Review: Fellside by M.R. Carey [Horror, Mystery/Suspense]

 

Rating: 5/5 stars

M.R. Carey solidified himself in my mind as a masterful writer of horror and suspense with The Girl With All the Gifts and its sequel, so I was both nervous and excited for this - excited for the obvious reasons, and nervous because if this disappointed me, it was falling from a great height - and since this has quite mediocre ratings on Goodreads (3.5 at the time of writing), this worried me even further. 

Thankfully, this was one of the semi-regular times when Goodreads and I have differed in opinion. 

I hadn't read The Girl in a long time, so although I had a vague memory that I liked Carey's writing style a lot, I had forgotten just how good it was. This is basically the blueprint of how to write a horror/suspense novel - perfectly paced; exquisitely structured with layers of plot and mysteries that tangle and unfurl; unpretentious writing that nevertheless had some absolutely fantastic turns of phrase and descriptive flourishes without overwhelming the narrative, like just a pinch of saffron in a dish. 

There's also an absolutely stellar cast of characters. Set in a prison that's rotten and corrupt to the core, Carey introduces the most unsympathetic characters and somehow manages to twist them into being sympathetic, whereas others really are just pure evil. 

Watch out, Stephen King - you've got a challenger for the best horror/suspense writer!