Steeped in classic horror, this chilling contemporary tale deals with secrets long buried, festering guilt, and haunting loneliness Jack Trent, the most effective criminal investigation officer in the history of the department, is having bad dreams of a child's murder in a forest at the hands of something indescribable. But these are more than nightmares?they are visions of the future that Jack has tried for years to suppress. Something happened to Jack in his childhood? something that means he cannot touch another living person and something that killed his mother?and this something has returned to inspire his visions. In a final race against time, Jack attempts to save a boy's life in the clearing of Redgrave Forest. Can he face the long-dead Dr. Mendicant and the ancient Darkness of Crowman? Can he face the evil living inside himself? And what will he make of the Doctor's final, devastating revelation?
A chilling read, in some chapters you are taken back into the past into the beginning of a village Crow Haven, it seems to be damned by some curse or evil spirits from its first creation. The main protagonist Jack discovers this reading through a diary and book named Transfiguration of souls. Bill Hussey's debut is a work of startling imagination. With a haunting narrative voice and vivid imagery, Hussey paints a melancholic, yet beautiful tapestry that readers won't forget he writes with a literary sensibility that elevates horror to an art form. Indeed, this is much more than horror it's an epic tale of good versus evil, sacrifice, and the enduring goodness of the human soul, despite its flaws. Inspector Jack Trent lives alone. While many struggle with their "demons", Jack has real demons in his head. They show him things. Make him dream. Lead him to astounding leaps of logic that make him a legendary police investigator. They also show him potential outcomes, visions of the future.
Everything I'd read about Through A Glass, Darkly, the 2008 debut novel of Bill Hussey, suggested that I would love it. A horror novel set in an isolated, insular Fenland village. It features a sinister villain who materialises now and again to terrorise children, and his name is Elijah Mendicant, or the Crowman. The Crowman. Yes. Like the creepy one in the black hat from Worzel Gummidge. Seriously, anyone who knows me well would imagine this book to be tailored exclusively to my horror needs.
So it's a shame, then, that I just didn't enjoy it that much. I really, really wanted to like Through A Glass, Darkly, but ultimately the writing was too undisciplined, the horror at times just too overblown, the editing nowhere tight enough. And most importantly, when it came to the hero, I just didn't care.
It would be unfair if I didn't point out that there is still a great deal to like about this book. For a start, it's crammed with brilliant ideas for horror novels - it's just that they've all been squashed into one book, which means that while there are some fine feats of macabre imagination in the story that I very much appreciated, it lacks cohesion as a narrative and feels a little overstuffed, a little confused. Mendicant himself is, quite genuinely, extremely creepy, and his early appearances made me shiver in the best of ways: Hussey is more than capable of writing skin-crawlingly eerie, unsettling scenes, which for me makes it a pity that he relies on gore and gross-out sadism far too often. I like a bit of gore as much as the next girl, but these scenes rarely showcase Bill Hussey's talent - and he does have plenty of talent - to its best advantage, and the atmosphere tends to be lost. There are also some descriptions of outlandish visuals that simply don't work for me; while impressive in terms of the author's vision, I felt at times as if I were reading visual directions from a screenplay, and became rather detached from the action.
The novel's protagonist is ostensibly troubled police officer Jack Trent, fighting a supernatural affliction all of his own while simultaneously trying to prevent Mendicant, a serially reincarnated manifestation of evil, from targeting Jamie, Jack's former girlfriend's son. However, large chunks of the story are told by other people, a device I found to be successful partly because the differing points of view provided variety and colour and helped the different plot strands knit cleverly together, but partly (and unfortunately) because I simply found the other characters far more interesting than tortured, heroic, saintly Jack. As well as being a little too-good-to-be-true, or more to the point too-good-to-be-interesting, Jack's role in the plot involves a police investigation of a missing person case and two child murders: I never found this part of the story especially convincing. Like a film in which the character actors steal the show from a bland leading man, Through A Glass, Darkly is most fun when it's left to the lesser characters to provide the action, and Hussey has done a fine job of making them three-dimensional. I could happily have read the story of Catholic priest Asher Brody and his long-term battle with Mendicant on its own.
There's plenty of excellent stuff in Through A Glass, Darkly, but as a whole, I felt it needed a damn good edit. It's almost as if there are two or three novels in there competing for attention at times, which made it an ultimately unsatisfying read for me. I would still keep an eye out for Bill Hussey's work - this was his first novel, after all - but in the meantime, my search for a British horror novel that manages to be terrifying and tautly-plotted yet beautifully and intelligently written throughout goes on.
Inspector Jack Trent is what others call an odd loner - he doesn't play well with others, he keeps to himself, and he has an uncanny intuition where others in the force have called it "paranormal". Little do they know that Jack does indeed, have a "gift".
Jack has what he calls "the dreaming" - when he does dream, he sees a horrific event that does come true. The ones behind "the dreaming", he calls demons. They have lived inside him since the accident where he was dead for four minutes. Their power frightened him so much, they even claimed his mother's life.
