The Coffin Path

The Coffin Path by Katherine Clements

Published by Headline Review

February 2018

Maybe you've heard tales about Scarcross Hall, the house on the old coffin path that winds from village to moor top. They say there's something up here, something evil.

Mercy Booth isn't afraid. The moors and Scarcross are her home and lifeblood. But, beneath her certainty, small things are beginning to trouble her. Three ancient coins missing from her father's study, the shadowy figure out by the gatepost, an unshakeable sense that someone is watching.

When a stranger appears seeking work, Mercy reluctantly takes him in. As their stories entwine, this man will change everything. She just can't see it yet.

This is Katherine Clements' third novel and this one is set Just after the civil wars, across the moors of Yorkshire which make for a compellingly spooky and atmospheric back-drop to the story.  Scarcross Hall is the home of Mercy Booth, a farmers daughter who takes her role as heir to the family business very seriously.  One day upon walking the moors she feels that someone or something is watching her and this feeling continues both on the moors and back at home.  When a mysterious stranger appears asking for seasonal work, Mercy finds herself reluctant to take him on, but with nothing more than a feeling to base it on, she has no choice but to accept him.

Soon there are occurrences that no one can account for.  Sheep and lambs are being taken and killed across the moors, with no evidence as to who or what is doing the killing, and at Scarcross Hall, her father's prize possession, three ancient gold coins have vanished.

"One marks the first to go. A second bodes the fall. The third will seal a sinner's fate. The Devil takes them all."

In parts this was a little like The Silent Companions because of the link with things moving unaccountably within a house and if you enjoyed that, then you will certainly want to put this on your reading list.  My only negative is that there is a lot of talk about sheep and lambs, a lot!

Happy Reading

Miss Chapters x