I read this story on my new Kindle, which I think may have detracted slightly as other reviewers have mentioned the quality of the cover and presentation of the book. I can't comment on those, but as a reading experience, I was a little underwhelmed by The Small Hand.
The premise is excellent and follows in the established tradition of ghost stories. An antiquarian book dealer becomes lost one night and ends up in the 'closed' garden of a house that used to be a tourist attraction. This is where he has his first encounter with 'the small hand' and it's genuinely thrilling and very creepy.
Very soon after this though, the story becomes less traditional and more stereotypical. I guessed almost immediately why the narrator was being haunted and was hoping I'd guessed wrong, but I hadn't.
The writing is wonderful, sparse and precise. Ms Hill doesn't use a dozen words where one will do and I really admire her for this. I just feel the story, on this occasion, is a little too thin. It would have made a good short story, but stretching it out to novel-length feels wrong.
It's a beautifully written book, and you won't want to put it down.
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