FICTION

Long Lankin

by Lindsey BARRACLOUGH
456p. Candlewick. 2012. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-5808-3; ebook $16.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6108-3.
COPY ISBN
Gr 5–10—Children have gone missing for centuries in Byers Guerdon, and rumors of a dark curse and a ravenous evil haunt those who choose to remain there. When 12-year-old Cora and her little sister, Mimi, are sent to live with their elderly aunt in Guerdon Hall, their only wish is to go home and have nothing more to do with creepy old houses and secretive adults. Then, they meet two of the village boys and explore places best left alone, awakening a monster and resurrecting the nightmare once more. Can Cora save her sister from the clutches of Long Lankin and end the curse once and for all? This debut horror story set in Britain during the late 1940s starts slowly but weaves a chilling spell that will immerse readers in this world and hold them through to the breathless conclusion. With densely packed writing and a heavy dose of historical slang and colloquialisms unfamiliar to North American readers, this is a story for sophisticated readers who enjoy a good scare. Fans of Clare B. Dunkle's atmospheric horror stories such as By These Ten Bones (2005) and House of Dead Maids (2010, both Holt) are likely to enjoy this spine-tingling selection.—Stephanie Whelan, New York Public Library
Cora, sent with her little sister to crumbling Guerdon Hall, learns that the family has suffered a string of child deaths and abductions. Delving into Guerdon history, she and a local boy increasingly see ghosts of the children and of a tormented Elizabethan priest. This post–World War II horror fantasy, told in three voices, evokes the eastern England setting with earthy richness.
The ballad "Long Lankin" provides the plot for this post-World War II horror fantasy set in a tidal marsh in eastern England. When Cora and her little sister Mimi are sent to stay with Aunt Ida in Guerdon Hall, the crumbling family manor, they find their aunt taciturn and overprotective. Then, through her friendship with Roger, a local village boy, Cora learns that the Guerdons have suffered a string of child deaths and abductions. She and Roger delve into Guerdon history, and increasingly, see ghosts of the abducted children and of a tormented Elizabethan priest who warns them of Long Lankin's awakening and Mimi's danger. Even with the warnings, however, they aren't prepared when Long Lankin strikes. Barraclough evokes setting and atmosphere with earthy richness, detailing smells, sounds, blossoms, family life, and decaying architecture with the same attention she gives her portrait of postwar British village culture. This level of detail enriches but also stalls the lengthy story as it moves among three voices -- Cora's, Roger's, and Aunt Ida's. But the book gives readers shivers enough as Long Lankin, pungent and fetid, emerges to test the heroism of the three protagonists. deirdre f. baker
Reviewed by Stephanie Whelan , Aug 01, 2012

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