Another "gift" from the demons was how Jack could see into a person's memories through a single touch. Because it gave "them" power, Jack chooses the path of the loner...until he met Dawn. When the demons grew to be too much, he did the only thing that felt right: push her and her teenage son away, for their own protection.
Two months after their break-up, Dawn and Jack are assigned to work together on a case in Crow Haven - a town with a dark history and equally dark residents. Jack already feared he would tangle with the darkness, for "the dreaming" had already sent him the vision of a murdered boy. There were indeed murders of young boys, and kidnappings of others. The more time Jack spends in Crow Haven, the more he battles with the darkness the Bible depicts.
"Through a Glass, Darkly" is a wonderfully written horror novel that even now, continues to give me chills. The imagery is not meant for the squeamish, and even for the hardened veterans like myself, I find that Hussey does his job in reminding us that there can be such evils in the world (or worlds, depending on your personal beliefs).
Overall I did enjoy this book, although early on my attention was slipping away a little, as I had some trouble distinguishing the wide array of characters. The writing style is engaging, reminding me of James Herbert and a teensy bit of Jonathan Aycliffe (mainly the more historically driven parts). Protagonist Jack Trent (such a detective-y name!) is a fairly well-drawn and sympathetic character. I loved the setting; the village of Crow Haven - I do like a mysterious and creepy English village horror. There's something of a mishmash of Medieval history, inner demons (literally), horror and occultism, diary excerpts and arcane documents - as well as a magic 'outside of time' library! (loved that part!). Villain Mendicant is grimly fascinating and a suitably horrifying character. Admittedly it could use some editing and is a tad over-long, and the ending felt a bit muddled to me. Even so, I would still recommend to fans of British horror.
a dark, gritty raw English crime/thriller with heavy supernatural themes. Grisly murders, a village that seems cursed, missing children. This took me completely by surprise but I couldn't put it down. If you want something disturbing, thay makes you really think....give this a go!
In Bill Hussey's debut novel, a centuries-old pall of evil hangs over the small village of Crow Haven, personified by a mysterious figure known as the Crowman. When the young Simon Malahyde disappears apparently without cause, and young boys are abducted, then found dead and mutilated, DI Jack Trent is paired with his colleague and ex-girlfriend DS Dawn Howard to investigate.
Trent is already familiar with the supernatural. A childhood near-death experience has left him infested by demons that give him intimate insights into the thoughts and histories of anyone he touches. He also receives visions of the future--visions that insist Dawn's son Jamie will be a victim of the serial killer currently terrorising the area (except Crow Haven itself, which seems inured to strange deaths and malice). Dawn takes more convincing that the threat to Crow Haven is not mundane, and she becomes sidelined as the investigation takes Trent into stranger and stranger parts--including a marvellous hidden library.
The enforced proximity between jilter (Trent) and jiltee (Dawn) makes for a constant thread of tension running through the novel. The more Trent yearns to be close to Dawn, the more he must push her away, for his emotional attachment to her feeds the demons that he has always tried to keep penned within a cage of logic. The demons have already killed his mother; he can and will give everything to prevent that ever happening again.
The narrative is slow to build to the climax, and it feels somewhat weighted down by the density of Hussey's writing. The investigation is followed minutely, and there are digressions into various aspects of the relevant backstory, all of which tends to create a feeling that the story isn't going anywhere soon. Yet Hussey writes well, and imbues the reader with confidence that this is all going to come together at the end. Which it does. The tension becomes more effective as the final confrontation approaches, and the worth of the slow build-up becomes evident when the reader realises they are fully engaged with Trent, and concerned for his welfare.
There are some great aspects to the book--the above-mentioned library, for one, and the way everyone knows there's something not quite right about Simon Malahyde, but nobody really wants to face what it might be. Definitely one for the Horror fan who prefers to get more in their favourite genre than just blood and gore.
This book is stuffed full of classic horror themes and this is why it appealed to me. The first half of the book deserved 4 stars: it was full of intrigue, suspense and grim tidings.
The book is written very well: I really like Hussey's style of writing. It did have a few issues for me though.
As I said, I thought the first half of the book was much better than the last: the way the story and characters were built up was great. However, the narrative in the last half got swallowed up in backstory. I know this was all relevent to the plot, but it came in chapter upon chapter and took over the book, and made the story unbalanced. And the ending was really disappointing (I read it twice and I was still confused) and there were a good number of loose ends that weren't tied up.
Another distraction I found throughout the book was that almost every name bagan with a J - Jack, Jamie, James, Jonathan James, Jarski - I don't think this was in any way significant but it was very noticeable.
Overall I thought this book was good but my interest waned towards the end.
So far a very interesting read - a bizarre mix of horror and hard boiled drama. Well written for an easy read with nothing too challenging but a few references to other areas of the arts which are quiet interesting.
