The Small Hand by Susan Hill: Book Review


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Cover of The Small Hand by Susan Hill

3 Stars

Adam Snow gets lost in the countryside on a drive back to London one evening and finds himself at a derelict house. He gets out of the car to look around and feels a small hand slip into his. There’s no one else there. He takes the memory of the hand with him and remembers it as a comforting presence. But then he starts to have panic attacks, near misses, and inexplicable urges to harm himself. The small hand obviously does not bear him good will.

Eh. This was more Gothic than horror so I feel that it was too short to really work up some good suspense. Gothic novels are such a slow burn that they almost have to be chunksters to really pull me in and get my nerves on edge. At less than 200 pages, the events of this book happen relatively quickly and feel rushed and even a little obvious. The basic premise is very solid though and I think I would have enjoyed a longer book much more than I did this one.

Being so short, it is worth a try if you’re interested or if you’re in the mood for a little Gothic fun though.

Read an excerpt.

Find author Susan Hill on her website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Buy The Small Hand at

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2 Comments

  1. Hmm I will have to keep this one in mind for when I am in a Gothic reading mood. It sounds freaky though! Like Monkey's Paw a little bit.

  2. I read this one last year and really enjoyed it, felt it was very atmospheric. But I really like her old fashioned style which I know isn't to everyone's taste.

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