In Darkness, Shadows Breathe by Catherine Cavendish

 

In Darkness, Shadows Breathe by Catherine Cavendish.

Published 19th January 2021 by Flame Tree Press.

From the cover of the book:

You’re next...

Carol and Nessa are strangers but not for much longer.

In a luxury apartment and in the walls of a modern hospital, the evil that was done continues to thrive. 

They are in the hands of an entity that knows no boundaries and crosses dimensions - bending and twisting time itself - and where danger waits in every shadow. The battle is on for their bodies and souls and the line between reality and nightmare is hard to define. 

Through it all, the words of Lydia Warren Carmody haunt them. But who was she? And why have Carol and Nessa been chosen? The answer lies deep in the darkness...

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Having read and enjoyed two of Catherine Cavendish's previous books - The Garden of Bewitchment, which was heavily Victorian Gothic, and The Malan Witch, which was a contemporary horror novel -  I was really keen to see what she had to offer with her latest book, In Darkness, Shadows Breathe. 

Interestingly, this book combines elements of both of these books by telling a twisty tale that moves through time, with heavy Victorian Gothic working alongside a frightening modern scenario - and she does this by setting her creepy story against the backdrop of a hospital and luxury housing complex built on the grounds of a former workhouse and asylum. 

The story is in two parts, introducing us first to the damaged Carol, who is flat sitting for a couple who own one of the new luxury apartments on the site of the old workhouse/asylum complex. There are some seriously weird goings on in this apartment that introduce Carol not only to the history of where she is living, but also to the story of one one the former asylum inmates, Lydia Warren Carmody - and Lydia's seriously menacing poem, which sets the scene for the story as a whole. Suffice to say, the bumps in the night, poltergeist like happenings and a scary face at the window are enough test Carol beyond the limits of her sanity. 

The second part of the story, brings in Nessa, an in-patient undergoing complex life-saving surgery in the modern hospital. Nessa finds herself experiencing similar weird goings on to those that have affected Carol, and she is also somehow linked to the tragic tale of Lydia Warren Carmody - with the poem again putting in a chilling appearance. 

It seems that Carol and Nessa are in danger from an age-old entity that wants them both for its own evil ends, one that keeps drawing them into places in the hospital that should not exist in the modern age... places that no one wants to be... and their fates are inextricably linked.

"In darkness, shadows breathe

Though the earth be still, with graves,

The mourning yearn for solace

And the dead shall hear their cry,

Sending spirits on winged flight,

To comfort and console,

But one among them bides behind,

Her soul of ebony and granite,

The fires of life long since quenched,

Replaced with voids of emptiness.

In darkness, shadows breathe,

And death their only reward."

Lydia Warren Carmody, 1856-1891

 

The set-up in this novel is quite complex, and relies heavily on the premise that "time is not linear", which allows the characters to move back and forth between dimensions - so the modern day players find themselves frequently in settings that exist in another time, but the same place. This does mess with your head, just as it messes with the heads of Carol and Nessa, and it is also, quite frankly, terrifying. No one from the modern age wants to suddenly find themselves in a creepy Victorian asylum, especially one in which the staff indulge in some particularly doubtful practices, and an asylum setting is always wonderful for a horror tale. 

There were times when I lost the thread of the story a bit, and it was tricky to keep a handle on the various characters moving between different dimensions - especially the moments when they seemed to be existing in the bodies of others. This did slow the action down somewhat, making the pacing a bit erratic, and I felt that perhaps a bit less back and forth and some combining of characters who did not really advance the plot much would have helped the story to flow better.

However, there are certainly thrills and spills galore, with some full on nightmare scenes you will find it hard to get out of your head, and the permeating sense of danger stoked by an oft repeated message of "You're next!" was really very scary indeed. The setting is absolutely perfect and it allows Catherine Cavendish to let her imagination run riot, mixing Gothic chills with modern terrors in a way that works devilishly well. It may not be one full of buckets of blood and gallons of gore, but the psychological tension does enough to keep even the keenest horror fan on their toes - and in typical Cavendish style, the ending certainly hits that unsettling spot! 

In Darkness, Shadows Breathe is available to buy now from your favourite book retailer, or from Bookshop.org HERE.

About the author:

Following a varied career in sales, advertising and career guidance, Cat is now the full-time author of a number of paranormal, ghostly and Gothic horror novels and novellas. 

She lives with her long-suffering husband and black cat in a 260 year old haunted apartment in North Wales.

When not slaving over a hot computer, Cat enjoys rambling around stately homes, circles of standing stones and travelling to favourite haunts such as Vienna and Orkney.