Devil is in the detail
For every reader who might be attracted by the ghostly subtitle, many more are likely to be put off by what they imagine it might entail. That would be a real pity. The author writes well. There’s an impressive narrative drive without there ever being a feeling the story is being forced along. It has the meticulous and quite particular research that informs for instance Patrick Susskind’s Perfume and she bears her knowledge lightly.
The opening sequence is a tremendous evocation of childhood as a bunch of lads wander the fields of what feels like Thomas Hardy’s England. Of course every self-respecting young fella needs a decent catapult and the titular Bellman naturally has one that is finely crafted from a perfectly chosen branch.
