Witch Bottle is most defintely a slow burn. Nightmares, hallucinations, odd behaviours and so much death. But as the story progresses strange things begin to happen to and around him. He is a man who has lived and lost, a mundane and relatable enough character. In Witch Bottle we are introduced to Daniel. I received a copy of this novel from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.Įasily one of the most bizarre things I have read recently. This is an interesting literary read, which has a good sense of place and has characters you come to care about. They were believably unnerving, as was the mix of spooky and psychological. I especially enjoyed the creepy Fallen Stock men, who drive around and dispose of dead farm animals.

I thought it was wonderfully written and I enjoyed Daniel’s company (although I could have done without the author using him as a mouthpiece for his political views) as we met the other characters in the novel. There is much about this novel that I really liked. On his rounds, Daniel realises that other people are struggling with the same problem he is and, when Kathryn begins to create ‘witch bottles,’ for his customers, he agrees to deliver them.

Although he has made the decision to live alone, he finds himself attracted to Kathryn and that will be useful for him, because Daniel has an unwanted visitor and it turns out that Kathryn is a witch. In flashbacks, we learn about Daniel’s past, the reasons why he made the decision to leave his family and his childhood.ĭuring his day, Daniel often visits the La’al Tattie Shop, where he becomes friend with Kathryn. He likes the driving, the interaction with customers, and the fact that he spends much of the time on his own. He is living in a cottage that belongs to his uncle and working in a dead end job, but one that he enjoys. During his day, Daniel often visits the La’al Tattie Shop, where he becomes friend Daniel has left his wife and baby daughter and has become a milkman in Cumbria. In flashbacks, we learn about Daniel’s past, the reasons why he made the decision to leave his family and his childhood. Witch Bottle is literary horror at its finest, perfect for fans of Andrew Michael Hurley’s The Loney and Starve Acre.moreĭaniel has left his wife and baby daughter and has become a milkman in Cumbria. She can’t t discern the origins of his haunting, but she can provide him with a protective ward – a witch-bottle – if, in return, he will deliver her products on his rounds.īut not everyone’s happy to find people meddling with witch-bottles. Shaken and unnerved, he opens up to a local witch. It’s not just at night bad things are happening, either, or just to him.

Daniel’s started having nightmares, seeing things that can’t possibly be there – like the naked, emaciated giant with a black bag over its head which is so real he swears he could touch it. The easy monotony of his job as a milkman in the remote northwest of England demands nothing from him other than dealing with unreasonable customer demands and the vagaries of his enigmatic boss.īut things are changing. And he had a wife and a daughter, but that didn’t work out, so now he’s alone. The easy monotony of his job as a milkman in the remote northwest of England demands nothing from him other than dealing with unreasona A deeply atmospheric literary horror novel about the nature of repressed guilt, grief and fear.ĭaniel once had a baby brother, but he died, a long time ago now. Daniel once had a baby brother, but he died, a long time ago now. A deeply atmospheric literary horror novel about the nature of repressed guilt, grief and fear.

Grim dawn meddling witch