“Helen realized that she had walked too far just as daylight was beginning to fade.”

I know I keep saying it, but I need to stop reading creepy books. Anyway, here we are again.

Helen Capel has taken the position of lady-help in a remote country house inhabited by the Warren family. While they’re an unusual bunch, not least the short-tempered and bedridden matriarch Lady Warren, she is enjoying her work for the most part. When she learns that a murderer is on the loose, however, she begins to worry, as the four murders so far have all been of young women, and they seem to be getting nearer and nearer the house, with the killer becoming increasingly bold.

With news that the most recent murder has taken place just a short distance away and the body of a young maid found in a neighbour’s garden, Professor Warren decides to shut up the house for the remainder of the night, informing them all that no one is allowed in or out, and no door or window is to be opened, no matter who is outside. But as the characters begin to disobey, Helen can’t help but feeling that the killer is much closer than any of them suspect…

Genuinely, this is one of the most tense things I have ever read. Although not a classic horror, it plays up many of the tropes and all takes place on the typical “dark and stormy night”. While most of the story is from Helen’s point of view, we do occasionally learn things that she can’t possibly witness, but we never get the full story, leading to tension ratcheting up even higher. All of the characters have questionable traits, from Lady Warren (who might not be as bedridden as she lets on) to Nurse Barker (who only arrived that day, and cannot confirm her identity), and you really feel for Helen as the net seems to close around her.

The safest, most trustworthy characters are written out until the number of people available dwindles, and with no one allowed in, once they’re gone, they’re gone for good. Helen’s only chance of rescue is on the other side of the front door, but so too might be her end. Incredibly atmospheric, with characters that leap off the page with the smallest amount of description, White has created something truly fascinating. The solution is not unguessable, but it’s also satisfying and occurs just when the tension can’t possibly get any higher, having been spectacularly built up.

A forgotten gem, and not one to read on stormy nights alone.

Not only do I review things, but I’ve also written books too! If you fancy a blackly comic tale about the end of the world via an alien invasion, then try The Third Wheel. If you want some trivia and to test your grey matter, try my quiz book Questioning Your Sanity. I hope you enjoy them!