Now that I'm finished I still think it was good but ending was quite flat - interesting though.
Though it can be a bit confusing, its a great tale that mixes murder, sorcery, medieval history, witches and horror and it keeps the reader engaged. I will probably re read this in order to get more out of it as there is a large array of characters and any stories they need to tell us.
This book starts very well. The descriptions of the encounters with the dead are genuinely creepy. Felt a bit disappointed with the end that seemed overly grand and a bit King like. But there are worse writers to be compared to. Over all very good and will definitely read more Bill Hussey.
Wel-written modern horror novel. While the story itself was just good, not great, Bill Hussey's writing style is so engaging I gave the book four stars.
I really struggled with this book - I think it was a great idea and I didn't have any issue with the characters or the authors dialogue - what I did struggle was the "back to front" way in which details where revealed.
Let me explain - and I could be just being overly critical here but I felt that the story made a huge number of assumptions - for me too many to be comfortable with - right from the get go. With only later ( and we are talking over 100 pages later) were there satisfactory explanations. Now ironically once given it made more sense and suddenly what you thought were annoying personality traits were actually key aspects of what was going on.
Now on one hand this could be said to be expertly handled mis-direction but on the other hand it could be pushing readers to frustration as we humour the author in the hope at some point it would all come clear.
Well it did but still I felt like I had to work harder than I needed to (rather than expected to) to see the story through
If you are looking for a spine tingling, captivating creepy read I highly recommend Through A Glass Darkly. A perfect 5 star read that will keep you completely captivated during these dark winter nights. You will be drawn in to the MC' Jack Trent's life past and present with dreams/ nightmares of the future with chilling intrigue and mystery. What is the cause of the curse of the Crow Haven Village? The story is cleverly mapped out with lots of layers intertwined with chilling aspects that will haunt, shock and thrill. The history of DR Mendicant created by the author W H Hussey is so detailed in its creation as a reader you really are taken on an emotional journey and the history of the village and its people within. Its a superbly dark page turner that deserves to be discovered by so many more. A fabulous horror with on the edge of your seat thrilling good v evil survival taking you all the way holding your breath until the very last page.
There's a good book in here somewhere, but pacing issues, and a distinct sense (common to debut novels) of trying too much, all at once, mar the experience. The psychic detective/police procedural plods along, dogged by too many stereotypical coppers, and there's a magical eternal library introduced randomly which stretches credulity a little too far (and veers a little too close to 'urban horror/paranormal romance' *spits* for my liking), and many expositional interludes featuring old documented history to test the patience.
Then, just when these too many and too disparate plot elements are pulling together, the entire thing grinds to halt for a laborious and cliche-ridden Secret Origin story for our protagonist.
Tapped out halfway through.
Hussey seems a good writer, he just needs a really good and savage editor.
Really a 4.5. It started a little slow but then I couldn't put it down. Only reason it wasn't a 5 was because if got a bit confusing at times and I wish it had ended differently, but I get why it ended the way it did.
A young man from Crow Haven disappears, the police investigation uncovers connections with missing children and discover an ancient evil is waiting to be re-born.
Disappointingly routine horror. Hussey has some good ideas but something just doesn't work here. The book starts off well but by the half-way point it gets in a rut. The structure doesn't help. There are too many manuscripts handed round to the hero which just go over and over information that any perceptive reader will have worked out from whats been provided earlier. As another review points out the author should have found a more concise way of handling the exposition. Hussey's focus on child murders, comes across as shock tactics, rather than trying to frighten the reader. Something that nagged me was the setting. Supposedly in Fen country, this felt as if it could have been anywhere. This doesn't help with the creation of atmosphere.
Characterisation is also a problem. Dawn, in particular suffers from just having nothing to do apart from making eyes at Jack Trent. Someone she loves is in danger but she seems relatively unfazed by it. Making her more proactive would have helped. Trent is not a bad creation, he's just a bit wet. I'm also not sure if the inclusion of his visit to the prostitute serves any great purpose. There's a distinct lack of atmosphere and tension. This is nowhere near the worst book I've ever read, but it's just dull. At the end, I felt I'd wasted my time.
Really wish I could give this one 2.5 instead. There were parts of it that I liked and parts that were just okay (like the ending). Overall, the main character was intriguing and I liked how the author delved into each character's history a little bit in separate chapters to show how messed up they all were and what brought them together. The bits about religion/belief in God/etc. were also interesting. Overall though, it seemed like he took on one too many theme to be able to actually expound upon them all in a satisfying manner, and the ending was super melodramatic and drawn out. I'd like to read his new book to see how it compares since I enjoyed his writing; it was just the plot that started to annoy me at a point.
Well written, atmospheric - I'd previously said how much I was enjoying this...but truth be told, it actually started to get a bit too macabre for me. Wimpish of me, maybe, but if a book is starting to make you uncomfortable, you need to know when to quit.