Wylding Hall

"The story is told in the style of a series of documentary-style interviews with members of the band telling what happened the summer they stayed in Wylding Hall: the summer their lead singer, Julian, disappeared, never to be seen or heard of again. Get the weekly Five Books newsletter The story is revealed in slivers told from the perspectives of different people, not all of whom were present and/or sober at the time. The novel includes some creepy and memorable motifs including a room full of dead birds, a library nobody can find, a mysterious girl, the eerie tune that Julian keeps on humming. It’s a book that creates more mystery than it solves and I love that. I wish I could say yes, but in truth, my own ideas don’t really scare me. For me, it’s more about finding a particularly uncomfortable or disquieting thought or feeling and really pressing on it to see what else comes up. Sometimes it can be quite distressing, but often it’s good fun, taking something awful and asking yourself, How far can I go with this?"