(1999) James Herbert, Pan, £5.99, pbk, 503pp
Long awaited return to form (in my opinion) for James. Hunchbacked, monoptic detective Dismas is hired to find a child ‘stolen’ 18 years before from his mother Shelly Teasdale. After a visit with a psychic, Dismas is subjected to a supernatural assualt which eventually leads him to Perfect Rest, a retirement home, and its proprietor, Dr. Wisbeech. But nothing prepares him for the sordid secret of the place, or the revelations about his own identity... It’s been a while since Herbert was this ‘sick’ (as non-horror afficionados would have it), but the book is far from gory. Definitely a must for fans of early Herbert.
Tony Chester
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