You can find this book here.
This is McIean's first novel.
The story revolves around twins, Abi and Tim, who are both incredibly intelligent, but also have specific interests that differ from their peers. Both siblings are interested in ghosts and the supernatural and cocoon themselves in this world with each other. This; however, all changes when they decide to fake a photograph of a ghost and take it to school to scare someone, or at least see if it could be passed off as real. It is from this moment that lives change in terrifying ways for the siblings and rest of the family.
The story itself is set in the 1970s. It's atmosphere is claustrophobic; highlighted not just in the relationship between Tim and Abi, but in the environments that are encountered between British suburbia and a Suffolk manor. Everything seems confined and dark, given the circumstances and lives of the characters. For the horror element of this book, it works.
That sense of tension is a good element for a horror novel. Whether you think it is more supernatural horror or the idea of dread that suffocates characters that is this books strength, is up to the reader. This is because the novel seems to move very slowly through everything. Time has a part to play in this novel and helps move not just tension but the creepiness of the goings-on that happen to Tim and his family. For this reason, you might think the slower pace doesn't help the story.
There may also not be enough ghost-centred hauntings for the hard-horror fan.
Links for you
Andrew Pyper
The story centres on relationships with a set of twins; but the consequences of their actions and relationships are heavier throughout the book.
Peter James
This book focusses on the traditional haunted house aspects; however, it does show the moves and difference between suburban/city life and the countryside in the United Kingdom.
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