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
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