(I received this book from the editor and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)
EDIT: I have been thinking about this review, and I can now say I was too harsh with it. A writer does not have control over marketing strategies, so it was not Cunniffe's fault that the hype around "Irish Blair Witch" made me focus more in the found-footage aspect than the story itself, which, as I already mentioned in my original review, was interesting enough when Rooney was the narrator. The letters were interesting too. I could not "click" with the e-mail part, but it did not drag the story. The twist felt kind of cheap as well. But it was definitely not a 2 star book, but a 3 one, and I apologize for that.

I really like a book in which the main character feels really out of place and trying to understand the new reality to surround them. In The Weejee Man’s case, I really liked the narrative from Rick Rooney’s point of view and how even going back home felt like entering a new world. His story was definitely the most interesting one, along with the letters. I do understand what the writer was trying to do with the e-mail formula, but it just felt flat to me.
Apart from that, maybe it was not the best idea to call this novel “An Irish Blair Witch", because it puts some expectations in the reader that, I’m afraid, are not met.
In general, a good novella (its length really helps with it not feeling dragged or slow), but not what I thought I was getting into.

A writing holiday on the west coast of Ireland turns into a trip to hell for a struggling horror author

On the back of AM Shine’s double hit The Watchers (2021) and The Creeper (2022), followed by Neil Sharpson’s gripping Knock Knock, Open Wide horror involving Irish folklore may well find itself back in the spotlight with the arrival of NP Cunliffe’s The Weejee Man. I wish there were more supernatural tales on the market exploring Ireland’s rich history; there are certainly plenty of authors up to the task. John Connolly and Kealan Patrick Burke would top my list, but this great pair primarily set their books in the USA rather than the land of their birth. Peadar Ó Guilín is another personal favourite, author of the stunning YA duology The Call (2016-18), which beautifully blends fantasy with Irish folklore and history. I do not think the 250-page long Weejee Man (novella or short novel?) is good enough to be name-checked against these modern greats, but it certainly had its moments and ultimately I wished it was longer and more fleshed out.

Litopia Writing Community bills the book as "An Irish Blair Witch" which although is an outstanding leading quote may leave readers feeling slightly shortchanged, the main character gets lost and disorientated in the Irish countryside a couple of times but apart from a narrative which has a vague found footage feel to proceedings, there are few other similarities. Having said that, the concept was nicely handled with the reader being kept mildly confused with a narrative which includes emails, telephone calls, jumps back and forwards in time and historical letters, all of which are built around horror Rick Rooney retreats to a secluded cottage in the West of Ireland.

The Rick Rooney narrative is written in the first person and is undoubtedly the most interesting (and most prominent) sequence in the book. Rick is a horror writer who is very overdue delivering his next book to his publisher and obviously has numerous personal problems and has left his wife behind to work on the unwritten horror novel he is stressing about. As Rick is a twitching mess he is not a particularly reliable narrator and his problems begin after he is bullied into fooling around with a Ouija board (pronounced weejee in Irish) in the local pub. The session on the board ends prematurely and Rich believes they might have brought something back from the other side.

After fooling with the spirit board the book really picks up the pace and the already fragile Rick starts to see things, with NP Cunliffe keeping things nicely shrouded what was actually going on. The West Coast of Ireland village location has its own dark history and although the historical letter sequence was interesting enough it was also a major indicator or spoiler even of the direction the plot was heading. I found this to be clunky and there might have been more suspense if the supernatural entity back story was filtered into the narrative in a manner which had more flow.

One of the strongest aspects of Weejee Man was the much closer linked narratives of Rick (2019) after his arrival in the cottage and that of his agent Pierce (2020) and the manner in which they inter-connect and feed into each other. Pierce gives us very knowing and foreshadowing nods of what lies ahead for Rick and as readers we also question what we are reading. As you head to the end there are some very clever revelations and one great twist curveball which changes the perspective of the narrative. Although I enjoyed Weejee Man, which was a very easy and addictive read, I would have liked to have found out more about the curse and the entity itself. It has been billed as ‘rural horror’ and it certainly fits that bill, Cunliffe has another 100-page novella length ghost story The Wake (2020), also set in Ireland, which I intend to investigate at a later date.

The Amazon page lists this “for fans of” Adam Nevill (The Ritual), Andrew Michael Hurley (Starve Acre), Tom Fletcher (Witch Bottle) and A.M Shine (The Creepers) who are all authors I have read extensively. I am not going to debate the comparisons, but I am not a fan of comparing new-kid-on-the-block authors to all time greats such as Nevill and Hurley, as I am not sure it does them any favours. Weejee Man was great company for a few hours, is very clever written with the fractured musings of broken horror writer Rick Rooney being the major highlight.

Very atmospheric slow build horror, told with admirable economy and not outstaying its welcome. Formed from “found materials” - email, book manuscript, letters - we get a compelling mix of folk horror, faeries, and chilling dread.

Hugely enjoyed, if only more writers could stop at novella length if that’s what’s needed to tell the story!

"The Weejee Man" is a compelling novella that immerses readers in the chilling realm of Irish horror. Cunniffe expertly blends supernatural elements with a rich sense of place, crafting a haunting narrative that will grip you from start to finish. This is a must-read for horror enthusiasts seeking a spine-tingling experience!