About the Book

He has planned well. He leads two lives. In one he’s just like anyone else. But in the other he is the caretaker of his family’s macabre museum.

Now the time has come to add to his collection. He is ready to feed his obsession, and he is on the hunt.

Jakey Frith and Clara Foyle have something in common. They have what he needs.

What begins is a terrifying cat-and-mouse game between the sinister collector, Jakey’s father and Etta Fitzroy, a troubled detective investigating a spate of abductions.

Set in London’s Blackheath, Rattle by Fiona Cummins explores the seam of darkness that runs through us all; the struggle between light and shadow, redemption and revenge.

It is a glimpse into the mind of a sinister psychopath. And it’s also a story about not giving up hope when it seems that all hope is already lost.

My Thoughts

I was nervous of requesting this book as I’m such a wimp and don’t like being scared. I’d started to see reviews around of it though and it was really drawing me to want to read the book and find out more. I’m so glad I got a copy as it’s such a brilliant read.

The bone collector is such a creepy character. He’s a tall, thin man who can make himself almost invisible in the way he blends in. The idea of him being like a scary character within a storybook, and then somehow seemingly coming to life around Jakey with strange nightmare-like unexplained happenings, but also in that he’s a real person is enough to send shivers down anyone’s spine. He exists in reality and has a life outside of the horror he’s committing. I think he’s one of the most psychopathic characters I’ve read in a really long time.

I love how the book starts off with you not being sure who the creepy man is. There is the story of a little girl Clara going missing, and alongside that the story of Jakey. At the stage where you don’t know how, or even if, the children are connected it leaves you feeling very unsettled. The pain that a family must go through when a child is missing is palpable in this novel, and that added to the building sense of horror as we, the reader, know what is happening to the child really ramps up the tension.

This book reminded me a little of Mo Hayder’s novels in the way the horror slowly creeps up on you and then leaves you feeling very, very unsettled and unnerved but unable to stop reading.

Rattle is dark and twisted and very, very creepy but I loved it. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys unnerving novels that creep up on you.

Rattle is due to be published on 26 January and is available to pre-order here.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.