Book Review: The Magic Cottage by James Herbert

 

The Magic Cottage: James Herbert

I reread this book again recently after reading it years ago. I enjoyed it the second time around even though I still had a vague memory of what happens. The story focuses on a young couple who both work as artists. Midge is a painter and illustrator while Mike is a musician.

They choose to buy a new home and move away from the city of London for a peaceful space they can work in. They end up buying a cottage called Gramarye, which has an unusual design and looks like it came straight out of a fairy tale. They move in and to start with everything seems great.

Then things start to happen, subtle things at first but escalating as the story continues. I won’t avoid spoilers but there are a few fun twists and turns and some genuinely spooky and uncomfortable imagery. The main characters are interesting and well written, flawed and complementary.

It’s not an overt horror story to my mind, but very much leans into its supernatural elements and highlights how easily humans can rationalise things. Even in the face of overt unexplainable things. The power of belief and the importance of choices and free will.

It’s a good read, nicely spooky and creepy. I’d give it 4 stars and would recommend it to anyone who like horror and supernatural stories. I think the foreshadowing of certain things could have been a little bit more subtle.

Emi The Cat Lady 💜

Review: Nobody True by James Herbert

Nobody True – James Herbert

I read this book again over the festive period. It was a book I had loved before, and I thought of it again a few months ago and could not find it. Until I noticed it on my parent’s bookshelf! So I read it again and I have to say it was an experience.

Nobody True tells the story of a man who worked as a graphic designer and co-founded a marketing company. He also has the ability to have OBEs, out-of-body experiences which he can control. After an argument with his business partner while working on a new pitch for a client, he had one of these OBEs. Only to return to his body to discover he’s been horribly murdered.

Set adrift, not a person anymore and not a ghost either, James True must solve his own murder to stop it from happening again. A tale of betrayal, murder and consequences that takes many twists and turns.

I enjoyed the book as much on a second reading as I did the first time. The main character is flawed but generally a good person and it’s interesting to follow his thought process as he deals with his situation.

The story really highlights how little we actually know about people. Even people that are close to us can have secrets. It also shows how twisted someone can become after a lifetime of rejection.

There are some extremely tense and uncomfortable moments, and some revolting things happen as well. The book does go to some dark places, but it takes you on quite a rollercoaster of emotions alongside the main character.

James Herbert is a skilled author capable of making you feel really tense and scared, throwing horrible things at you and making you uncomfortable. Which is why you would be reading a horror novel, right? This isn’t my favourite of his books but it is a story that had a profound impact on me. It really makes you think about how you treat people and react to things.

5 stars from me and definitely worth a read if you like this kind of genre. You’ll enjoy it and unravel the mystery. Even on a second reading, when I know what happens and the plot twists, you see how hints were scattered throughout the whole novel.