Review: The Searching Dead (The Daoloth Trilogy Book 1 ) by Ramsey Campbell

 

In 1952, while on a school trip to France, Dominic Sheldrake believes something is not quite right with his teacher. When they return home to Liverpool, Christian Noble’s strange behavior continues and concerns not only Dominic and his best friends Jim and Bobby (Roberta), but also their parents and the headmaster of the boys’ Catholic school. There are also rumors that Mr. Noble is a Spiritualist and has begun leading a congregation to believe that he can help them communicate with their dead loved ones. And when the church tires of him, Noble announces his intention to begin a church of his own.

Dominic, Jim, and Bobby investigate Mr. Noble. They watch his house, follow his movements, and even fake a chance meeting in a park with his wife to try to get information from her. Once his church is established, Dominic makes a discovery more monstrous and dangerous than they ever dreamed possible.

The Searching Dead is my first Ramsey Campbell book, and I didn’t really know what to expect from his writing. When I chose it, I was not aware it was the first book in a series of three. Initially I had difficultly and even considered DNF-ing it because it felt very slow to me. Now I know that the story was so slow because he was building a world and a backstory that will carry over to the other books in the series.

There are some creepy and chilling moments that raised chill bumps as I read. It does not have loud, grotesque scares; instead, it relies on quiet horror to keep you on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next. To me, those are my favorite kind of scares.

Mr. Campbell did an excellent job building his world, his descriptions of post-war Liverpool make you feel like you are their seeing the bombed-out buildings, dealing with the difficulties of rationing, and the excitement of new advancements in technology as they were in 1952. I love that he created characters that are easy to identify with, the relationship between Dominic and his parents, the strict structure of the priests at the all-boys Catholic school, and the sinister way Mr. Noble interacts with his own family, particularly his young daughter Tina. Above all, I love the camaraderie between Dominic, Jim, and Bobby, or as they refer to themselves, the Tremendous Three. I am hoping they are still close in the later books.

I was not the biggest fan of this book in the beginning, but now I am looking forward to seeing how Mr. Campbell carries this saga forward in the next two books.

Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for providing me an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4/5 Stars