REVIEW: The Woman In Black: A Ghost Story by Susan Hill

Set on the obligatory English moor, on an isolated causeway, the story has as its hero one Arthur Kipps, an up-and-coming young solicitor who has come north to attend the funeral and settle the estate of Mrs. Alice Drablow of Eel Marsh House. The routine formalities he anticipates give way to a tumble of events and secrets more sinister and terrifying than any nightmare: the rocking chair in the nursery of the deserted Eel Marsh House, the eerie sound of pony and trap, a child’s scream in the fog, and, most dreadfully, and for Kipps most tragically, the woman in black.

I never, in a million years, thought I would see this day come. I am not even sure what to say. I have absolutely nothing good to say about this book. The Woman in Black is probably the most boring book I have ever read in my life. The storyline is weak at best and it doesn’t even come close to delivering the “terror” or “spine chilling” that it promises. The main character is a massive wimp who would probably be scared out of his wits by vampires that sparkle. To read this book, you have to make it a quarter of the way through the book before ANYTHING happens and when it does, it’s highly disappointing. The best part of the whole book was when it ended…..

I have never read a book that didn’t have at least one thing that I liked. The Woman In Black is the first book that I genuinely did not like….not one bit. Here’s hoping that the movie of the same name (based on the book) is blessed with more Hollywood magic than has ever been poured into any movie in the history of film making….because it’s going to need it!

0 stars…….I didn’t even like typing that…….