Dark, compelling and thrilling. This is definitely a page turner. It was a little difficult to get into at first but once I stuck with it I was glad I did.

Annette and her young son are going to live in Scotland in the childhood home of Annette's husband, Gordon. It is just after WWII and Gordon has been killed in the war. They meet a strange, elderly gentleman who (in true gothic style) is not what he seems........

I must issue a warning to all prospective readers. This is the sort of book that leaves you with just as many questions at the end as at the beginning. They may not necessarily be the same questions but this is not a book which wraps up all the threads neatly.

This is definitely gothic with a touch of steampunk in there. The old man was a clockmaker and makes clockwork toys - well sort of anyway. The character of the old man slowly unfolds as the book progresses - who or what is he?

I enjoyed this book. It has some gothic, is a bit historical, has some supernatural and a touch (but only a touch) of horror. This is not a blood, guts and gore book but a clever unravelling of a story where the human characters are not the most unnerving.

There is a fantastic climax in this book. It is a movie makers dream. I won't describe it totally as we don't want spoilers but in a true gothic style it includes a dark hillside and a storm. I was fortunately enough to be reading this at a brass band practice. (strange but true) As the scene unfolded in the book the band started to play "Spirit of Brass" which rose to a crescendo in perfect timing with the climax of the book. It was excellent and I am sure heightened the tension & suspense of the scene. There is a lot to be said for having a soundtrack to books - maybe I should patent soundtracks for ereaders!

The book is well written. There are two contrasting atmospheres throughout the book - that of Duncan and his Mother who seem to be quite happily normal & then there are the dark undertones of which they are seemingly unaware. It really is well written.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

All the stars and a few full moons, too, for this amazing gothic thriller!

First, take a look at that gorgeous cover art! Rarely are we treated to such beautiful cover art. Of course, that is just the beginning. The real treat is inside the cover where there awaits an amazing cross-genre tale that will have you hooked from beginning to end.

The Clockmaker is the story of Annette and her son, Duncan, who are moving to an ancestral home in the highlands of Scotland. It is a tale set during the post-war era and has all of the atmospheric prose of that time period. The house is old, full of creaks and sounds that lend to the overall aura of the book. Of course the house comes with secrets, a some-what supernatural element and an old man that is full of surprises. As murders begin to happen, Annette starts to wonder how this man is tied in with the murders and the other strange events that the small family is experiencing.

This tale is fabulously written. There are times that it could have veered off into the "campy" side of horror or supernatural but it never once did that. Instead, it is  captivating and will have you mesmerized until the very last page - and then you will want more because this is the first book in a trilogy! While this story ends well, there obviously are questions that will be answered in subsequent books - and I cannot wait for those books to be written and printed!! The Clockmaker offers something for everyone's tastes: history, horror, supernatural, thrills and suspense. I highly recommend it for all.

Tons of thanks to #Netgalley, #Troubadour Publishing Limited, #CeriWilliams and #DrewNeary for my copy of this outstanding book!

Thank you to Netgalley and Matador for this free book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

After the death of her husband in World War 2, Annette and her young son Duncan move to a house they have inherited outside the village of Lochnager. The house itself is old and decrepit and has been empty for a long time - with good reason. On their journey up they meet a gentleman on the train who ends up boarding at their home soon strange and scary murders start to shock the small village.

The synopsis of this book sounded great but the reality wasn't so. I really enjoyed Annette and Duncan's story and background but did not enjoy the clockmaker's flashbacks. They didn't really give you all the information regarding his machines, and what their function is, and why he is so attached to them. It is the first installment of a planned trilogy so the second book may explore more in depth regarding the Clockmaker.

I did like how Annette's grief and heartache was portrayed throughout and how you can feel for her.

It is a dark and atmospheric book and others may enjoy it more than I did.

The Clockmaker is set in a post WWII Britain following Annette and her young Son, Duncan, as they start a new life opening a guest house in Scotland. After an elderly guest comes to stay things in the quiet village begin to take a sinister turn. Mechanical creatures, supernatural occurances and occult influences lead this steampunkesque novel down an otherworldly path. I enjoyed the premise of the story and the gore...oh my the gore! Definitely not one for the faint of heart. But there wasn't enough of it to keep me interested. I just wanted more of everything, to go bigger but it fell short of my expectations. It was a quick read and with it being the first in a series I can see it leading to interesting things. If you're a fan of The Watchmaker Of Filigree Street then this may be just the thing for you. Full of intent but not much execution for my liking.

I am of two minds about this book. It was nicely atmospheric, with an evocative setting and a creepy, supernatural flair that I really appreciated.

But I was confused by the villain, who at times seemed like he was a friendly, if odd, old man, and at other times seemed to be a supernatural evil being. But rather than making him a more dimensional character, these two sides of him seemed unconnected, and he did not feel like a fully realized character with true motivations. Unfortunately, this was a large enough problem for me that I am only giving the book two stars.

I chose this book because of the cover which looked darkly mysterious.

The novel is part supernatural, part horror but doesn’t sit comfortably in either I did enjoy reading this book but was left at the end feeling oddly unsatisfied in that not all the threads were fully tied up.

From reading other reviews it seems there is a next instalment which might explain it.

