'Sunday Lunch'

Jenny Cozens' contribution to Cold Iron looks at a different aspect of paranormal investigation. It features that stock situation beloved of horror movie writers: "Let's hold a seance!" It takes still to make this setup feel fresh, and I think the author manages it in a handful of pages.

In this case Mary, a widow, is secretly keen to get a message from her late husband, Ron. She persuades her daughter Louise and her cynical husband John to try and communicate with the Other Side. The couple's young sons find it all great fun, especially when a message they understand is spelled out. It seems that John's mother has something she wants to say...

I liked this one, especially since so much is left unsaid and unexplained. Mary's quest for her particular truth has merely unearthed another. Will she try to reach Ron again? It seems likely, and it's equally likely that she will not like what he has to say.

More from this running review soon. Now that I'm about halfway through Cold Iron I'm finding it a rewarding collection. Given that it contains wholly original material, it's an impressive book.