A Cold Season
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Review
'Alison Littlewood uses old flavors with a fresh and personal approach to brew a story both sensible and terrifying at the same time' Dark Wolf.
'This is a very spooky story. You'll love it if you are into tales of the occult, or a fan of film classic The Wicker Man' Judy Finnigan.
'hugely enjoyable' Richard Madeley. 'Littlewood's first novel is an assured and finely-crafted piece of work, probably the best horror debut since Joe Hill's 2007 novel, Heart-Shaped Box' Reader Dad.
'This is a very spooky story. You'll love it if you are into tales of the occult, or a fan of film classic The Wicker Man' Judy Finnigan.
'hugely enjoyable' Richard Madeley. 'Littlewood's first novel is an assured and finely-crafted piece of work, probably the best horror debut since Joe Hill's 2007 novel, Heart-Shaped Box' Reader Dad.
Review
'Littlewood's fiction is set in a world where the possible and the improbable rub shoulders, and strange stuff creeps through the gaps in out of the way places. She is the real deal, a writer with a unique vision and the talent to make us see the world anew through her eyes' Peter Tennant, TTA Press.
'This is a very spooky story ... Disturbing in a Midsomer Murders kind of way' Daily Express.
'A thick layer of snow hides the sins of a creepy rural village in Alison Littlewood's chilly debut novel ... an itchy tension-cranker of parental paranoia' SFX.
'A Cold Season is an intelligent, sensitive book. Its chills are delivered with precision certainly, but in subtle yet equally terrifying manner it's the parts that aren't scary which speak as loudly as the parts that freak you out' Spooky Reads.
'a scary read that will chill you to the bone' CrimeSquad.
'a strong debut novel' Black Static Magazine.
'This is a very spooky story ... Disturbing in a Midsomer Murders kind of way' Daily Express.
'A thick layer of snow hides the sins of a creepy rural village in Alison Littlewood's chilly debut novel ... an itchy tension-cranker of parental paranoia' SFX.
'A Cold Season is an intelligent, sensitive book. Its chills are delivered with precision certainly, but in subtle yet equally terrifying manner it's the parts that aren't scary which speak as loudly as the parts that freak you out' Spooky Reads.
'a scary read that will chill you to the bone' CrimeSquad.
'a strong debut novel' Black Static Magazine.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Cass has received the devastating news that her army husband Pete has been lost in Afghanistan. Crushed, she moves with her son Ben to the village of Darnshaw, where she spent some of her youth, to make a fresh start. The isolated nature of the location, reached via Saddleworth Moor, is conveyed very early on in the novel, as Cass is driving towards their new home and the landscape becomes a blur, disorientating, as heavy fog sets in. Already there is an element of tension, and as Cass starts to feel unsettled, so does the reader.
Their new home is to be the renovated Foxdene Mill. Upon arrival it becomes clear that they are the first new inhabitants there; the rest of the complex appears to be unoccupied, with some of it unfinished. As the severe winter weather worsens, so Cass' feeling of isolation in Darnshaw intensifies. Phone lines don't work anymore, no post is coming in or out, and any communications outside of the village are seemingly impossible. Ben is able to attend his new school though, and there Cass meets some other mothers and the new headteacher, Theo Remick. Strange, unnerving events being to occur, and Cass tries to rationalise these, and puts it all down to them being new, to Ben being uprooted, but she sees shocking changes in her son and his behaviour. To go much further into the story may be to reveal plot that is best discovered by readers for themselves.
