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Long Lankin
Long Lankin
Jul 10, 2025 9:22 AM

Author:Lindsey Barraclough

Long Lankin

Beware of Long Lankin . . .

When Cora and her little sister Mimi are sent to stay with their great-aunt in the isolated village of Bryers Guerdon, they sense immediately that they're not welcome. What they don't know is that the last time two young girls were at Guerdon Hall, their visit ended in a mysterious, violent tragedy.

Something dark and evil has haunted the village for centuries. Now it has set eyes on its next victim, and it will stop at nothing to lay claim to her. With the help of local schoolboys Roger and Peter, Cora must uncover the horrifying secrets buried deep within Bryers Guerdon - before it is too late for Mimi.

Bewitching and atmospheric, this is a truly stunning debut that will linger with you for days after the final, chilling pages.

Reviews

The terror is as relentless as the ballad the story springs from . . . Chilling

—— Geraldine Brennan , Observer

A fabulous revisiting of the hoariest of old chestnuts

—— Daily Telegraph

Not for the faint-hearted, this mesmerizing tale generates goosebumps on almost every page

—— Booktrust

A real stunner of a debut: Long Lankin is a wonderful, imaginative slow burner of a thriller . . . Lindsey Barraclough's first novel is written with a style and intelligence that would put many an adult thriller to shame

—— John Millen , Young Post

Such an impressive debut. Every element is spot on - from the elegant prose, through the realistic portrayal of various aspects of family life, the three-dimensional characters and the occasional comic set-piece, to the supernatural horror underpinning it, which is absolutely chilling. Highly recommended

—— Jill Murphy , The Bookbag

Well written and well paced, with more than a sprinkling of hair-raising moments

—— TES

A story to get lost in

—— Booklist

Barraclough's debut, which is based on a centuries-old British ballad, is a ghost story through and through, chock-full of mysterious apparitions, strange voices, cryptic warnings, and townsfolk who chorus beware

—— Publishers Weekly

The story, based on a traditional poem, moves to a chilling conclusion

—— Mary Arrigan , Irish Examiner

Barraclough's depiction of Bryers Guerdon, a village half-immersed in mist-clad marshes, is as vivid as it is frightening; its silent and close-lipped inhabitants are reminiscent of those of Crythin Gifford in Susan Hill's The Woman in Black. Much of our time is spent in Guerdon Hall, a sinking wreck of a house, exploring the dusty tombs of its abandoned rooms. As the action builds, the cellar and, perhaps most notably, the nearby churchyard become the focus of a gripping, supernatural climax

—— Fletcher Moss

This atmospheric, pulse-pounding debut makes the most of its rural, post–World War II setting, a time and place where folklore uneasily informs reality. Barraclough controls her narrative with authority, shifting voices and tenses to provide both perspective and the occasional welcome respite from tension . . . A good, old-fashioned literary horror tale for sophisticated readers

—— Kirkus Reviews

Harvey's talent is in the details of both characters and relationships that seem trivial but are telling ... Harvey is a master of language, adept at both Wildean one-liners ... and more profound expression

—— Rosamund Urwin , Evening Standard

In this Socrates-like story Samantha Harvey examines a dramatic sibling relationship whilst questioning the place of philosophy in modern life

—— Big Issue in the North

Lovely observations on a sibling relationship

—— Lesley McDowell , Glasgow Sunday Herald

Graceful and full of sharp observation and moments of understated pathos

—— Carol Birch , Guardian

[A] satirical debut about the newspaper business

—— Stand Point

A cutting, hilarious portrait of British print journalism... An entirely human story that brilliantly recreates and analyses the recent past

—— The Times

Those gripped by the escalating News International scandal might enjoy the latest newspaper novel Annalena McAfee's The Spoiler

—— Glasgow Herald

authentic, entertaining and draws on her own experience as an arts journalist

—— Daily Express

The Spoiler - set in the halcyon days before phone hacking - was one of the funniest and sharpest fleet street novels in years.

—— David Robson , Sunday Telegraph Seven

McAfee - herself a former journalist - evokes two distinct eras and styles of journalism, that of fearless frontline reportage and that of its successor: style-oriented, celebrity-obsessed features coverage... This is a pacy read that leaves little doubt in the reader's mind that one school of journalism deserves more mourning than the other

—— Alex Clark , Guardian

Marvellous satire...the novel is cunningly plotted and satisfyingly nuanced

—— Independent on Sunday

If the peek into the world of newspaper journalism afforded by the Leveson inquiry has you gasping for more, then this timely paperback release is perfect...a fiendishly funny (and frighteningly plausible) world of fiddled expenses and suspect tactics

—— Shortlist

Thoroughly enjoyable behind-the-scenes expose of an ambitious celebrity journalist's attempt to nail the scoop of her life

—— Metro

This is the paperback edition. The hardback appeared before the News Corporation bosses were dragged into the Commons. McAfee was either very prescient or close to the action, holding her fictional hacks to account for printing false stories gleaned from disreputable sources

—— Julia Fernandez , Time Out

This fictionalised version of HG Wells dramatises the author's life, which was full of politics, writing and women

—— Daily Telegraph

David Lodge's HG Wells was both a visionary and a chancer; as arrogant as he was insecure; with as many noble goals as base instincts; a mass of very human contradictions; as Lodge has it, a man of parts

—— Sunday Express
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