Blood Harvest by S.J. BoltonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Welcome to Heptonclough! A small village in the Pennines. If you're into ghostly sightings, creepy folklore, missing children and pagan rituals then this is the place for you.
This is the third book from Sharon Bolton (known as S J Bolton when initially released) who has gone on to release a further six books plus some short stories.
The story starts in a graveyard where a landslide due to heavy rainfall has unearthed a childs grave who must have been having a sleepover as two extra bodies where found along with the gave's supposedly only occupier.
The story then goes back a few months and follows Harry Laycock the new town vicar, the Fletcher family who has recently moved into the area, Evi Oliver a Psychiatrist who is concerned for one of her patients from Heptonclough that goes for walks along the moors looking for her daughter who died in a house fire and numerous other supporting characters that contribute to the build up for a great whodunit that will keep you guessing right till the end. I love the amount of twists that Sharon Bolton throws into this story. My wife who is better than me at calling out a killer also got this wrong.
Although I love horror stories and movies I don't believe in the supernatural so I would like to point out the genius way Sharon Bolton creates a supernatural environment and later explains what caused it.
What I loved the most about Blood Harvest is the location. Now I might be a bit biased with this opinion as it is set very close to where I use to live. Although Heptonclough is a made up place the surrounding area is very real and Sharon Bolton captured it perfectly. I loved the references to The Witch Way bus service which is a real bus service, Rawtenstall Market and other local references that I couldn't help but smile when I came about them.
Sharon Bolton is a gifted author who has created a very enjoyable book with relatable characters that covers some very dark human behaviour where you feel a real sense of danger for the children involved.
4.5 / 5
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