This is an atmospheric and unsettling novel set in a remote part of Lancashire, a bleak story in a bleak landscape, in which the Devil is a presence, indeed a character, even if the rational reader doesn’t believe in him. The book begins when John, who has escaped from the farming community he was born into to be a teacher, returns with his wife for his grandfather’s funeral. It’s an isolated community to which he returns, hemmed in geographically but also by their secrets, an insular community held together by the stories they tell and the rituals and traditions that have sustained them over the centuries. John has no intention of settling back at the farm but somehow it begins to assert a hold on him and escape a second time might not be so easy. Devil’s Day is the name of the celebration on the eve of the gathering in of the sheep for the winter, when the devil must be propitiated, and however much this pagan ritual is viewed simply as a tradition, the Devil himself seems much more than a metaphor for the forces the farmer cannot control. It’s a slow burn of a book, as the accretion of detail about past deeds accumulates and builds towards a chilling and disturbing conclusion. I found it a compelling novel, well-paced and well plotted, and if at times John himself, the central protagonist seems a little one-dimensional, this doesn’t detract from the overall effect of this decidedly creepy novel.

I thought Devil’s Day was okay but some aspects left me cold.

I loved the setting of the novel, a remote valley in Lancashire. In a way, this serves as the main character rather than the people involved. The valley is harsh, almost sinister at times and not a place I can imagine anyone choosing to life. The beautiful writing brings the place to vivid life.

It’s hard to define what this book is about. The secrets of the Endlands. The secrets buried deep in human hearts. Rituals passed down from generation to generation which start to take on sinister overtones when viewed through the eyes of a stranger.

I liked Kat and how, as a stranger, not raised in the Endlands, brought here by her husband who grew up in the area, she sees the sinister overtones of the remote, self-sufficient lives of the locals.

The issue is that, beautiful writing and a vivid sense of place aside, not a lot goes on in the book. The sinister overtones created by the author’s prose and Kate’s viewpoint never really go anywhere. I was expecting for some dark, sinister revelation but the story just sort of fizzes out. I also didn’t feel really connected to any of the characters.

I suspected Andrew Michael Hurley was a fantastic writer after reading his excellent The Loney, and this book has cemented his reputation in my eyes. Devil's Day is a great book, dealing with family, history and folk tales about the Devil. John Pentecost grew up in the Endlands, a farming community built on a bleak and harsh landscape. John has since moved away, married and carved out a career as a teacher, when his grandfather, The Gaffer, dies and John is called back home. The Gaffer's funeral coincides with Devil's Day where the locals follow a series of customs to try and ward off the Devil so he doesn't wreak havoc upon their community. An outsider in the eyes of the locals, John's pregnant wife, Kat, becomes increasingly uncomfortable and isolated from the community who openly view her as unable to handle the rigours of country life. The book was different from what I expected but no worse for it. It's described as a horror and while there are some sinister and creepy moments, the supernatural slant isn't huge. For me the book was more about family history and the expectations that history brings with it. John is an interesting character who upon arriving back to the Endlands soon reverses back to type, becoming more and more dismissive of Kat and her concerns. Theres a scene, for instance, with an ill advised hike on the moors that had me glued to the page to see how it would end. John also has past secrets of his own too and its interesting how the author presents these and leaves it up to the reader to decide what happened. A really interesting and atmospheric book thats perfect for a dark and windy night.

I received a ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.

I delayed starting this book as I had read mixed reviews, but having a couple of days off work, I decided to tackle it - and I'm very glad I did. It's an extremely well written tale, much more readable than I was expecting, and actually a very good, atmospheric read. I will be searching out The Loney now - another book that I was drawn to but put off by the mixed reviews. Recommended for a cold, winter's night.

A really boring book. I got 20% in to this and there was no story, just a random and poor description of a village in the run up to devils day. Very poor.

From the moment I stated this book I felt uneasy. And the author wants that. It’s a chilling book and is say if you’re someone with an over imaginative mind then read it in day light!

I borrowed this title from NetGalley, a review service that I use, having not heard of the author before. I was attracted to the title by the striking cover art and the book’s description, with its talk of an isolated village amid a moor, the devil stalking the fens at night. I was expecting a supernatural horror and indeed Devil’s Day is billed as such on Amazon. In some ways, this is an accurate description of the book, it certainly has a supernatural element, but as far as horror fiction goes it’s a slow burn. Devil’s Day might more accurately be described as a drama with a deep sense of foreboding.

