The Small Hand

Description

This is the chilling tale of a man in the grip of a small, invisible hand...an exceptional and bestselling ghost story by the author of The Woman in Black and The Man in the Picture.

Late one summer's evening, antiquarian bookseller Adam Snow is returning from a client visit when he takes a wrong turn. He stumbles across a derelict Edwardian house, and compelled by curiosity, approaches the door. Standing before the entrance, he feels the unmistakable sensation of a small cold hand creeping into his own, 'as if a child had taken hold of it'. At first he is merely puzzled by the odd incident but then begins to suffer attacks of fear and panic, and is visited by nightmares. He is determined to learn more 'about the house and its once-magnificent, now overgrown garden but when he does so, he receives further, increasingly sinister, visits from the small hand.

Reviews

"Masterfully done... subtle, elegant' (The Times)

'Short and crisply told... The tension is built up gradually until it is taut and physical' (Independent)

'On chilling form' (Vogue)

'Beautifully evoked... what's most impressive is what hangs between the spare lines of Hill's precise prose... this is a wonderful piece of storytelling that does what a good story ought to do: it keeps you guessing, pulls you in' (Jeremy Dyson, Guardian)

Author description

Susan Hill is the winner of numerous literary prizes including the Somerset Maugham award. Her literary memoir, Howards End Is On The Landing and the ghost story The Man In The Picture are both published by Profile. Her bestselling novel The Woman in Black is currently being filmed for theatrical release.