This is a tense, nervy horror story with some weird goings-on. It's outside the genres of fiction I usually read and beyond my comfort zone but I really wanted to read this one. The isolation, the weird and eerie atmosphere, and the tension, is all built effectively, and the growing fear and uncertainty within Cass is conveyed very well. I was on edge whilst reading parts of this novel, and I didn't want to read it in the dark! There are some grim discoveries and the isolated village and its' inhabitants hold many dark secrets. A lot of the tension is the thought and suggestion of what may happen, or what you imagine might be the case; it's achieved nicely in this author's first novel. The reader needs to be able to suspend disbelief at some of the goings on, and at times I wanted to make Cass act differently, faster somehow. I was compelled to finish it. 3.5/5
Their new home is to be the renovated Foxdene Mill. Upon arrival it becomes clear that they are the first new inhabitants there; the rest of the complex appears to be unoccupied, with some of it unfinished. As the severe winter weather worsens, so Cass' feeling of isolation in Darnshaw intensifies. Phone lines don't work anymore, no post is coming in or out, and any communications outside of the village are seemingly impossible. Ben is able to attend his new school though, and there Cass meets some other mothers and the new headteacher, Theo Remick. Strange, unnerving events being to occur, and Cass tries to rationalise these, and puts it all down to them being new, to Ben being uprooted, but she sees shocking changes in her son and his behaviour. To go much further into the story may be to reveal plot that is best discovered by readers for themselves.
This is a tense, nervy horror story with some weird goings-on. It's outside the genres of fiction I usually read and beyond my comfort zone but I really wanted to read this one. The isolation, the weird and eerie atmosphere, and the tension, is all built effectively, and the growing fear and uncertainty within Cass is conveyed very well. I was on edge whilst reading parts of this novel, and I didn't want to read it in the dark! There are some grim discoveries and the isolated village and its' inhabitants hold many dark secrets. A lot of the tension is the thought and suggestion of what may happen, or what you imagine might be the case; it's achieved nicely in this author's first novel. The reader needs to be able to suspend disbelief at some of the goings on, and at times I wanted to make Cass act differently, faster somehow. I was compelled to finish it. 3.5/5
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I should declare that I was sent a copy of this book by the publisher. If I hadn't enjoyed it, I wouldn't, though, be reviewing it - Alison Littlewood's first novel is an assured piece of horror writing.
At one level, it is a simple story - Cass and her son Ben are newcomers to the remote town of Darnshaw, under Saddleworth Moor. They are soon cut off, snowed in and with no working phone or Internet (crucial for Cass's web design business). The locals are an unfriendly bunch (there is perhaps a hint of Royston Vasey here, with one farmer refusing to sell eggs except to locals - enough to raise a smile but not to break the tension). Something evil is definitely stirring - how will Cass survive as things begin to turn nasty? What can she do to protect her son?
Underneath, though, it's a bit more complicated. Cass has lived in Darnshaw before, indeed, it's where, as a child, her father abandoned her (as she sees it) for the Church. She was never, she thinks, good enough for him. Also missing is Ben's father, Pete - but very much present is the seductive new teacher, Theo Remick, another newcomer to the town, who becomes Cass's ally against the more hostile of the locals. Each of these men has had, or will have, an impact on her, and it is only towards the end of the book that she begins to establish her reality apart from them. Cass's vulnerability comes across very well, as the snow falls and Ben grows into a stranger.
With a story like this there's a danger that because we, as readers, know that something is going on, we become impatient with the protagonist for not twigging what's happening, making plans and facing up to the threat, so losing sympathy with them. There's none of that here. There is a sense of menace from the very start - that journey across the moor - but Littlewood very deftly makes clear that Cass is aware of it but that she attributes her growing unease to her feelings for the missing Pete, to Ben's missing his father, to unhappy childhood memories of Darnshaw, and so on. As a result, she is a very believable, and sympathetic, character.
The book is compelling, with the white, wintry landscape reflecting Cass's increasing emptiness, and it comes to a powerful, though ambiguous, conclusion. By the end we feel that Cass is much more in charge of things - but it's not clear just what she has had to give up to get there, nor exactly how her relationships with those three men who dominated her life will have changed.
I had a definite sense of a sequel coming. I do hope so.
At one level, it is a simple story - Cass and her son Ben are newcomers to the remote town of Darnshaw, under Saddleworth Moor. They are soon cut off, snowed in and with no working phone or Internet (crucial for Cass's web design business). The locals are an unfriendly bunch (there is perhaps a hint of Royston Vasey here, with one farmer refusing to sell eggs except to locals - enough to raise a smile but not to break the tension). Something evil is definitely stirring - how will Cass survive as things begin to turn nasty? What can she do to protect her son?
