The name and cover of this short novel, Starve Acre, immediately sent chills up my spine. Having loved the author's earlier book 'The Loney' I was delighted to have the chance to read this latest creation from Andrew Michael Hurley. As with 'The Loney', the setting of 'Starve Acre' is a character in itself. It is vividly and scarily described. If they hadn't made the choice to move there none of the events of the tale would have happened to the main protagonists, Juliette and Richard. At the start of the tale their 5 year old son Ewan has recently died and the two grieving parents are dealing with this in different ways. As a reader I was speculating throughout what had happened to Ewan and this is not revealed until close to the end, an aspect which I found helped the gripping nature of the story. Juliette rarely leaves Ewan's bedroom and is unresponsive to the efforts of Richard, her sister and her parents to move on with her life. She does however respond to a local quasi religious group, The Beacons, who offer her some solace in her grief. Richard, a history academic, meanwhile has become obsessively engaged in researching the area on his land where there used to be an oak tree used for hanging. Juliette and Richard have not had an easy time integrating into village life, having moved to Starve Acre (Richard's parental home) from the city. Cruelty and ostracism play a significant part throughout the tale, particularly when, in flashback, Ewan starts school and has difficulties with the other children. The responses to grief seem to unleash hidden dark forces and the reader is desperate to know how things will turn out. Superb writing by Hurley has created a memorable tale. My thanks to the publisher via Net Galley for the opportunity to read a complimentary ARC of this novel in return for an honest review.

Richard and Juliette live in a remote house in the Yorkshire Dales. Their son Ewan died after a short, troubled life and Juliette is lost in grief. Richard spends his time excavating their blighted field, said to have been the site of a huge oak where three local boys were hanged in the distant past. While looking for the roots of the tree to try to document if it really existed he comes across the bones of a long dead hare. This leads to events which lead to a truly Gothic Noir outcome.

My first real delve into reading into the supernatural and this was a good story to start with. I found the end a little disappointing but in a good way as was left wanting to know what happened next

Richard and Juliette move into Starve Acre after his parents died to enjoy being a family in this rural setting. But soon their son Ewan changes and life starts to go wrong for them up to Ewan’s death. But what else is going on here, why does nothing grow in their field? An interring and gripping book full of folklore and mystery. Great read all the way through,

With the sudden death of five-year-old Ewan, Starve Acre has gone from the perfect family home to a haunted house. Juliette moves into her son’s bedroom, confident his spirit is still there and Richard throws himself in his work, researching the location of an oak tree that had once been used for hanging criminals, despite many warnings to leave the past where it is.
At Juliette’s insistence, a local group of occultists called the Beacons are brought to the house, hoping to find some rest for Ewan’s spirit. They appear to help Juliette but do they also awaken something dark, or were the warnings about the hanging tree being cursed true?
Written from Richard’s point of view, Starve Acre tells the story of a couple wracked with grief, trying to adjust to their loss in different ways. In that respect, an overly grieving mother and a work-obsessed father are staple characters to this type of story. What sets them apart from other grieving couple characters is that their marriage is not falling apart. They are not an effective couple during the book, but at no time is there a suggestion that they’ll go their separate ways, which I found as refreshing
However, where this book differs from other works about the incomprehensible loss of a child, is the folktale element involving the roots of a tree historically used for hanging and a bogyman type character called Jack Grey. It is hinted there is a connection between Ewan’s death and Jack Grey, but that could also be the fragile mental state of Richard and Juliette.
This is where the choice of location works perfectly. Set in rural Yorkshire, it is entirely believable that some still believe in old folk stories. Had the location been urban, this wouldn’t have worked. Nor would the characters’ deepening isolation. Richard and Juliette’s home is so far away from civilisation, they only have themselves and her sister, the outside world is treated as an annoyance.
While there are elements of this story that could lead to a comparison of Stephen King’s The Shining, and there are scenes of animal cruelty which might upset some readers, Starve Acre is subtle and understated which elevates it. Building suspense and tension, and leaving us without any definite answers, Starve Acre is full of sudden chills and uncomfortable scenes that stayed with me long after I turned out my lights. A must-read for fans of creepy and suspenseful horror.

Within the first few paragraphs, the reader is elevated by the richness and depth of the language and prose used to describe the land, the loss, and Starve Acre. I was pleasantly washed along on a tide of beautiful, elegant phrasing that gave life to the bleakness and grief that are the solid foundations of this tale.

