, about the dull reality of life as depression sets in and a slow awakening as you realise what you really want from life.

This is a great read that will stay with me for some time.

[Chris]

3,5

[T.J. Price]

Not what I expected—the blurbs, the back cover copy, the presentation of the book and even the general evasiveness of the narrative led me to believe that something far more speculative was afoot beneath all the trappings. "Folk horror," though, this is not; and only "Kafkaesque" insofar as the plot required there to be ambiguity, which both worked and did not work for me. Character motivations outside of the protagonist's felt vague until they were developed suddenly and in obliging pace with the sudden ratcheting of tension toward the midpoint of the book. Elements of world-building felt a little ersatz, though they did serve to unsettle a decent amount once tied into the story via flashback and plot development—even if explanation was not entirely forthcoming.

All in all, however, a good character study, and well-constructed, too. Engaging and eerie around the edges, yet ultimately a bit too vague despite its strong thematic underpinnings. For me, perhaps appropriately, Paradise remains—frustratingly—just out of reach.

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer]

It is, in fact, time to usher in the post-Anthropocene!
'What does that mean?'
'A natural paradise. There are some optimists - deluded people - who believe it may be possible for Homo sapiens to somehow reach a more enlightened state of being, to finally work towards achieving some kind of balance with nature and to live on in harmony with the planet. But the people we work with believe such a thing is simply impossible.  No, Homo sapiens is a mistake, a category error. The only way forward is to take it out of the equation. Let the garden recover. Let it flourish'

 
The writer and art-curator’s debut “North Shore” (2023) was about liminality and metamorphosis which itself spreads across the boundaries between fact, fiction, and outright fantasy and which transforms from what is initially a gothic style mystery to musings in art – an excellent book made even more special for me by its evocative setting in a not-quite Norfolk.
 
This his second novel opens in Winter with the close third party protagonist Nash being picked up by his handlers after a botched operation at a hotel and taken some way away from the City in which he operates (I assume London) to Paradise, a dilapidated cottage deep in a dark, gloomy wood set in a remote hillside in what he later finds out are the Welsh borders – and instructed to wait there (with heavy threats as to what will happen if he strays further than the woods) while the operation and his role in its failure is evaluated.
 
Flashback sections fill in Nash’s journey – deciding against a Maths degree at University (a terrible decision I have to say) he instead drifts into a series of casual, manual labour jobs before an incident in a pub (where he instinctively and calmly fights off an unprovoked attack from a local nutjob) draws his attention to the organisation who ask him to work – cash in hand and with accomodation provided.
 
At first Nash thinks his luck has changed – even if the work seems mysterious: picking up items, passing on messages, ferrying people around – and his superiors menacing.  But over time the work becomes darker – threats, physical violence, references to past jobs disposing of bodies – and his insistence on understanding more about the organisation makes him realise that what he had thought was possible a branch of the intelligence agencies seems instead related to an organisation seeming to want to usher in (both for profit and philosophical motives) the end of the Western Democracy/Capitalist era and even the end of the Anthropocene era.
 
Meanwhile in the woods he is supplied by a local lady in the employ of the organisation – horseriding Mary Owen – but then forms a secret friendship with her daughter Brigid: Brigid approaching college age and fascinated with his tales of the City at the same time as he finds himself increasingly drawn for the first time to the natural world in which Bridgid has always lived.
 
And all of this plays out against what he knows will be the inevitable reckoning from the organisation – a verdict against him that the longer time goes on he becomes convinced will be negative and brutally rendered.
 
Hugely atmospheric – this is an impressive part-Kafkaesque, part-Gothic literary eco-noir thriller, which manages to combine an immersive reading experience with an oblique exploration of late capitalism and climate change.
 
Recommended.

[Amie Derricott]

We’re introduced to Nash as he walks away from a job gone wrong, clearly tied to a mysterious - and likely illegal - organisation, hinted at when he disposes of a gun in a canal. He knows someone is coming for him, and when he returns to his flat, two men arrive and take him away. With a bag over his head, he’s driven to an unknown location and left deep in the forest beside a crumbling cabin - “Paradise.” He’s free to roam the surrounding woods, but he cannot leave them, relying on Owen to bring supplies.
At first, Nash is understandably impatient, frustrated by how long he’ll be forced to stay while his supposed “crime” is investigated.

When Owen appears, we learn she is in fact a woman with a teenage daughter, Brigid. Nash is told he must not speak to anyone except Owen and must remain within the forest. However, as time passes, he slowly begins to adapt to his new environment. With Brigid’s help - despite the rules - they form a tentative friendship, and she introduces him to the forest, showing him hidden spots and teaching him how to navigate it.
As the days stretch on, Nash begins to feel a little lost, perhaps, forgotten. Owen tells him he has already been there longer than anyone else before him. Though he initially believes he will be cleared of wrongdoing, doubt gradually begins to creep in.

