*I received a free copy of this book, with thanks to the author. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
Blurb: A fortunate crash allows three criminals to make their escape into the nearby woods. They consist of: Taggart, a man with big ambitions and an ego to match; Frank, an old career criminal interested in dark knowledge; and Simon, a meek fraudster convicted of manslaughter. Taking Taggart’s lead, the trio end up laying low in the isolated seaside village of Ferrendale, where old traditions threaten to make their stay more dangerous than they imagined.
A new tale of horror from the prize-winning* author of Deep Down There and Wrath of the Land, Oli Jacobs takes inspiration from Lovecraft’s coastal terrors to bring a story of traditions, arrogance, and beings greater than us beyond the sea. As always, he hopes you enjoy…
Welcome to Ferrendale combines Lovecraftian eldritch-sea-abomination vibes with nods to folk-horror, like Midsomer or The Wicker Man, for a claustrophobic creeping occult horror tale that will linger in your mind like the taste of salt and the grating of dry sand on your skin.
The story follows three escaped prisoners, giving us each of their viewpoints in turn, as they release themselves from the penal devil they know only to find themselves at the mercy of the deep blue sea, both metaphorically and literally. They arrive in the titular Ferrendale – a closed, cultish fishing village – just in time for the ominous local festival of the sea, and Jacobs whisks us through their three very different experiences of the community’s welcome with increasing tension as the climactic festivities approach.
Will any of the three survive? Can they ever truly ‘escape’?
In writing this story, the author has taken three pretty unlikable characters and managed to invest the reader in what happens to them, while building a sense of claustrophobia and incipient thalassophobia to almost unbearable levels.
Expect strange locally-brewed ales, lots of less-than-healthy sea air, and eldritch horrors beyond our understanding in this folky old-school horror tale. This might be the first and only book to make me second-guess my deep and abiding love for the seaside!
Purchase Link: Welcome to Ferrendale on Amazon
About the author
Oli Jacobs is a bearded chap currently encased in his own personal cosmic horror story. He is perhaps best known for his horror tale Wilthaven, which was a finalist in the 2021 Book Bloggers Novel of the Year Award. As well as writing, he is a mental health advocate and consumer of cult films.
As always, he hopes you enjoy.
Website: https://olijbooks.wordpress.com/
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For my review of Oli Jacobs’ The Lament of the Silver Badger check here, for The Space Adventures of Kirk Sandblaster have a look here, for Wrapped Up In Nothing, try here, for Strange Days in High Wycombe have a nosy here and for Suplex Sounds of the 70s, here. Plenty of OJ for everyone!
