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| Paul Lowe provides another excellent dustjacket |
I received a review copy of this book from the publisher.
It's been a while since I did a running review of a collection as I work my way through the stories, so I thought I'd revive the custom here with 'The Bothy'.
The first tale in Peter Bell's new book evoked nostalgia in your humble reviewer, as it is set in the Cairngorms. I have happy memories of childhood summer holidays in that part of Scotland, very different from those set down by the story's narrator. The tale concerns two friends who set out to tackle a hazardous trail in late winter and find themselves benighted in the eponymous building during a blizzard. A third person appears, clearly desperate, and the men try to help her. Come the next morning, the two are alone again, confronted by an apparently insoluble mystery.
This is a good start to the collection - a solid ghostly tale with a well-described setting and sympathetic characters. There is also a very nice touch that recalls some of the cleverer devices of earlier writers such as E.F. Benson (a mountain lover himself) and of course Blackwood. So, a good start. Looking forward to the next one, which I will read tomorrow night.
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