The Journal of Edwin Underhill

by Peter Tonkin

in12. Broché.

Genres: Horror Thriller, Fiction, Horror

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Peter Tonkin's first novel, KILLER, was published in 1978. His work has included the acclaimed "Mariner" series that have been critically compared with the best of Alistair MacLean, Desmond Bagley and Hammond Innes.

More recently he has been working on a series of detective thrillers with an Elizabethan background. This series, "The Master of Defense", has been characterised as 'James Bond meets Sherlock Holmes meets William Shakespeare'. Each story is a classic 'whodunit' with all the clues presented to the reader exactly as they are presented to the hero, Tom Musgrave. The Kirkus Review described them as having 'Elizabethan detail, rousing action sequences, sound detection...everything a fan of historical mysteries could hope for."

Reviews

[Mick Scrimshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark, deep and intense! This horror story has been sitting on my shelves for over thirty years since I last read it in my late teens or early twenties. I used to read horror stories as a young man and remember being massively into James Herbert in my last couple of years at school in the late 1970’s and particularly like Vampire stories. I still do, but only in films and haven’t picked up a horror novel for decades. In fact thinking about it, this could possibly be the last horror book I read until rereading it again just now. I’m not entirely convinced I’m ready to start reading horror again, my tastes seem to have changed over the years, but even if this is the only horror, or vampire book I read for a while, I thoroughly enjoyed it and am glad I picked it up and found time for it in between my usual diet of thrillers and whodunits. It’s a vampire tale with a difference, but no worse for that and the main character’s description of his feelings as he is transformed from human to ‘monster’ is thoughtful, well written, and ensures this novel stands out from the crowd of pulp horror and cheaply written straight-into-paperback books that often make up the genre. As far as I can see the author didn’t write any more horror books which is a shame because he clearly had a talent, but he seems to have gone on and had a prolific career in thriller writing which I will have to find time to dip into.

[Katrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this in my early teens and going through a bit of a Hammer Horror phase and had quite a fondness for all things undead - back then vampires didn't sparkle and sure as hell weren't lovable. Remember quite liking it at the time, although, I don't know if it'd fare well if I read it now.

Anyway, from what I recall, on a Christmas night out, village outcast Edwin drunkenly stumbles and falls into an ancient grave, impaling his hand on a wooden shard. And thus begins the rise and fall and rise again of Edwin Underhill.

Quite a goofy and fun read.


From what I remember, this was out of print when I came across it and I'd imagine it still is.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite vampire book as a teen. I think I may have to find it again to read it!

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Le meilleur roman d'épouvante