A Helping Hand

By Celia Dale

Suburban horror and hidden resentments bleed through this suspenseful read about the heavy price a married couple pays for one act of kindness

Format: Paperback
Pages: 272

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This is a tale of ruthless greed, exploitation and suffocating, skin-crawling terror.

Middle-aged Josh and Maisie Evans lead a seemingly unremarkable life. When their elderly lodger Flo dies and leaves them her estate, they head to Italy on holiday, to take in the sea air and let the sun soak into their bones. There they meet Mrs Fingal, a wealthy widow who lives unhappily with her grown-up niece. When Josh and Maisie bond with her over ice-cream and daily ambles, it’s only natural that they arrange for her to move in with them once home. It suits everyone.

Beneath the suburban respectability of cups of tea and genteel chitchat, however, emerges a different tale: one of ruthless greed and exploitation, and suffocating, skin-crawling terror.

For fans of Shirley Jackson, Roald Dahl and Muriel Spark, A Helping Hand is a sharp and nasty slice of darkness, and a reminder that the real horrors of this world can all too often be found behind discreet net curtains and the quietly nondescript.

Read if you: think the greatest horror is brewing a pot of nice hot tea for someone, and then watching it go cold as they forget about it.