Book review: Bellman & Black, by Diane Setterfield

by Diane Setterfield
Bond Street Books
3 stars
Nick Walker

Diane Setterfield's debut novel, 2006's The Thirteenth Tale, was a gothic masterpiece of rewarding complexity, with a beautifully embroidered plot and the power to awe. The book - accessible on many levels - took Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, and echoed and warped it so eerily that Setterfield earned plaudits for her deft interpretation.

Seven years is a long time between a smash-hit debut and its follow-up. So, is Bellman & Black a worthy successor?

Unlike her previous novel, it's no supernova. But it is a dark star and generally meets expectations, although it lacks the twists and turns and brilliant narrative trickery of The Thirteenth Tale. Thankfully though, Setterfield's prose here is as gratifyingly dark and brooding as it is in her debut.

Bellman & Black's protagonist is William Bellman, who, as a boy of 10, made a bet with his chums that he could hit a crow with a stone from his catapult. As his missile arced through the air, Bellman realised in a fraction of a second that he didn't actually want to kill the creature. But he won the bet - unfortunately for the crow, and, as the following chapters reveal, unfortunately for him too.

This single incident foreshadows the rest of his life - crows and rooks become recurring and ominous motifs throughout the book.