A small post about a book reading / signing I attended last night at Waterstones in Liverpool. Lucie McKnight Hardy the author of the magnificent ‘Water Shall Refuse Them‘ was in conversation with Simon Savidge.
The evening threw up some interesting points for me. During the Q&A after the reading one attendee (Audience member? Punter? I never know the correct term! ) commented that he thought the book , ‘was a beautiful coming of age story, that contained some horrific elements.’ I totally agreed with him. That’s how I find ‘folk horror’. It’s how the protagonist acts in their environment. The surroundings, however dramatic or alluring, always come with a charm that has horrific elements. Their failures or intentions, wicked or otherwise are exposed by it.
I won’t go into the plot of the novel, because any spoilers will wreck it for you. It does involve, witchcraft (maybe??), teenagers and death. All set in a village in Wales during the awful heatwave of ’76. There you go. It’s great. Please buy, read and recommend. I look forward to her next novel.
Of course I couldn’t wander around without buying another book, Murial Spark, ‘Memento Mori’. It’s an addiction!

Great books, great covers.