The Mist In The Mirror - Susan Hill (Book Review)

Title - The Mist In The Mirror

Author - Susan Hill

Summary -

One night a young man, having supper in his private club and carrying on with his friends of the existence of a ghost on the club's grounds is asked by one of the elder statesmen the following question:

"..You...believe?"
"Believe? Oh as to that..." I made a dismissive gesture. The topic was not one I wanted to raise again, in the late, silent street.
I have...a story. It is in my possession...which perhaps you might care to read..."

The young man is given a package which tells the tale of the elder club member, Sir James Monmouth, a young orphan, who has explored all around the globe, following in the footsteps of his idol; Conrad Vane. His final destination being London as he seeks further knowledge into the life of Conrad Vane. It is Monmouth's desire to write a book about his idol. But instead he is greeted with warnings and dire predictions by those he meets and questions about Vane.

"...Then Dancer said, his voice almost a whisper. "Whoever touches, explores, follows after Vane, will be run mad, and will never afterward rest his head or enjoy his peace or have a home. He will be haunted. He will be cursed. I saw what lay ahead, Monmouth, I drew back..."

Monmouth is not deterred. Despite the warnings. Despite the history of those who have followed Vane and perished. Despite the ghostly figure of a small child that he spies everywhere he goes. Monmouth goes on. His investigation eventually brings him to Kittiscar and a mystery he had no knowledge of.
In Kittiscar Hall is the last known surviving member of a family. The family of Monmouth. The family James Monmouth was orphaned from. Before he can question her, she passes away, leaving the Hall and all the family riches to James. But she leaves him with something else.

"...She continued to stare at me but now a look of almost horror crossed her features when she spoke, her voice a whisper.
"You surely are not planning to live here at Kittiscar?"
"Why certainly I am! I have no other home. I am the heir to the house, am I not?"
"But you cannot...surely you will not."
"Why do you say so?"
"Because...because you are a Monmouth and a man..."

It is here in Kittiscar Hall that James Monmouth must come face to face with the true nature of Conrad Vane, with the legacy of the Monmouth family and the clouded features that in the mist in the mirror.

Review -

Gothic Horror. Ghost Story. Things that go bump in the night.
This is the real thing.
Susan Hill writes fog heavy, English countryside, atmospheric tension, old time Saturday morning, black and white horror like you grew up with. Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee could literally step off these pages.
Like her novel, The Woman In Black; not the slow moving Daniel Radcliff movie, but the book itself; The Mist in the Mirror, moves steadily, building tension and fear as it slowly unravels the mystery behind the legacy that James Monmouth has unwittingly inherited.
This novel is what true horror novels were before the need to splash buckets of blood on every page became the standard.
A really good read.