Underneath, though, it's a bit more complicated. Cass has lived in Darnshaw before, indeed, it's where, as a child, her father abandoned her (as she sees it) for the Church. She was never, she thinks, good enough for him. Also missing is Ben's father, Pete - but very much present is the seductive new teacher, Theo Remick, another newcomer to the town, who becomes Cass's ally against the more hostile of the locals. Each of these men has had, or will have, an impact on her, and it is only towards the end of the book that she begins to establish her reality apart from them. Cass's vulnerability comes across very well, as the snow falls and Ben grows into a stranger.
With a story like this there's a danger that because we, as readers, know that something is going on, we become impatient with the protagonist for not twigging what's happening, making plans and facing up to the threat, so losing sympathy with them. There's none of that here. There is a sense of menace from the very start - that journey across the moor - but Littlewood very deftly makes clear that Cass is aware of it but that she attributes her growing unease to her feelings for the missing Pete, to Ben's missing his father, to unhappy childhood memories of Darnshaw, and so on. As a result, she is a very believable, and sympathetic, character.
The book is compelling, with the white, wintry landscape reflecting Cass's increasing emptiness, and it comes to a powerful, though ambiguous, conclusion. By the end we feel that Cass is much more in charge of things - but it's not clear just what she has had to give up to get there, nor exactly how her relationships with those three men who dominated her life will have changed.
I had a definite sense of a sequel coming. I do hope so.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
This book was given to me and I must admit it was a page turner. It gripped me from the first page till the very last page. Started it on Sunday evening and was finished it by Tuesday evening. If I could have gotten away with it I would have taken it to work, but do not think my customers would appreciate it. I work in beauty/cosmetic shop.
Will not go into detail as I think it would be best just to pick it up and read. It is such an easy read and the characters are so easy to follow. Sometimes you have books with compilcated names and it just bores me but these are easy to follow and the desriptions of the places and people are so clear that you feel as if you know them. Enjoy
Will not go into detail as I think it would be best just to pick it up and read. It is such an easy read and the characters are so easy to follow. Sometimes you have books with compilcated names and it just bores me but these are easy to follow and the desriptions of the places and people are so clear that you feel as if you know them. Enjoy
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Mixed Feelings
I enjoyed the first bit of this debut novel and was anticipating a good read. The scene was set for a spooky thriller type book and I was intigued to find out how the story would... Read more
Published 7 days ago by SarahM
Dark and spooky
I really enjoyed this book. It's very dark and spooky. Cass takes her son to live in the village of Darnshaw where she grew up to make a new start. Read more
Published 10 days ago by Swirlygirly30
Very underwhelmed
I found this book really annoying. On the one hand there was some good suspense and I did want to know what was going to happen next, but on the other hand some of the events and... Read more
Published 11 days ago by J. Whitaker
It's OK
I have mixed feelings about this book. On the plus side, there are some genuinely scary moments and somehow the story stuck in my mind afterwards, but the setup is hardly new... Read more
Published 14 days ago by Mr M Caruana
Terrific debut
The debut novel from Alison Littlewood, this follows Cass and her son Ben as they try to make a new life for themselves - following the disappearance of husband and dad Pete in... Read more
Published 19 days ago by Mark West
A Gripping Tale
I can't do other than give this book five stars. The tension and unsettled and creepy atmosphere start on page one and continue to build. Read more
Published 23 days ago by BL
Overhyped and very disappointing
I too expected much from this novel having read the praise from others, but I must say I found it a hard slog. Read more
Published 25 days ago by Karl
A Cold Season
I found this to be a badly constructed novel - poor quality of writing, ridiculous plot and non-believable characters. A very disappointing read!
Published 1 month ago by Jane
The Cold Season by Alison Littlewood
I read this debut novel as it was recommended to me by the Richard and Judy book club. It is not my usual choice of topic but I like to keep an open mind; otherwise how would you... Read more
Published 1 month ago by wendy
let down by stupid ending
A slow burn dark story that was good nearly all the way through until it was completly ruined by a stupid ending.
Published 1 month ago by Mrs. June Salmon
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