Atmospheric and beguiling, this tale of a woman who believes that her dead son still resides in the home, is haunting and unsettling. Yet the reader can be dined out and nourished for a very long time on the refinement and sophistication of the composition of this story.
I was aghast with goosebumps emerging all over and a sense of dread that came trickling up to me with every page I turned; a truly chilling tale.
I highly recommend this new book from Andrew Michael Hurley.

This made me shiver.
So well written and factual, for such an emotive subject as the death of an only child..The book is quite. clinical in its descriptions of events. Story is uncovered gradually, a real page turner with horrifically stunning conclusion.

Set in a remote part of the Yorkshire dales, where communities are built upon generations of families living and working in the same small villages, Andrew Michael Hurley creates an atmospheric story, making use of the desolate landscapes, local folklore and the sense of isolation that being an outsider brings, to create this novel. The sinister sense of suspense builds well from the initial hope of rural idyll, to the point of questioning who among the clearly drawn characters is more unstable.. The ending is very abrupt, which I found unsatisfactory - but that disturbance added to the story.

Starve Acre is a story that carries on growing in the imagination long after the last page, becoming more unsettling as time passes. The characters are skillfully drawn and the creepiness is woven through the story so subtly that you hardly notice it building until you reach the end. And what an end it is!

I have read The Loney, which I loved, so I was expecting good things from Starve Acre. And it didn't disappoint.

Andrew Micheal Hurley has a superb way of writing. He draws you in and takes you on a journey that you don't know you're going on until you've reached the climax.

A sense of unease ran cleverly throughout this novel, which was in essence a story of grief. But it was so much more than that.

Brilliant, thought provoking, and haunting. Highly recommended.

Simply stunning. A beautifully crafted novel with elements of nature writing, historical literary fiction and horror. I found this incredibly effective and am more and more impressed by Hurley's craft.

Creepy as heck. Don't read it alone after dark! I really enjoyed this book although it freaked me out a lot. Why did the son die? What is the dad doing digging in the weird field? What is up with the mum? It's all so wrong and dysfunctional but really really good!

A couple come to live at the husband's childhood home of Starve Acre to give their young son a better life.. Starve Acre has a field where nothing ever grows. The locals tell tales about a malevolent character called Jack Grey and of handgings from a large tree that once grew in the field, evidence of which the husband sets out to find. We know a tragedy has befallen the couple's young son who was displaying worrying behaviour. The couple are frozen with grief. Hurley weaves a dark, bleak nightmarish tale.

This book is very well written, beautiful descriptions, the narrative flows. However, I found I just couldn't quite believe in people's reactions, for example, the main male character digs up a skeleton in Starve Acre that starts to reanimate and he doesn't seem fazed by this in the least. I kind of rationalised it by putting it down to grief but it jarred with me. I also felt too many characters were introduced with no real role in the outcome of the story.

My little @netgalley readathon continues! An excellent short story that I managed to polish off in less than 3 hours this evening but it felt like reading a full length epic. The scenic descriptions, the creation of tension and atmosphere, the looming sense of dread that's woven throughout the story is done effortlessly. This book to me is very reminiscent of 'Pet Sematary' by Stephen King. What appears to be a couple suffering from the grief of their lost son, soon becomes intertwined with folklore and the possibility of the supernatural. I loved the ambiguity of this book and that the ending was left so much for self interpretation and I enjoyed immersing myself into this gothic horror narrative. For me I think the characters could have used a little more depth to make this a real 5star read. 4.5/5 ⭐

Andrew Michael Hurley has a great track record for writing unsettling stories that get under your skin and stay there for a while. His books are a masterclass in creating a bleak atmosphere and Starve Acre is no exception.

Juliette and Richard Willoughby are struggling to come to terms with the sudden death of their five year old son, Ewan. In the aftermath Richard throws himself into his work but is made to take a sabbatical by concerned colleagues and now finds himself without direction while Juliette is paralysed by grief. In an attempt to pass the hours, Richard becomes obsessed with the field outside their isolated cottage and starts digging in an attempt to find the roots of an oak tree. Despite warnings from a local villager, Richard carries on digging while reflecting on Ewan’s short and mysterious time on earth.

