Publisher – Absinthe Books

Published – Out now

Price – £18.99 hardback £2.99 ebook via https://pspublishing.co.uk/grackle-ebook-by-ac-wise-6380-p.asp

Andi’s on a road trip to a famously haunted town, Drakesburg. It was supposed to be partly a research trip for her thesis, partly one last sister’s trip to a cabin in the woods to spend time together and tell ghost stories; just like they used to do with their mother when she was alive. But an argument after their grandmother’s funeral put a stop to that. Instead, Andi’s taking a fellow student she barely knows, Emmanuelle, along for the drive – hardly the fun trip she envisioned. Emmanuelle starts to tell a ghost story as they travel through the night – towards a stranger destination than either of them expected to find – and before long Andi finds herself in a tale inside a story, and who knows how to get out?

Ghost stories and hauntings are not quite the same thing. A ghost story will have a beginning and an end. A haunting is open ended. Sometimes we know the origin story a little, but the ghosts just seem to visit again and again and again. Horror stories are often considered the realm of the supernatural but sometimes they are psychological which if the monsters are actually in our heads can be even more unsettling. In AC Wise’s disturbing and beautifully written novella Grackle we get a story of two women seeking something that manages to look at all these aspects of ghost and horror stories delivering something quite unique and one of my reads of the year.

Andi was told ghost stories by her mother, taken to graveyards and haunted houses to see if she and her sister will meet the dead. But now Andi’s mother is dead; her grandmother dismisses her choice to study the supernatural and her own grown-up sister now has no desire to accompany her on a ghost hunt. So she decides to go on her own to the town of Drakesberg famous for multiple sites of hauntings. However, a fellow student from her class Emmanuelle arrives and asks to go on the roadtrip. Emmanuelle startles Andi by telling her the legend of the Grackle a previously unknown spirit/legend who is connected to Drakesberg. This unsettles Ani who starts to find more of this legend and Emmanuelle has her own haunted past to face in Drakesberg. The Grackle may be waiting for both.

This is a masterclass in storytelling keeping the reader on our toes; switching styles and also making us start to doubt our own senses. Initially we have Andi the fervent seeker who wants to know if ghosts are real but also loves the hunts; the research and finds ghost stories compelling (and reassuring). Initially she appears to be the only central character who is in many ways is the modern 21st century cheery heroine about to go into the ghost story and find out what the hell is going on. Her chapters are filled with emotion, humour and yet we see a woman a little adrift in grief, loneliness and the potential romantic connection with Mona a librarian she meets almost suggest a warm cosy horror story in the offing. This is not exactly what awaits us,

Then in sharp contrast is Emmanuelle. Gaunt, shaved head and very much someone living in her head. Her reputation at college is a woman with issues and now she appears to be Andi’s problem and just for good measure in the car she tells the disconcerting first version of The Grackle story we meet. Emmanuelle is the character you would not want to be in a car with…but then Wise carefully lets Emmanuelle tells us more about her life. She too is wracked with grief, loss and there is clear pain here. If Andi seeks the horror for fun and sense of warm childhood then Emmanuelle is the opposite haunted by childhood and for her the search is for answers. The character work is beautiful and as a reader how we approach the characters changes. We get to understand them and its for you as the reader to decide who is any are the central characters here.

Which leads us to the question of what and who is being haunted. With Andi we have the search for The Grackle and Emmanuelle it’s a more personal search we realise connected to her losses. In some ways The Grackle is your standard urban myth but Wise has lots of versions in the story; none quite line up or have firm evidence. Our trip through the strange town of Drakesberg touches on murders, revenge, cults, and ancient legends. An eerie empty church with a strange past and a rundown children’s fairground are created haunting places in other ways. It is a search we see in many stories, but Wise continues to serve us options as to what is going on. For Emmanuelle it is a more alarming fear that we have are her family secrets actually doing the haunting and we increasingly worry about her behaviour and where she may be heading to. Andi and Emmanuella are reflections of each other and their relationship goes through different iterations and cause Andi concern as to where thins are heading in many directions. This means as the reader we get invested and for me there are scenes here that of a sunny afternoon while reading it I did feel that elusive feeling of I am very scared for these characters and where they’re heading.

Grackle is a story that not only explores haunting but will haunt the reader afterwards. It plays with the many versions of the ghost story and delivers a 21st century story with nods to the past and future of the genre. It can be funny, scary, erotic and above all human. A gorgeous read even at the same time it makes you hold your breath. I strongly recommend it!