The novel’s protagonist, John Pentecrost, is a school teacher who works at a public school in the south of England. Every year he returns to his family farm in rural Lancashire to help his father and grandfather bring the sheep down from the moor and partake in traditional rituals to keep the people and animals of the local community safe from the devil. The novel begins with John bringing his new wife, Katherine (Kat), who’s pregnant with their first child, with him for the first time. John’s grandfather, popularly known as “the Gaffer”, has just died and his father is getting on in years, so John – who’s increasingly restless in his job - is thinking of broaching the subject with Kat of their moving back to Lancashire to take over the farm.

As the plot unfolds there are tensions galore. The community John introduces Kat into is extremely wary of strangers and she struggles to fit in. She finds it difficult to understand their old ways and some of them clearly think she’s not up to it. Woodland nearby has recently been burnt down and locals blame a problem family amongst them, members of which have been in prison, bullied other kids at the village school, and generally act in an antisocial manner. As the novel unfolds, it becomes clear that John and other members of his extended family hide dark secrets.

Reading Devil’s Day, at first it seems that the superstitions and folklore that the community adhere to are just that, that this is a remote village, cut off from the 21st Century that is backwards and quaint. As past secrets are unearthed, the reader might even conclude that this folklore has been used to cover up terrible deeds committed by the community’s members. Strange things do happen, some of which appear to have a supernatural root. By the end of the novel, and at risk of divulging spoilers, it is up to the reader to decide what is real and what is not.

This is a slow burning novel full of evocative and haunting description. The tension and foreboding ratchets inexorably upwards, but is never gratuitous and not particularly scary. This is more of an unsettling tale, not least for a city dweller like myself. I found myself wondering whether there are indeed communities like this, the kinds of places where if you wandered in and were particularly unlucky, you might not ever leave. That said, the plot of Devil’s Day did meander somewhat and the ending seemed rushed.

Andrew Michael Hurley is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors. This, his second novel has all the ingredients that had me so gripped by The Loney. Once again, the setting is rural Lancashire - near Clitheroe this time on the dark and brooding moors and hills of the area. There is more than a nod to pagan ways as John Pentecost returns to his childhood home in the Endlands to bury his grandfather, 'The Gaffer' on his family farm. With him, he brings his pregnant wife, Kat, daughter of a vicar. I love the interplay of pagan and religion ritual in these books. They are slow burners, dark, brooding and unsettling. As Devil's Day approaches, John is convinced he'll never leave the farm he grew up on and Kat becomes as uneasy about the tightknit locals as they are as mistrusftul of her. Another wonderful piece of writing heading straight for the very rare 'to read again' pile. Highly recommended.

When I read the synopsis of this book I was really intrigued but unfortunately the book didn't live up to the hype, the writing was very atmospheric and draws you in but it never really progressed and it seemed that nothing was ever resolved or explained, so at the end I was left wondering why I bothered finishing it, it was such a shame as the story idea was great and the author writes beautifully, sorry it wasn't for me.

Good story but found the end a bit of an anti climax.

Devil’s Day is a gothic tale about a small close knit community bound by local superstitions and a complete disregard for life outside their own small village. Very similar in style to The Loney, it has the potential to be an interesting and involving story but sadly the plot fell flat for me. Whilst the writing is vivid and descriptive and effectively conveys the claustrophobic nature of the world the characters inhabit, the story jumps around the timeline which I found quite disorientating and confusing. The cast of characters are made up of bullies, victims and enablers and I found it very difficult to empathise with their surroundings or situation. Hurley has a beautiful writing style but I found the story to be bleak and directionless.

I started off loving the descriptive feel of this novel and felt that it could intrigue and interest me but then it just went n in the same vein for page after page with nothing happening. Beautifully written but is that enough!

(3.5 stars) In Hurley’s Lancashire farmland setting, Devil’s Day is a regional Halloween-time ritual when the locals serve up the firstborn lamb of spring as a sacrifice to ward off the Devil’s shape-shifting appearance in the human or animal flock. Is it all a bit of fun, or necessary for surviving supernatural threat? We see the year’s turning through the eyes of John Pentecost, now settled back on his ancestral land with his wife, Kat, and their blind son, Adam. However, he focuses on two points from his past: his bullied childhood and a visit home early on in his marriage that coincided with the funeral of his grandfather, “the Gaffer”. The Endlands is a tight-knit community with a long history of being cut off from everywhere else, which makes it an awfully good place to keep secrets.

The first and last quarters of the book flew by for me, while the middle dragged a bit. The rural atmosphere and the subtle air of menace reminded me of Elmet and Bellman and Black. I’ll certainly seek out Hurley’s acclaimed debut, The Loney.

