The Mist in the Mirror

Hill, as the author of 1983’s The Woman in Black, since adapted to both stage and screen, is no stranger to gothic novels. In this Victorian-set ghost story, narrator James Monmouth returns to London after years spent in the Far East retracing the steps of his hero, the late travel writer Conrad Vane. Weary from his journeys, Monmouth is eager to write Vane’s history and also explore his own family background. He becomes increasingly frustrated, though, when his questions about his idol are met only with pleas to abandon the project. Hill’s secondary characters are mostly developed in broad strokes—a sinister bookseller in a dusty emporium, a stern and imposing headmaster. As Monmouth’s health steadily worsens, two familiar gothic tropes take hold: his inexplicable terror at regular intervals and the frequent appearance of a ghost (in this case, a boy in rags standing at a distance, regarding Monmouth mournfully). Hill creates a spooky atmosphere for her tale (“Rain, rain all day, all evening, all night, pouring autumn rain”), which climaxes in a deserted mansion on a Scottish moor. But in place of a final terrifying revelation, Hill leaves Monmouth, and her readers, dissatisfied—haunted, even—by too many unanswered questions. Agent: Anne Borchardt, George Borchardt Literary Agency. (Feb.)