In the UK Andrew Michael Hurley is a major force in the revival of folk horror, with his outstanding debut The Loney (2015) being both a commercial and critical hit (winning the Costa First Novel) after initially being released on a tiny print-run of 300 copies. Hurley’s second novel Devil’s Day (2017) was equally startling, but his third book, Starve Acre (2019), is my favourite and I looking forward to catching the film version later this year. This startling short novel was initially released as a very limited edition under the pseudonym Jonathan Buckley and is a pitch perfect exercise in mounting terror when a young family realise there is either something psychologically wrong with his son, or he is being haunted by a dark presence. Bleak does not begin to describe this terrifying novel.

Having been a huge fan of Hurley’s earlier work I found Barrowbeck to be a massive disappointment. It retains his usual folk horror hallmarks, including remote north of England landscapes, threatening surroundings, local superstitions, village life and the occasional whiff of a cult. However, the manner in which the plodding story is framed failed to ignite and just when some of them were getting interesting it jumps forward into the next time period. As it jumps from ancient times into, eventually, the near future there was just no time for character development and I already struggling to remember the characters who featured in the earlier sections. They were far from memorable.

For a horror novel it was completely devoid of any kind of scares and even though there was a certain level of foreboding atmosphere connected to the Barrowbeck location it was just not enough to carry the book. If anything, the opening sections which outline the sinister history of the local area was an atmosphere killer and failed to hold the attention. One needs more than a ‘cursed land’ scenario to glue a novel together and even though this was not a long read, it quickly became monotonous as there was not enough tangibly to thread the stories together.

The sections (or stories) take place in 1445, 1792, 1899, 1922, 1938, 1970, 1984, 1995, 2010, 2022, 2029 and 2041. I found them more engaging as they become more modern, moving away from the drudgery of farming the land and superstitions. Some sections were more connected to the ‘cursed land’ story arc and the themes covered included local superstitions, prophecies, the effects of the First World War, prophecies, strange customs and small glimpses (not enough) of the supernatural.

Some of the parts felt like short stories, or with slight rewrites could be presented as such. There is nothing wrong with this and An Afternoon of Cake and Lemonade (1970) was one of the strongest parts, about a family who help a disabled boy, but just when the story gets interesting, it ends. Covenant (2029) was also impressive, a doctor new to the village, tries to embrace its strange customs, whilst knowing her husband is having an affair. Again, it ends just when it looks to be getting spicy.

I did enjoy the final section, A Valediction (2041) which is a very un-Hurley style ending, which worked well and circled back to the beginning. Even though Barrowbeck had its moments, I found this to be a frustrating read and not up to the high standard of his earlier three novels.

Thank you so much for the invitation to review this ARC. It was superb, tension and unease rising and falling as the reader goes through the individual stories centred around the valley of Barrowbeck. An interesting and accomplished foray into the future with the last two stories and terrifyingly believable.
I can’t wait to recommend it to family and friends when published.