I love a great whodunit and I adore a twist in the tale thriller. But when it comes to novels labelled a great ghost story, I tend to avoid them. There are two main reasons. One, the main character usually gets on my nerves. Two, the author gets so far into the story, builds up the tension brilliantly and then simply runs out of steam. It leaves me with a sense of being let down. However, I thought it was high time to try again and I eagerly sat down to read The Coffin Path by Katherine Clements. Would it be a ghost story that finally delivered?
What a way to start a story
It’s spring 1674 and right from the first line this story grabs your attention.
““I was born with blood on my hands.”
I mean come on, how fantastic is that. And from that point on Katherine Clements grabs hold of you and doesn’t let go.
The Coffin Path is wonderfully evocative, set high up on the windswept Yorkshire Moors over four seasons. The story centres on crumbling Scarcross Hall where volatile Bartram Booth resides with his strong-willed daughter Mercy and their long-suffering housekeeper Agnes.
This unforgiving landscape is not for the faint hearted with its peat bogs, thick fog and ancient curses. The landscape drives fear into some and many fail to conquer the hardships. Yet for Mercy Booth this is her beloved home. It flows through her blood, feeds her soul and provides much needed strength. Her father has always promised she will be mistress of Scarcross Hall after he’s gone, so she has no need of a husband or child.
A woman like no other
With her trusty sheepdog, Bracken, this woman is equal to any man out on the fells. Mercy has never feared the Coffin Path or the White Ladies Standing Stones, where witches are said to have gathered. She has never been afraid, until …
“As I turned to shut the door, I see a figure standing at the gate post. It’s indistinct, a shadow-shape swathed in a winding sheet a fog.
Silent.
Still.
Watching.
For a moment I’m transfixed. A sense of recognition, of ancient dread, wells in me. Then a bank of fog moves across the yard and when it clears the figure is gone. Imagination, I tell myself, a trick of the fading light. But as I shut the door, I make sure to turn the key.”
The skill of Katherine Clements is multifaceted. The seventeenth century setting on the desolate Yorkshire Moors lends itself perfectly to a dark and brooding tale when curses, witchcraft and the supernatural were feared. But it isn’t just that. This author knows how to write. Katherine Clements knows how to build layer upon layer of spine-tingling suspense.
Are you scared of ghosts?
You are in this novel, as your heartbeat quickens at the inexplicable and spooky happenings in the remote and bleak manor house. And then, there are the missing, reappearing and disappearing gold coins. Not to mention an old nursery rhyme.
“One coin marks the first to go
A second bodes the fall
The third will seal a sinner’s fate
The Devil take them all”
And then there are the fully developed and beautifully flawed characters. Some you cheer on and others you despise and hope they get their comeuppance.
No spoilers please
I can’t say too much more or else I’ll give away the plot and the wonderful suspense. Suffice it to say, this ghost story delivers right up to the last line of the last page. I consumed this book on a Lake District camping holiday. The Coffin Path by Katherine Clements kept me utterly hooked as I basked in the Langdale Valley sunshine, and I believe you’ll be as gripped as I was.
Two thumbs up. Give it a go.