The story is told through a dual timeline, alternating between Nash’s life in Paradise and the events leading up to his arrival there.
I went into this expecting a horror, but it isn’t - at least not in the traditional sense. I’m not entirely sure what genre it falls into, but whatever it is, it works and I liked it!
It’s a slow burn in every sense, yet deeply atmospheric. The forest, its creatures, and Nash’s growing disorientation create a lingering sense of unease, as he struggles to understand where he stands - or if anyone is ever coming for him.

[Amelia Fearon]

Eh. It was fine. None of the characters were particularly interesting. I didn’t really like Nash’s character, I think it would have made much more sense if he was older. But I appreciate the character needed a degree of naivety for it to swing.

It was just weird to hear the character skulk about wasting his life away at the grand old age of… 23. Felt hard to relate to.

Nash and Brigid’s relationship is the highlight of the book and even that feels like it drags on in a mid section lull - their relationship never really going anywhere because it can’t. Once again, if she was older, maybe that could have been fleshed out? Not sure why this particular age range was chosen. Was their relationship romantic? Hard to figure.

I absolutely HATE that we didn’t get a monologue from Grey. All that time built around that character and it does NOT pay off, apart from White’s discussion of who/why/what he thinks Grey is. I wanted Nash and Grey to have that face to face conversation, so because that didn’t happen I’m not interested.

The entire book and we STILL don’t know what the hell he was recruited for. The ambiguity doesn’t pay off in any way.

The blurb captured me with eco-neo noir, and I do love the way the land is written. But the story just… isn’t that interesting. Would have even loved more about Nash’s parents, a good old bit of trauma hashing. I think the most interesting parts of the book are quickly zoomed past.

Edit: I think I was being too nice here on reflection this book sucked

[Jamad]

Paradise by Ben Tufnell is an unusual, slightly slippery novel that blends eco-thriller, folk horror and something more quietly reflective. It follows Nash, who, after a job goes wrong, is sent to an isolated woodland “paradise” to await judgment from a shadowy organisation. What unfolds is part mystery, part survival story, and part meditation on our relationship with the natural world.

I enjoyed this more than I expected. The setting does a lot of the heavy lifting — the forest feels alive, disorientating and faintly menacing, with the sense that the landscape itself is shifting under Nash’s feet. The writing leans into that strangeness, and while it can be a little opaque at times, it suits the mood.

There’s something distinctly Franz Kafka-esque in the set-up: the sense of being judged by an unseen authority, the lack of clear rules, and the quiet, persistent unease that hangs over everything. It gives the novel an added layer of tension, even when very little is actually happening on the surface.

[Fatguyreading]

Paradise is a dark, foreboding, immersive read, set in deep mountainous woods in which we meet Nash, recruited by a shady organisation and after a job goes wrong, he finds himself in a dilapidated cottage, which he can leave, but he must remain withing the confines of the dense woods.
But it's winter, his surroundings are quite ominous, so Nash tries mapping the area, but to no avail as the land seems to be morphing and changing. But it's not long before he meets Brigid and their two worlds collide.

Want to know more? Be sure to pick your copy up to find out.

So all in all, this was quite the mysterious read, full of deep atmosphere and a storyline line that at first moves more on the slower side, but soon picks up.

4 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 's from me.

[Stephen Hugh]

Paradise isn’t the kind of book I’d usually pick up, but it completely drew me in. What starts as a gentle, slightly unsettling story soon builds into something far more gripping. Nash’s isolation in the forest is vividly described, and there’s a constant sense that something isn’t quite right. The atmosphere is dark and tense, with moments that almost feel like folk horror. Soon the pace picks up and I couldn't put it down. I read it in 2 days which is unheard of for me. The writing is rich and immersive, especially in its depiction of nature. Overall, it’s a compelling, slightly eerie read that stays with you after you finish it. I keep thinking about it and I really hope the author does a sequel. It would make a lovely film.

[Sarah]

Paradise had a bit of a slow start, but once you got into the story it was super easy to read (I read cover to cover in about 3.5 hours).

This felt like a dark TV drama that I just couldn't get enough of once I was in it.

What's not to love? A company that is shady about what it does, all identities are hidden and there's some woodsy escape 😂

Air BnB would have a wild time with that review.

There were a few places that I really didn't understand what was going on, but ultimately I was fine with it and going with the flow of how this book doesn't really give a lot of affirmative answers.

[Audrey]

Paradise is a great piece of storytelling. You are never quite sure what's coming next, and that feeling of not knowing keeps you turning pages till you finish. Ben has a real gift, he describes characters and places so vividly you forget you're reading and not watching. I can't wait to see where he takes us next!

[Dan Lawson]

Paradise is a haunting, beautifully written entry in modern folk horror. Ben Tufnell delivers a tense, atmospheric study of grief and isolation that will resonate strongly with readers who appreciate quiet, landscape-driven dread.

[Miss Jocelyn Bell]

Great for a book club read. Lots of discussion points. Wonderful descriptive passages. Gripping and transportive. Sequel please.

[Tim]

"Finally, the birds began to sing."

[Bec]

A thriller but so much more - keeps you guessing right to the end as you follow the twists and turns set within a beautifully described landscape of nature at its most powerful.

[Hans Juzo]

3.5