The Coffin Path – Katherine Clements
Maybe you’ve heard tales about Scarcross Hall, the house on the old coffin path that winds from village to moor top. They say there’s something up here, something evil.
Mercy Booth isn’t afraid. The moors and Scarcross are her home and lifeblood. But, beneath her certainty, small things are beginning to trouble her. Three ancient coins missing from her father’s study, the shadowy figure out by the gatepost, an unshakeable sense that someone is watching.
When a stranger appears seeking work, Mercy reluctantly takes him in. As their stories entwine, this man will change everything. She just can’t see it yet.
My thanks to Headline for my review copy which I received through Netgalley
A ghost story and a historical chiller (which was the first unexpected twist). I hadn’t realised that The Coffin Path didn’t have a modern day setting and I enjoyed the mental shift moving the already remote Scarcross Hall back through time.
Scarcross Hall houses Mercy Booth, she lives with her father and they farm sheep on the inhospitable land. As we first encounter Mercy a stranger has approached the edge of their property – he is looking for work and gets taken on as shepherd and farmhand.
Life is tough at Scarcross and the sheep are precious – their sale will provide the coin to keep the household fed and warm through the hard winter months. It is of considerable concern, therefore, when sheep and lambs start to disappear – their bloody bodies to be found ripped and slashed…valuable resources callously ruined.
Mercy faces other problems. Her father’s health is failing and she is increasingly reliant upon the farmhands. As a single child Mercy expects to inherit Scarcross but property and land is not left to daughters – in England of olde the son inherits. Mercy’s father would see her married if he could – Mercy has other ideas and is relying upon her father’s promise that he will leave her Scarcross.
Adding a chilling twist to events is a series of unexplained phenomenon plaguing Scarcross Hall. Mercy’s father is missing his treasured inkwell and some ancient coins. Their housekeeper seems to have a sixth sense and foretells of problems which shall accompany the finding of the coins. Strange sights at night, moving furniture in locked rooms and other unexplained incidents add a delightful chill to The Coffin Path.
A great read this one, ghost story, mystery, social commentary and a thumpingly good historical thriller makes The Coffin Path well worth seeking out.
The Coffin Path is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Coffin-Path-perfect-ghost-story-ebook/dp/B06WLQLCKH/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536693665&sr=8-1&keywords=the+coffin+path