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John Millen

Long Lankin
By Lindsey Barraclough
Published by The Bodley Head
ISBN 978 0370 331966
The novel Long Lankin is a stunner of a debut: a wonderful, imaginative slow-burner of a thriller. 
Lindsey Barraclough's first novel is written with a style and intelligence that put many established authors to shame. It's one of those books that make you want to buy a copy for everyone you know.
Yet Long Lankin has received very little publicity and will probably not be prominently displayed in bookshops. Do search it out. 
The story is set in post-second-world-war Britain, where Cora and her younger sister, Mimi, are about to be sent from London to live in the countryside with Great Aunt Ida. Their mother has suffered a nervous breakdown and their dad doesn't have time to look after them. 
Aunt Ida lives in an isolated village surrounded by marshes and empty fields. Her house is hundreds of years old and literally falling down. Cora realises immediately that she and her sister are not wanted there. Aunt Ida is bad-tempered and unfriendly. She tells the girls they will be sent back to the city at the first possible opportunity. 
She orders that all the doors in the house be kept locked at all times and forbids the girls from opening any of the windows. The girls are also banned from visiting the old church in the village. Cora senses that something is very wrong. All she wants to do is get back to London with Mimi. 
She makes friends with Roger, a boy from the village, and the two of them decide to break the rules and visit the old church. The story now takes off in a very chilling yet entirely plausible direction. 
Something evil in the village is reawakening because of Cora and Mimi's arrival. Cora finds strange warnings written on walls, she begins to hear disembodied voices and see ghosts. 
It is impossible to mention all the brilliant things in Long Lankin in this space. A real sense of menace runs through the book and cold dampness hangs over every page. The characters are wonderfully drawn. As the story progresses, you will turn the pages with a delicious feeling of dread and unease. 
Long Lankin is a stunning piece of fiction highlighting young adult novels at their best.



A bone-chilling tale that will leave you in a cold sweat