Favorite lines: “Nothing changed in Underclough. Nothing happened. Not really. … elsewhere was always a place where the worst things happened. … The world outside the valley might well collapse but we wouldn’t necessarily feel the ripples here.”

A grim tale of rural life and the darkness on the moors from the author of The Loney. "Living on the farms was one endless round of maintenance. Nothing was ever finished. Nothing was ever settled. Nothing. Everyone here died in the midst of repairing something. Chores and damage were inherited." And yet when John Pentecost, one of the few to escape this anti-idyll, returns, he finds the unforgiving land and his family's symbiosis with it have their hooks deeper than he knew. Gradually it becomes inconceivable to him that he should ever leave again, notwithstanding his wife's objections, which range from the practical to the visionary. Hurley's done a fine job here in crafting a folk horror tale which can also pass as realist misery lit for them as fears the spectre of genre. I did see one review, from M John Harrison of all people, objecting that it was hard to keep the various timelines and generations distinct, but this is surely a feature rather than a bug, a way of emphasising that the circular time of the farming-ritual calendar matters far more in the Endlands than fancy modern linear time ever could. Which said, bear in mind that this book caught me at exactly the right/wrong time, because like John I am returned to the countryside for a family funeral. Though thank heavens, the gentle vales of Devon are a world away from this bleak stretch of the Yorkshire/Lancashire border, and my people are newcomers here, not mired in lifetimes of vendetta, filth and grind.

I was sent a copy of Devil’s Day by Andrew Michael Hurley to read and review by NetGalley.

John is telling the story of the return to his family home, bringing with him his pregnant wife, Kat to attend the funeral of his Grandfather, and to help his Father's farm in the annual gathering of the sheep.
Living in such a remote part of Lancashire, family histories are steeped in folklore, mystery and superstitions.
John meanders between the past and the present, while remembering his lonely and troubled childhood, then talking about the songs, superstitions and celebrations surrounding "Devil's Day".

The author uses great adjectives when describing the desolate landscape, this does make weary reading at times. But the magic and the creepy atmosphere, make you want to keep going, to the rather poignant ending.

This was a wonderfully eerie read. I was swept along by the pace of the novel, which seamlessly moves between time frames, never disorientating the reader. The sense of place was profound, and the thread of mystery that characterizes the story was intriguing. I thought the dialogue, in particular, was extremely effective was well written. Having, admittedly, been slightly disappointed with The Loney, I am most definitely a satisfied reader now.

John Pentacost is returning, as he does every autumn, to his families Lancashire farm where he will gather the sheep in from the moors and take part in the traditional rituals which will keep the sheep safe from the devil.

This year is different. He will be accompanied for the first time with his pregnant wife Katherine and they will bury his Grandfather, the Gaffer. The future of the farm is uncertain and John hopes that Katherine will feel as he does, that it is their duty to stay to help his father, and secure the farm for their children. What John does not expect is the resurfacing of old feuds, secrets and superstitions.

Hurley's debut novel, The Loney, was huge and won the Costa First Novel Award so expectations are understandably high for The Devil's Day.

Hurley is excellent at dealing with the numerous characters and I particularly liked that it was told from John's perspective, as he looks back to his own childhood. John remembers his mothers death, the persistent bullying he received from another local family, the Sturzakers, until finally he reveals his own secret, long buried at the back of his mind.

The community view outsiders with suspicion and John's wife Kat is no different. Their reluctance to accept her and her lack of understanding of the old ways push Kat to the edge, as she urges John to take her home. Will she stay or return to her cosy home is the question you ask yourself throughout the novel.

What captivated me from the start was the wonderful imagery. The bleak, remoteness of the moors, the swirling mists and driving snow leapt from the page, creating a deeply eerie and chilling feel to the novel. The graphic descriptions of animal killings may not be to everyone's taste but are suitably fitting to the story.

I particularly enjoyed his description of the rituals, which were both chilling and deeply disturbing, and did not make for comfortable reading. What I did find interesting was the ingrained suspicions held by the community and the fear that they often provoked.

This novel is primarily a story of family and the inherent secrets that bind them together. It is a story of a family that will stop at almost nothing to ensure their farms future survival, that will inevitably plunge them into the depths of superstition and sinister practices.

Hurley has written a deeply disturbing, gripping and evocative novel, perfect for the stormy autumnal days we find ourselves in.

This was a very likeable book. Engaging and interesting.

