Following the restrained - almost genteel - horror of The Magic Cottage, Herbert returns to a more action-packed visceral style with Sepulchre. Essentially a mix between horror and thriller genre's, with the lead character being an ex-army private security operative charged with protecting a psychic businessman who believes his life to be in danger. The story takes a fair while to actually get moving, but once the action shifts to the psychic's mansion the supernatural element kicks in, with weird creatures in the lake, bands of roaming jackals, a cadaverous gatekeeper, and sacrifices to an ancient Sumerian serpent god. The novel is a little rough around the edges, with some overly broad Irish dialogue, (inevitably the lead character runs into the IRA), and despite some grisly flashback scenes the characterisation isn't particularly strong, but all in all this delivers enough action, twists and scares to make this an enjoyable romp.
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