Hello everyone,
December is the perfect time of year for spooky short stories with winter vibes, and this book is just that.
It is my turn on the blog tour for Victoria Williamson’s The Haunting Scent Of Poppies, which was a quick read but a highly enjoyable one.
Thank you very much to Dave @ The Write Reads for my place on the tour as well as those who also help on the organisational side. Noly can take credit for the lovely banner, and a special thanks to the author and publisher for the free copy, which came in a cute little package with poppy seeds and incense, infusing the book with a pleasant aroma!
Pages: 97
Published: 31st October 2022
Genre: Historical Fiction/Horror
The War is over, but for petty criminal Charlie his darkest days are only just beginning.
Charlie Briggs is never off-duty, even when a botched job means he’s forced to lay low in a sleepy Hampshire town for the holiday season. Always searching for his next unwitting victim, or a shiny trinket he can pilfer, he can’t believe his luck when he happens upon a rare book so valuable it will set him up for life. All he needs to do is sit tight until Boxing Day. But there’s a desperate story that bleeds beyond the pages; something far more dangerous than London’s mobsters is lurking in the shadows.
Could the book be cursed? Why is he haunted by the horrors of war? Can he put things right before he’s suffocated by his own greed?
This story may be short and only takes a matter of time to read, but it packs in a lot of depth. With a simple yet evocative concept, it effortlessly achieves a haunting sense of atmosphere and foreboding that carries you along throughout while remaining engaging and easy to follow.
The setting and time period were both very effective choices, playing significant roles in the plot. Taking place shortly after the First World War, the way it is depicted makes what happens to Charlie more frightening and perhaps even unsettling. The visions are creepy, and it is quite shocking to see what kind of destructive power the stolen book has over him, as the walls close in and he slowly wastes away.
In some ways, this reads like a dark fable. Charlie is, after all, a petty criminal who cares about nobody other than himself and is only interested in money. The way the story plays out is almost like him being taught the harshest of lessons, but even when he is under the spell of the book, he does not appear to recognise the error of his ways.
You certainly do not feel sorry for Charlie during his plight, but as a character he is fun to read about rather than someone you seriously hate. After all, the book has some dark moments, but it is not that dark. One impressive factor is how the supporting characters were well developed, even when they only have a fleeting role in the story. In just a few words, you got the measure of the likes of Dr Roberts, Mary, and Miss Richards, which in turn made me connect more the plot.
Overall, if you are looking for an eerie, captivating short story that does not take too much effort to get through, then this has everything you could possibly want. The writing is good and the atmosphere executed superbly, with Charlie’s opportunism and the eventual consequences he suffers certain to live long in the memory. I very much enjoyed this book.
Victoria Williamson is an award-winning author who grew up in Scotland surrounded by hills, books, and an historical farm estate which inspired many of her early adventure stories and spooky tales. After studying Physics at the University of Glasgow, she set out on her own real-life adventures, which included teaching maths and science in Cameroon, training teachers in Malawi, teaching English in China and working with children with additional support needs in the UK. Victoria currently works part time writing KS2 books for the education company Twinkl and spends the rest of her time writing novels, and visiting schools, libraries and literary festivals to give author talks and run creative writing workshops.
Victoria’s previous novels include The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, The Boy with the Butterfly Mind, Hag Storm, and War of the Wind. She has won the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award 2020/2021, The YA-aldi Glasgow Secondary School Libraries Book Award 2023, and has been shortlisted for the Week Junior Book Awards 2023, The Leeds Book Awards 2023, the Red Book Award 2023, the James Reckitt Hull Book Awards 2021, The Trinity School Book Awards 2021, and longlisted for the ABA South Coast Book Awards 2023, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2020, and the Branford Boase Award 2019.
Her latest novel, The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams, is a middle grade fantasy inspired by classic folklore. Twenty percent of the author royalties for this book are donated to CharChar Literacy, an organisation working to improve children’s literacy levels in Malawi.
A haunting book that can be enjoyed throughout autumn and into the festive season.
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
*I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Do not forget to check out the other posts on the tour!
Stephen Reads Books 