Recently widowed Annette and her son Duncan move to Scottish Highlands to live in the in-law’s ancestral home. The house is a typical unused haunted house with lots of creaks and dust. They meet a man on a train who eventually comes to live with them, but the man has an unhealthy interest in Duncan. In that he wants his heart to make clockwork killing machines.

This was where I felt dissatisfied with the novel in that the man and his relationship to his machines did not seem to be explored. We don’t learn why he makes them, and what he ultimately wants to do with them. Take over the world I presume but I seemed to have missed this. And take over the world from the remote Scottish Highlands seemed a bit unlikely.

Hopefully all will be revealed in the next instalment which I will certainly be buying as I need to find out what happens to Duncan,

Annette and Duncan, recently widowed/semi-orphaned by WW2 escape their London home to go and live in their inheritance, a large house in a village in Scotland. Annette has plans to turn it into a lodging house, and begins to revive it from its years of dusty sleep, just in time for their first lodger.

Unfortunately for them, their first guest is The Clockmaker, a recent escapee of a Nazi POW camp, in which he was interred due to his inability to die and interesting experiments building artificial creatures. It's a shame he mostly builds these out of fragments of the corpses he also makes, given that they tend to be very clever little devices.

There are various hints that these are more than mere clockwork monsters, with a few supernatural horror elements thrown into the book, though these are never explored enough to add significant terror, and their motivations are never very convincing.

The other villagers are fodder for the Clockmaker's bigger monsters, which is unfortunate, as they don't really like him. The post-war atmosphere, aggressive as it is to people from the continent, is portrayed wonderfully, with some subtle yet effective moments of rejection. Also done well are Annette's interactions with harassing, mysognynistic villains, who see a widow and want to take advantage. They have some properly creepy moments, and are very well drawn characters. The little insights to their psychology are nicely horrifying.

Which is why I find it odd that the bigger threat in the book, The Clockmaker and his collection of vicious killing machines gets very short shrift. Their appearances are brief, and tend to tell more than show, with the action scenes not giving a real sense of fear. I'm also not entirely sure why he was doing it. The Clockmaker's interactions with Annette and more particularly Duncan, acting as a friendly uncle figure are sweet but tense, with his motivations always questionable and these glimpses of his inner cruelty are much more potent.

One oddity, in that Annette and her dead husband's first meeting seems to be told twice, in two different ways, which makes me suspect the book should have had a little more editing. I'm lead to believe this will be the beginning of a series, but I won't be following it. It does very well in the quiet fear, but doesn't really deliver on the overall threat.

Very Good

Received "The Clockmaker" as part of an eARC a few days ago and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. This book is a fabulous mix of many genres as the story has so many things going on. There's a bit of magic/supernatural, there's some sci-fi elements, history; we could even call it a thriller/ horror fiction. The story is about a little child, Duncan and his mother, Annette, who are moving to his father's ancestral place in Scotland, where they plan to start a lodging service. Duncan's father died in WW2 and the story is interspersed with soft, loving memories of the man. On their way to Scotland they meet a man whom they later find in their own village as a guest in their lodge. Who is this mystery man and does he have any role in the many strange things happening in this little Scottish village? The answer to these questions is what this book is about.
The book is a complete page turner and you won't be able to keep it down, once you have picked it up. The story flows beautifully from one view poit into another. While there defnitely are some loops left opened at the end of the story, I believe the closure to these would be attained in the sequel (really looking forward to it!). Overall, a great read!
#TheClockmaker #NetGalley #CeriWilliams #DrewNeary #TroubadorPublishing

May 2018

It is a bit confusing; this book can only be found on GR by searching for 'Drew Neary' and then you find an edition without a cover picture, and this one, with author Ceri Williams, with the beautiful cover.
The fact is, Drew and Ceri are co-authors and the beautiful cover is by Ana Priscila Rodriguez Aranda, a visual artist born in Mexico City but living and working in the Netherlands.

Anyway, I am happy to have read this book because it is quite unusual. It is very well written in a beautiful flowing style, where a lot is said between the lines. It is horror but it is more than that. It is also a moving story about love and understanding. The way Annette and her young son try to build up a new life after their great loss and the terrible things that happened in the war cuts right into your heart.

Wow. Words cannot begin to describe just how good this book is. I was grabbed within the first couple of pages and was not let go until I finished the whole book. Thankfully, I don't need to get up early in the morning!
I found the book to be extremely well written and the beginning of a fantastic trilogy. I certainly can't wait until the next installment.
That to Netgalley and the publishers, Troubador Publishing Limited for the opportunity to read this amazing novel and a huge thankyou to Drew Neary and Ceri William's for writing such a captivating story.

Thank you NetGalley and Troubadour Publishing for the eARC.
Supernatural or horror are not my usual reading genre, but I
liked the description of the book and decided to give it a try.
Annette and her son leave wartorn London for the house in Scotland where her husband grew up. He died in WWII and Annette's little house was bombed out of existence; she's planning a makeover and try to make their new home into a guest house. On their train trip they meet an old man and her boy chats with him, earning himself a piece of beloved chocolate. The man ends up staying with them. The part of the story I liked was Annette and her boy. But the old man's story was a bit difficult for me to get into...I didn't really understand what was going on and how he became the evil clockmaker. I ended up rapidly flipping through the pages to the end. Maybe the fact this wasn't my usual fare contributed to my confusion and lovers of the genre will really enjoy this well-written book.