"In the wink of an eye, as quick as a flea,
The Devil he jumped from me to thee.
And only when the Devil had gone,
Did I know that he and I'd been one."

Devil's Day is beautifully written, but it didn't quite hit the mark for me; there's a good story in there but it was a bit lost in strange pacing, disconnected writing and a family dynamic that I didn't find that interesting.

Firstly, this is a slow paced book. Normally I don't mind a slow story, I often find the edge of the seat sort of books tiring. But Devil's Day is drowned in scene setting and description and it only really picks up in the last 20%, and then it seems to hurry and come to a conclusion too quickly.

The story also jumps around in time quite a bit without much warning which I found confusing, though I did like how it threaded through John's childhood.

I did like the supernatural element of Devil's Day, I wish there was a bit more of it. But it was subtly done and based on myth and legend, while also tying it into modern times. Hurley brings about the devilish element in all humans and that is perhaps the most frightening element of the story.

There is also some beautiful writing in Devil's Day, the sort that makes you stop and reread a sentence just to appreciate the skill. It is mostly in the description of the landscape, which is really where Hurley thrives, and you can feel the harshness and the beauty of the Endlands.

"It had always seemed a miraculous birth, the river, conjured out of the fells high above, made of nothing but damp air and rain, yet suddenly here and loud."

Threaded through Devil's Day is a sort of awe at the power of nature, and it's ability to not only provide but also destroy. John and his family are at the front line, trying to scrape out a living in a landscape that doesn't much care if they survive or not.

I really enjoyed the nature elements in the story but unfortunately I did not connect with the characters, especially the main character of John. I couldn't get a handle on him. At first he's the son who breaks from tradition and moves away, then he seems to become a completely different person, one that didn't have any strong characteristics to attach a personality to.

Despite my reservations with Devil's Day, I still found the standard of writing high, and there were sections that I was glued to. I still want to read The Loney.

My Rating: 3 Stars

I received a copy of Devil's Day via NetGalley in return for an honest review. My thanks to the author and publisher.

Andrew Michael Hurley is something of a genius in how he amps up the creep-factor in his writing about isolated rural traditions and village secrets. His phenomenally-successful novel “The Loney” was certainly one of the most atmospheric novels I read last year. New novel “Devil's Day” also produces that unsettling feeling which makes you fearfully look over your shoulder late at night. The narrative artfully plays upon superstitions and anxiety to draw the reader in. John returns to the remote Lancashire sheep-farming community he was raised in for the funeral of his grandfather “The Gaffer” and the annual local Devil's Day celebration. This is a ceremony where the devil is at first tempted in to spare him ravaging the sheep and then expelled back out into the barren moors. Meanwhile, John's pregnant wife Katherine is frequently bothered by a persistent rotting smell, there's a sick ram in the barn, local girl Grace exhibits psychic powers, an act of arson burns a large plot of land and a father recently released from jail has gone missing. This accumulation of details all build to make the reader frantically wonder what's really happening. Is there something supernatural about this environment or are these bizarre occurrences merely messing with our perception? The story builds to fantastically tense scenes and an eerily climatic ending.

This wouldn't be possible if it weren't for Hurley's talent for suffusing his story with a rich amount of detail. The landscape is magnificently described and the intricacies of farming life are vividly rendered. There's a certain beauty to this age-worn setting and its proud community, but there's a sense of ever-present dilapidation to it as well: “Living on farms was one endless round of maintenance. Nothing was ever finished. Nothing was ever settled. Nothing. Everyone here died in the midst of repairing something. Chores and damage were inherited.” The author describes the physically-taxing nature of farming life and how little profit there is in it. He also renders how this creates a long-lasting effect on people over time: '“The valley made placid men stubborn, just as it made ageing men older.” Hence, it's little wonder that John was drawn to move away and make a life for himself elsewhere. But his return to his homeland makes him to reconsider his family legacy and whether he should continue established traditions.

The thing which elevates this novel into being something other than a finely-rendered spooky story are the heartfelt questions about family life that it raises. Are we obligated to honour our ancestors by carrying on with their work or are we free to set out on our own? This is played out through John's narrative but his story which sifts between the past and present comes with hitches which gradually make us question his motives, viability and certain facts about his personal history. There are beautifully poignant moments when he considers how few details we can actually recall in our memories: “Like salt boiled out of water, these things remain. Everything else has evaporated.” We can draw multiple conclusions out of the fragments we get from John's past and the ending of the story. Like all the best riveting narratives whose exact meaning remains elusive, this novel has left me wanting to discuss it with other people so we can collectively try to tease out an answer for what really happened.