Hen Bane

A beautifully paced supernatural thriller for our times in which a frustrated and angry woman has a curse cast upon her husband.

Some years later, trapped in a bickering marriage, running a third-rate hotel in a nondescript Scottish village, she finds whisky to be her only friend. Then her sister moves nearby and awakens ancient resentments.

Into this maelstrom of emotions bumbles Brendan Murphy, a reluctant therapist specialising in spiritual issues. Plagued by his own emotional issues and not sure what's going on or even who his client is, he ends up putting his feet where they are not wanted.

It is down to Ruth, his estranged assistant, to step in. But she has her own distractions, principally the spirit she has taken on board who gives her strength, yet at the same time chafes for her freedom.

If he is to help, Brendan needs to pull himself together, otherwise the future looks bleak for Dorothea. And should Ruth have been careful in what she wished for, given that Margar has her own agenda?

Gripping and packed with intrigue from the first page to the last, this engrossing paranormal thriller will make you question what you can ever really believe.