Visions of Ruin

A week in a seedy caravan at 'The Good Times Holiday Park' is not exactly the holiday sixteen-year-old Sam has been dreaming of, but he knows his mum is struggling and doing the best she can. At least he meets someone his own age to hang out with - Polly - but neither of them is prepared for the strangeness that ensues. Beautifully paced and full of deft touches that bring the 1980s setting to life, Visions of Ruin is set during a rainy weekend at a caravan park on the edge of rundown seaside town. The author conjures a tale of subtle horror, of quiet horror. There is no gore or melodrama here, though plenty of tension. This isn't a story that seeks to shock at every turn, but one that steadily unsettles, with a sense of mounting foreboding, as we witness the effects of unexpected events and disquieting phenomena on a cast of fully believable characters fumbling their way through life. The climatic denouement is skillfully handled, with an outcome that might just surprise you. "A taut ghost story that transported me back to the 80s, with plenty to intrigue and unsettle along the way. A pleasure to read, with a terrifically neat ending." - Alison Littlewood