As with the author’s other books, the landscape and surroundings are as much a character as the people. Starve Acre is Richard’s parents’ house, left to him in their will. Always seen as outsiders in a small village, Ewan’s disturbing behaviour only served to push them more and more to the fringes of village society. The story plays out like an old folk tale and reminded me of the Wicker Man at points. Superstition and old wives’ tales loom large and while refusing to believe in the validity of a seance for Juliette’s benefit, Richard seems to accept the strange happenings in his world without question. There’s some really unsettling parts to this book and the ending is one that left me in shock. It’s part ghost story, part folk tale and is sure to induce shivers in anyone who’s looked across the Moors on a dark and misty night. Creepy stuff from and increasingly great writer.

I received a ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair review.

From the cold and hostile environment, to the hostility of the locals, the foreboding building of Starve Acre and the barren field alongside it, this is a book where the menace creeps off the page and sets up an uncomfortable creeping across your scalp.
Folklore and superstition entwine with the difficulty of settling in a close village community creating a wonderful sense of paranoia. The grief and guilt that Richard feels for the death of his son contrasts with Juliette's manic refusal to accept that he is gone, and she turns to the supernatural to help her bring him back. This seems to be the catalyst for the chain of events that were set in motion when they moved to Starve Acre to rush towards the horrifying conclusion that there is something very, very wrong with the house they are living in.
This felt like one of the great 1970's horror films brought bang up to date and I know this is a book I will recommend to anyone wanting a book that will have them sleeping with the lights on.

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

*A big thank-you to Andrew Michael Hurley, John Murray Press and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
Starve Acre was a perfect read for this time of year. The story is woven around a folk tale of a tree that was used for hangings hundreds of years ago and which possibly made the soil barren around Starve Acre, a house that has belonged to the Willoughbys for generations. The house now belongs to a couple, Juliette and Richard, who grieve after the death of their five-year-old son. The theme sounds simple, however, everything that surrounds the house and the fields around it is not. In the course of the story we learn about the family past, and about Ewan, the boy who died unexpectedly, and who showed most disturbing traits with regard to his personality.
The novel is creepy and chilling, and the folklore tales incorporated into it add to its atmosphere.

The Loney was one of my favourite books the year it was published & I also enjoyed Devil's Day, so I was really excited to get hold of another of Andrew Michael Hurley's books.

Richard & Juliette live in what was Richard's home growing up. They are still reeling from the death of their five year old son Ewan. Richard tries to continue with his work as a college lecturer but is forced to take some time off although he continues with his archaeological work in their field looking for the remains of an ancient oak tree. Juliette is convinced that Ewan is still with them & is obsessed with trying to capture the moments when she feels his presence. As the story goes back the reader realises that things were not all plain sailing with Ewan & the field opposite seems to have a hold on the family. As the end of the year approaches Juliette's obsession gets worse. Her overbearing sister tries to bring her back to reality but is she too late?

This writer's style is not to everyone's taste(I can't think of another author who makes me check the dictionary so often)However he does have an enormous talent for capturing the atmosphere of a place & a narrative which I find totally bewitching. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this terrific book.

A fitting read for Autumn! This story is set in a remote village and focuses on Richard and Juliette, parents whose son has died. Richard deals with his grief by pursuing a project; Juliette struggles to process hers until a friend offers an usual support.

This novel is drenched with gloom, guilt and desperation. It hooks the reader in and ramps up the creepy happenings. I could imagine this as a film.

Not usually being a fan of this style of novel, I quite enjoyed it and would recommend it to those who like the supernatural and a more horrifying read.

Starve Acre is first and foremost a book about loss. Richard and Juliette Willoughby have recently lost their 5 year old son, and both are struggling to come to terms with their loss and grief in their different ways. Richard has taken to digging up a nearby field, looking for evidence of an ancient oak tree that once stood there. Juliette has just gone into herself and refuses to let Ewan go, convinced she heard him at night.

The interactions between the two, and the lack of interactions, beautifully tell a story of shared yet so personal loss. Neither can truly help or understand the other's loss.

Throughout the story, which is told without chapter breaks, we get a picture of Ewan's short life and the beginnings of odd behaviour, as well as some odd findings while Richard is digging in the field.

There are some very odd, creepy moments in this book, and some very touching moments. However, I felt slightly let down by the ending. There was a good amount of exposition in the last couple of pages (which may sound like a cop-out rushed ending but is well delivered) but the very final scene felt like a missed trick to me. I was expecting a very horror ending, but while what I got was unsettling, there was an element of ridiculousness to it that spoiled it.

A very enjoyable short read.