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Strange
Wrongly imprisoned for murder, Inspector Jim Carroll is asked to look into a series of killings in Long Barrow Prison. When he investigates four horrific and mysterious cell deaths, he becomes ensnared by the dark force loose in the prison itself.
- GenresHorror
336 pages, Paperback
First published July 7, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 2, 2023
It’s rare for me to find true lost gems in vintage horror anymore, but I think this one qualifies, having only one rating here on GR and zero reviews online. I’m guessing this had a low print run, as it’s hard to imagine why it isn’t more of a cult classic today.
Inmates at Long Barrow Prison in England are being murdered in horrific and impossible fashion, so the warden tasks former cop/current inmate Jim Carroll with getting to the bottom of it. Carroll soon comes to suspect that whatever’s doing it isn’t of this world. And it appears to somehow relate to an old creepy tapestry he found in the prison’s basement. Meanwhile in the nearby town, young Angela is experiencing terrifying otherworldly apparitions and voices that both scare her and comfort her. Whatever it is seems to be coming from the large abandoned house nearby, and it wants her help. How is all this connected?
The mystery is constantly deepening here, the tension and chills always steadily ratcheting up, and the well-drawn characters kept me absorbed and made me care about the freaky shenanigans going on in the prison and nearby village. This is capital W WEIRD, but I’d rather not provide examples for fear of spoiling it. Suffice to say the “evil” here is unique and imaginative, not to mention extremely surreal. There were several scenes of awesome/awful hallucinatory imagery that put a big fat grin on my face, while others gave me serious chills.
James Buxton wrote three other horror novels in the 80s and 90s, but seems to have been almost totally forgotten in the years since (though it appears he now writes YA fiction as Jamie Buxton). While I wasn’t overly impressed with his 1996 offering The Wishing Tree,* after this I’ll definitely be getting to the rest of his oeuvre sooner rather than later.
* Yeah I’ve definitely changed my mind on this one upon re-read. It’s excellent.
Inmates at Long Barrow Prison in England are being murdered in horrific and impossible fashion, so the warden tasks former cop/current inmate Jim Carroll with getting to the bottom of it. Carroll soon comes to suspect that whatever’s doing it isn’t of this world. And it appears to somehow relate to an old creepy tapestry he found in the prison’s basement. Meanwhile in the nearby town, young Angela is experiencing terrifying otherworldly apparitions and voices that both scare her and comfort her. Whatever it is seems to be coming from the large abandoned house nearby, and it wants her help. How is all this connected?
The mystery is constantly deepening here, the tension and chills always steadily ratcheting up, and the well-drawn characters kept me absorbed and made me care about the freaky shenanigans going on in the prison and nearby village. This is capital W WEIRD, but I’d rather not provide examples for fear of spoiling it. Suffice to say the “evil” here is unique and imaginative, not to mention extremely surreal. There were several scenes of awesome/awful hallucinatory imagery that put a big fat grin on my face, while others gave me serious chills.
James Buxton wrote three other horror novels in the 80s and 90s, but seems to have been almost totally forgotten in the years since (though it appears he now writes YA fiction as Jamie Buxton). While I wasn’t overly impressed with his 1996 offering The Wishing Tree,* after this I’ll definitely be getting to the rest of his oeuvre sooner rather than later.
* Yeah I’ve definitely changed my mind on this one upon re-read. It’s excellent.
June 30, 2023
Strange is my first Buxton novel but definitely not my last. What a creepy book! The story takes place in a small town in the moors of England which was dominated by a huge textile factory during the industrial revolution. While the textile mill is gone, a Victorian age prison remains and within it, our main protagonist Jim Carroll is doing time for corruption. Jim was a former police inspector and while he still proclaims his innocence, he has already done 4 tough years. The imaginary of the old prison shines here; run down, no modern plumbing (prisoners have 'slop buckets' in their cells!), and the overall brutal atmosphere is ugly.
One day the head screw comes to Jim with a deal. It seems there have been a series of unexplained 'suicides' and he wants some answers; all four suffered broken necks but no other bodily injuries, and all four were alone in their cells when it happened. Being a 'grass' to the screws does not make many friends in jail so Jim must work on the QT for sure. Meanwhile, Buxton takes us to the nearby town and presents us with Angela, a young teen who is the daughter of Jim's former boss; Jim's boss left the force and now works in security while his wife in real estate. What is the connection?
Strange is loaded with lurid imagery and shocking scenes. Is the prison haunted? If so, by what? As things get stranger there, the screws get more abusive and cruel, and Jim tries to toe a fine line between investigating the shocking deaths and staying out of harm's way from his fellow inmates. The pacing rocks and Buxton knows how to build tension. I might have gone the full 5 stars except for a few minor niggles, but an easy 4.5 spooky stars!
One day the head screw comes to Jim with a deal. It seems there have been a series of unexplained 'suicides' and he wants some answers; all four suffered broken necks but no other bodily injuries, and all four were alone in their cells when it happened. Being a 'grass' to the screws does not make many friends in jail so Jim must work on the QT for sure. Meanwhile, Buxton takes us to the nearby town and presents us with Angela, a young teen who is the daughter of Jim's former boss; Jim's boss left the force and now works in security while his wife in real estate. What is the connection?
Strange is loaded with lurid imagery and shocking scenes. Is the prison haunted? If so, by what? As things get stranger there, the screws get more abusive and cruel, and Jim tries to toe a fine line between investigating the shocking deaths and staying out of harm's way from his fellow inmates. The pacing rocks and Buxton knows how to build tension. I might have gone the full 5 stars except for a few minor niggles, but an easy 4.5 spooky stars!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews