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Cunning Folk
Money's tight and their new home is a fixer-upper. Deep in rural South West England, with an ancient wood at the foot of the garden, Tom and his family are miles from anywhere and anyone familiar. His wife, Fiona, was never convinced that buying the money-pit at auction was a good idea. Not least because the previous owner committed suicide. Though no one can explain why.
Within days of crossing the threshold, when hostilities break out with the elderly couple next door, Tom's dreams of future contentment are threatened by an escalating tit-for-tat campaign of petty damage and disruption.
Increasingly isolated and tormented, Tom risks losing his home, everyone dear to him and his mind. Because, surely, only the mad would suspect that the oddballs across the hedgerow command unearthly powers. A malicious magic even older than the eerie wood and the strange barrow therein. A hallowed realm from where, he suspects, his neighbours draw a hideous power.
Within days of crossing the threshold, when hostilities break out with the elderly couple next door, Tom's dreams of future contentment are threatened by an escalating tit-for-tat campaign of petty damage and disruption.
Increasingly isolated and tormented, Tom risks losing his home, everyone dear to him and his mind. Because, surely, only the mad would suspect that the oddballs across the hedgerow command unearthly powers. A malicious magic even older than the eerie wood and the strange barrow therein. A hallowed realm from where, he suspects, his neighbours draw a hideous power.
336 pages, Paperback
First published September 13, 2021
1398 people are currently reading
13651 people want to read
About the author
Adam L.G. Nevill
76 books5,527 followersADAM L. G. NEVILL was born in Birmingham, England, in 1969 and grew up in England and New Zealand. He is an author of horror fiction. Of his novels, The Ritual, Last Days, No One Gets Out Alive and The Reddening were all winners of The August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel. He has also published three collections of short stories, with Some Will Not Sleep winning the British Fantasy Award for Best Collection, 2017.
Imaginarium adapted The Ritual and No One Gets Out Alive into feature films and more of his work is currently in development for the screen.
The author lives in Devon, England.
Imaginarium adapted The Ritual and No One Gets Out Alive into feature films and more of his work is currently in development for the screen.
The author lives in Devon, England.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 733 reviews
February 21, 2025
This was a very drawn out read. I tend to wait until a book has died down in popularity before I read it, but I went against my better instincts and dove into this. So on the positives, the writing quality is superb, and the premise is very interesting. The author creates a haunting and uncomfortable atmosphere, keeping the tension knob turned all the way on high. Now, on the downside, I did not care for the level of unnecessary detail that was laid out. Especially in the first 30% of the book, which is really slow, I found myself trying to filter out this continually intricate wording used, in order to not lose focus on the very increasingly complicated plot. And with the decision on this level of depth, I was very disappointed to not see more of the background of Tom. Seemed like a big missed opportunity to weave into this story, and could have rounded his character out much more. But going back to the detail, it made this book probably at least a hundred pages too long. If the author simplified certain aspects, it would have held my interest more and been a more efficient read. I found myself taking breaks every 10-15 minutes, because it was just all a bit much. So while I didn’t totally dislike this story, I can’t give it overly glowing feedback, either. I’m sure there are tons of readers who will hate this review and disagree with every one of my points, but this was my experience with it.
May 18, 2023
Sinister folk horror about awful neighbours. Good grief, I thought mine were bad! Turns out Adam Nevill himself has had a few of them, too. But, the neighbours here are big fans of the occult and are the worst to have living next door since Minnie and Roman Castevet. Leave while you can!
May 18, 2023
There are few decisions we make in life as monumental as buying a home. The place where we rest our heads at night--our safe havens from the world where we shelter our family--it's a big deal! Worth mentioning is the fact that home ownership is a serious financial commitment as well as a location commitment-the place where you will plant some roots.
Adam Nevill introduces readers to a family of three, Fiona, Tom, and little Gracie in a season of their lives where they have made a big decision to leave the familiarity and comfort of their city life to live on some property near the woods. The house is a fixer-upper. The previous owner took his own life in the middle of renovations. Which is partly why the house is so cheap!
Tom and Fiona seem up for the challenge (well, mostly Tom) and they're excited to give their daughter a childhood filled with experiences in nature.
So idyllic.
But this is an Adam Nevill novel.
Nevill masterfully sets the stage by curating the family dynamic. Horror is really at its peak potential for scares when the reader is fully invested in the fictional lives of the people going through a terrifying experience. In the case of Cunning Folk, the terror is a triple threat:
-Renovating a home (those who have gone through it can attest-it can be a nightmare)
-Problematic neighbors (look up true crime articles involving neighbors, that shit is real)
-FOLK HORROR (Nevill's wheelhouse-the occult)
Nevill combines all of these ingredients in a blender and hits 'pulse'. If one of the three horrors is the primary concern, the other two are nipping at its heels and sometimes, all three are sounding off. It's quite an understatement to say that this book amplifies feelings of dread and anxiety. It's awful to watch a loving, sweet family get tested under the strain of such intense outside threats and Nevill has his fingers on the dial the whole time; turning it up slowly but steadily at first and then going full tilt toward the climax.
Terrifying.
There were scenes where I was crawling out of my skin and could feel my eyes bugging out of my head in shock and horror. He has done it again. I loved THE REDDENING from 2019 and this is an excellent companion piece to showcase his knack the for savage, wicked, ritualistic horrors of the occult against its unsuspecting, unprepared, and inexperienced victims.
This one really fucked with me.
(and I love that)
Highly recommend for readers who love to sit at the feet of a gifted storyteller who brings serious nightmare fuel to the reading experience--then lights a match.
Adam Nevill introduces readers to a family of three, Fiona, Tom, and little Gracie in a season of their lives where they have made a big decision to leave the familiarity and comfort of their city life to live on some property near the woods. The house is a fixer-upper. The previous owner took his own life in the middle of renovations. Which is partly why the house is so cheap!
Tom and Fiona seem up for the challenge (well, mostly Tom) and they're excited to give their daughter a childhood filled with experiences in nature.
So idyllic.
But this is an Adam Nevill novel.
Nevill masterfully sets the stage by curating the family dynamic. Horror is really at its peak potential for scares when the reader is fully invested in the fictional lives of the people going through a terrifying experience. In the case of Cunning Folk, the terror is a triple threat:
-Renovating a home (those who have gone through it can attest-it can be a nightmare)
-Problematic neighbors (look up true crime articles involving neighbors, that shit is real)
-FOLK HORROR (Nevill's wheelhouse-the occult)
Nevill combines all of these ingredients in a blender and hits 'pulse'. If one of the three horrors is the primary concern, the other two are nipping at its heels and sometimes, all three are sounding off. It's quite an understatement to say that this book amplifies feelings of dread and anxiety. It's awful to watch a loving, sweet family get tested under the strain of such intense outside threats and Nevill has his fingers on the dial the whole time; turning it up slowly but steadily at first and then going full tilt toward the climax.
Terrifying.
There were scenes where I was crawling out of my skin and could feel my eyes bugging out of my head in shock and horror. He has done it again. I loved THE REDDENING from 2019 and this is an excellent companion piece to showcase his knack the for savage, wicked, ritualistic horrors of the occult against its unsuspecting, unprepared, and inexperienced victims.
This one really fucked with me.
(and I love that)
Highly recommend for readers who love to sit at the feet of a gifted storyteller who brings serious nightmare fuel to the reading experience--then lights a match.
May 1, 2022
Cunning Folk is the newest book by Adam Nevill and it’s a strange and twisted tale of terrible neighbors, an ancient woodland behind the house, countless home improvements and dark figures that creep outside at night.
If this sounds like a weird synopsis, wait until you crack open this book and get into the reality of the minds of the neighbors, the Moots.
Nevill has a way of being too descriptive at times and not getting to the point. In the first half of the book, I felt like this was the case.
I was still invested in the book and the characters because of the otherworldly feel of the plot but I wanted something to happen.
And then the second part of the book happened and it got crazy, sinister and grim.
I felt like I was on an acid trip while reading about our main characters Tom, Fiona, and Gracey trying to survive the rural countryside of South West England.
The unease and dreadful interactions with the neighbors had me burning the pages and hoping for redemption, revenge and feeling high levels of fury. Fantastic stuff!
First half of the book: 3 stars
Second half of the book: 5 stars
I’m splitting the difference and going with a solid 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ of folklore batshit shenanigans!
If this sounds like a weird synopsis, wait until you crack open this book and get into the reality of the minds of the neighbors, the Moots.
Nevill has a way of being too descriptive at times and not getting to the point. In the first half of the book, I felt like this was the case.
I was still invested in the book and the characters because of the otherworldly feel of the plot but I wanted something to happen.
And then the second part of the book happened and it got crazy, sinister and grim.
I felt like I was on an acid trip while reading about our main characters Tom, Fiona, and Gracey trying to survive the rural countryside of South West England.
The unease and dreadful interactions with the neighbors had me burning the pages and hoping for redemption, revenge and feeling high levels of fury. Fantastic stuff!
First half of the book: 3 stars
Second half of the book: 5 stars
I’m splitting the difference and going with a solid 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ of folklore batshit shenanigans!
May 18, 2023
A top-notch folk horror from Adam Nevill.
'Between these enigmatic disturbances, there is a silence so profound he imagines that the house goes on for ever into rooms, corridors and spaces they’ve not yet found.'
A family of three is eager to start a new chapter in their lives when they purchase an old house in the countryside. They have big plans to renovate the place and turn it into their dream home. But something feels off about their new surroundings. The neighbours next door are unfriendly and secretive, and the house itself seems to have a dark history.
'Nearby, one thing climbs upon another and becomes something else entirely: tree into giant, bush into wolf on two legs, bracken into a face he almost apologises to; a fallen limb transforms into a caped woman, bent in grief. Voids spread, deepen. Treetops thrust their arms upwards and grasp at the dying sun with drooping fingers.'
I felt this was a novel of two parts, much like The Ritual. The first part of this novel is relatively slow-paced and rich in details. The author uses poetic language and vivid imagery to create a sense of dread and suspense in the house and the nearby woods. The reader can feel the isolation and uneasiness of the family as they try to adjust to their new environment.
The second part of this novel is a thrilling ride of horror and madness. The plot twists and turns as the family faces terrifying events that threaten their sanity and safety. The author skillfully portrays the psychological effects of the events on the main characters in an immersive and dizzying manner.
The woods play a key role in this novel, they were almost like a character themselves. They are menacing and mysterious, hiding secrets that are better left undiscovered. The author makes the reader feel the fear and curiosity of the characters as they venture into the woods. I loved the folklore influences, it's something Nevill seems to write with a real flair and understanding.
His sense of himself, his very consciousness, is sucked inside the cowl. And before he can scream, he’s swallowed whole by the dark cave of the faceless god.'
This is a haunting story that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.
'Between these enigmatic disturbances, there is a silence so profound he imagines that the house goes on for ever into rooms, corridors and spaces they’ve not yet found.'
A family of three is eager to start a new chapter in their lives when they purchase an old house in the countryside. They have big plans to renovate the place and turn it into their dream home. But something feels off about their new surroundings. The neighbours next door are unfriendly and secretive, and the house itself seems to have a dark history.
'Nearby, one thing climbs upon another and becomes something else entirely: tree into giant, bush into wolf on two legs, bracken into a face he almost apologises to; a fallen limb transforms into a caped woman, bent in grief. Voids spread, deepen. Treetops thrust their arms upwards and grasp at the dying sun with drooping fingers.'
I felt this was a novel of two parts, much like The Ritual. The first part of this novel is relatively slow-paced and rich in details. The author uses poetic language and vivid imagery to create a sense of dread and suspense in the house and the nearby woods. The reader can feel the isolation and uneasiness of the family as they try to adjust to their new environment.
The second part of this novel is a thrilling ride of horror and madness. The plot twists and turns as the family faces terrifying events that threaten their sanity and safety. The author skillfully portrays the psychological effects of the events on the main characters in an immersive and dizzying manner.
The woods play a key role in this novel, they were almost like a character themselves. They are menacing and mysterious, hiding secrets that are better left undiscovered. The author makes the reader feel the fear and curiosity of the characters as they venture into the woods. I loved the folklore influences, it's something Nevill seems to write with a real flair and understanding.
His sense of himself, his very consciousness, is sucked inside the cowl. And before he can scream, he’s swallowed whole by the dark cave of the faceless god.'
This is a haunting story that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.
January 13, 2022
The first half of this book was overly descriptive and slow for me. But the second half made up for it. I enjoyed the story and loved the end.
February 2, 2022
Creepy Folklore Vibes!
Backstory:
Tom and his wife, Fiona along with their little girl, Gracey move into a new home that borders the woods. The only sign of life is their next door neighbors - the Moots. When they first move into the home, Tom and Fiona are never approached by the neighbors nor does it seem that the neighbors even want to make friends as they stay to themselves.
As Tom and Fiona get settled into their new home, they tell Gracey not to go into the woods, but kids will be kids and she ends up running through there. Things become heated when the neighbors get onto Gracey for going into the woods and Tom becomes more suspicious of the Moots as things just seem "off" about them, but he cannot put his finger on what it could be.
As time goes on, Tom butts heads with the Moots about different things regarding property boundaries and even tree limbs hanging over into Tom's yard, but things take a 360 degree turn when Tom's anger goes into overdrive and he does something that sends heat waves radiating with the Moots. Once he crosses the neighbor boundary line of "try to be a good neighbor" is when he sees the "true colors" of his neighbors which sends Tom into protective mode of his family.
That is about all I can say about this story without giving away spoilers so I will say no more as you will need to read the book!.
Thoughts:
This was only my second book by this author but it was the first time reading as far as it being a novel. I read a book by him that was a collection of short stories a few years back. This story was suspenseful, intriguing, filled with tension, and lots of horror aspects of living next door to neighbors.
Though as much as I liked the book, I had a hard time with the detailed descriptions of what the author was trying to get across as a lot of the writing style is just minute details but those details are described in such a way that I got lost in what he was trying to say as off and on throughout the book I would find my thoughts wandering. The story and plot itself was great but telling the story of it just felt like I was down the rabbit hole of Alice in Wonderland somewhere.
Speaking of Alice in Wonderland - lol - there are things in this book that reminds me of that story, but the setting is in the horror realm so if you can image the story of Alice in Wonderland then just add some twisted horror to it you would have a very strange story but with moments of creepy horror elements.
The characters were great but I really didn't like the neighbors the Moots and was hoping for something to happen to them as they drove me crazy through this book and I felt for Tom and his family as he had to endure what they were dishing out.
All in all the story kept me interested as I wanted to see what was going to happen to all parties involved in this story and I thought at times that this book kind of went off into the twilight zone as things happened in this book that took this story in that type of direction.
So there is fantasy, sci-fi and horror elements all weaved together in this book which makes this story very twisted. I own some other books by this author, but I think I need to recoup from this strange tale of twists and turns before stepping into anything else by him. Giving this book four Frightening Folklore stars!
Backstory:
Tom and his wife, Fiona along with their little girl, Gracey move into a new home that borders the woods. The only sign of life is their next door neighbors - the Moots. When they first move into the home, Tom and Fiona are never approached by the neighbors nor does it seem that the neighbors even want to make friends as they stay to themselves.
As Tom and Fiona get settled into their new home, they tell Gracey not to go into the woods, but kids will be kids and she ends up running through there. Things become heated when the neighbors get onto Gracey for going into the woods and Tom becomes more suspicious of the Moots as things just seem "off" about them, but he cannot put his finger on what it could be.
As time goes on, Tom butts heads with the Moots about different things regarding property boundaries and even tree limbs hanging over into Tom's yard, but things take a 360 degree turn when Tom's anger goes into overdrive and he does something that sends heat waves radiating with the Moots. Once he crosses the neighbor boundary line of "try to be a good neighbor" is when he sees the "true colors" of his neighbors which sends Tom into protective mode of his family.
That is about all I can say about this story without giving away spoilers so I will say no more as you will need to read the book!.
Thoughts:
This was only my second book by this author but it was the first time reading as far as it being a novel. I read a book by him that was a collection of short stories a few years back. This story was suspenseful, intriguing, filled with tension, and lots of horror aspects of living next door to neighbors.
Though as much as I liked the book, I had a hard time with the detailed descriptions of what the author was trying to get across as a lot of the writing style is just minute details but those details are described in such a way that I got lost in what he was trying to say as off and on throughout the book I would find my thoughts wandering. The story and plot itself was great but telling the story of it just felt like I was down the rabbit hole of Alice in Wonderland somewhere.
Speaking of Alice in Wonderland - lol - there are things in this book that reminds me of that story, but the setting is in the horror realm so if you can image the story of Alice in Wonderland then just add some twisted horror to it you would have a very strange story but with moments of creepy horror elements.
The characters were great but I really didn't like the neighbors the Moots and was hoping for something to happen to them as they drove me crazy through this book and I felt for Tom and his family as he had to endure what they were dishing out.
All in all the story kept me interested as I wanted to see what was going to happen to all parties involved in this story and I thought at times that this book kind of went off into the twilight zone as things happened in this book that took this story in that type of direction.
So there is fantasy, sci-fi and horror elements all weaved together in this book which makes this story very twisted. I own some other books by this author, but I think I need to recoup from this strange tale of twists and turns before stepping into anything else by him. Giving this book four Frightening Folklore stars!
October 7, 2023
"They were hiding. I could hear the old bastards. Like rats in the dark."
2.5🌟's
Initial Thoughts
After reading The Ritual, an absolutely fantastic horror set in the Scandinavian wilderness, Adam Nevill is an author who's well and truly on my radar. It really did have all the elements I look for in a horror novel. Strong characters, bags of tension and great, descriptive writing that tapped straight into my psyche. In fact I enjoyed that one so much I sent him an email and received a fantastic reply, where he explained how he wrote the book between the hours of ten and midnight while working a full time job. No doubt extremely busy, it was refreshing that he took the time to engage with me.
So I was on the hunt for another novel and although Adam recommended No One Gets Out Alive for my next foray into his work, I've had Cunning Folk sat on my Kindle for ages. So I decided to give that one a go. It's seems to get pretty favourable reviews and actually gets a stronger rating than, the previously mentioned, The Ritual. So I'm expecting good things here.
The Story
Have you ever had neighbours from hell? Can't say I ever have. But that's the situation facing Tom, Fiona and their six year old daughter Gracey when they buy a derelict house in the English countryside. Moving right next door to Magi and Medea Moot. Bizarre names for a bizarra couple who take an instant dislike to Tom and his family.
The house itself has a sinister past and that's the chief reason it was available for a knockdown price. Tom jumped at the chance to sink their entire life savings into the purchase and I got a distinct impression that this was not going to be the dream house he envisaged.
There's a hell of a lot of work to do if this shell of an abode is going to be turned into a home. But Tom will stop at nothing to make the future bright for his family and particularly little Gracey. But I don't think he bargained on just how cunning those folks next door can be. Things go from weird to terrifying and there's going to be plenty of scares in store before this one's over. Neighbours, who'd have em?
The Writing
Something that immediately drew me to this author was the quality of his prose. Something sadly lacking in the modern horror genre. Eloquent and descriptive, he uses them to great effect to build a scene and create an atmosphere. It really puts you there.
"Around the old house, a great hush smothers the land. And a heavy black swaddling of a night without light pollution drapes the building as if it is a birdcage. Time itself seems to slow, while far away the world they know pursues a faster trajectory."
In this one there's a section set in the woods that had me absolutely gripped. The pace is fantastically built to create tension and a mounting sense of dread. But overall this novel did drag a bit and there's a good reason for that, which I'll elaborate on in a bit.
While the writing in this was still strong, the actual horror did leave a little bit to be desired. With a slow burn like this, you want a significant pay off and I didn't really get that. But I think the main issue with Cunning Folk was not the writing. No, the main issue for me was without question...
The Characters
If you haven't got anything nice to say, then don't say anything is what my mother always told me. So I'll keep this brief. Characters often make or break a story and for me personally, I demand characters I can get invested in. The ones that inhabit Cunning Folk have to be some of the dullest that I've come across. The central protagonists, Tom and Fiona, are as dull as there names make them sound. Was I supposed to like them? I think so! But instead I found them irritating in their complete lack of personality or anything that stimulates me as a reader. Their daily lives had absolutely nothing going on and I've honestly forgotten about them the second I put this one down.
I alluded to this earlier but to make the horror effective you need to care about those characters. As the greatest horror writer of all time said, create interesting characters and then but them in life threatening situations...or something along those lines. Adam Nevill could have done with reminding himself of this one as he did not set them up effectively and as a result the horror suffered. Honestly, anything could have happened to Tom and Fiona and I would not have been bothered in the least.
The antagonists in this one were also well off the mark. Often the focal point of a horror novel, they were less evil and more comical. Not in any way did this odd, old couple exude any form of menace and the way they were constructed came across as pretty juvenile. Honestly, I don't enjoy giving poor reviews so I'm going to stop here before I say something I really regret.
Final Thoughts
So after absolutely loving the Ritual I didn't have a good time with this one. The concept was basic, the characters were basic and the execution just wasn't effectively done. Maybe I should have took Adam Neville's advice and read No One Gets Out Alive instead.
Is it the worst horror novel I've ever read? Most definitely not. The writing is of a high standard and certainly engaging. With this alone it puts it ahead of a lot of horror novels out there. But I was expecting more. Without that human element that you get with well developed characters it all fell a little flat.
Am I completely off this author then? Absolutely not. With a book as good as The Ritual he's got a few more strikes before he's out. I really should read the book Nevill himself recommended next, but I have had one called Last Days lined up for Halloween 2023 for quite some time now. That's supposed to be one of his best so I'm going to stick with the plan and read that. I know Mike Kerns from Mikesbookreviews is doing that one too. So why not join us both for some of that?
Thanks for reading and...cheers!
November 21, 2021
Quick synopsis: a lower middle-class family purchases their first house ever, a dilapidated fixer-upper in the English countryside. The problem? They moved in next door to the worst neighbors of all time, who are hell bent on making their lives a nightmare. And their methods may or may not be otherworldly ...
Not gonna lie ... I struggled terribly with the first half of this book. The writing style and word choices were a turn-off. The prose felt deliberately overly-descriptive. Now, this isn’t always a bad thing, but it doesn’t work for me here. I don’t think that style fits this story at all. I mean, this is a story that takes place nearly entirely in one setting. A simple story. It doesn’t call for being overly fancy. It feels as if Nevill is trying EXTREMELY hard to make his writing sound super smart and clever at the expense of the pacing. It’s almost as if he is constantly pulling out the thesaurus to make his descriptions of things sound extra intelligent. I don’t claim to be the smartest person around, or know the meaning of every single word I come across, but I read tons of books. If I have to pull out a dictionary every 10 seconds while I’m reading a horror novel just to decipher basic plot points, then there’s a problem. And it was a huge distraction for me here, as it needlessly muddied the waters OVER and OVER again.
Mercifully, he dials this way back in the latter half, allowing his talent to really shine, culminating in a very compelling and creepy conclusion. The difference in my enjoyment level between the two halves of this book was substantial. I’d grade the first half as a 2/5, and the second half as a 4.25/5. I’m splitting the difference and calling this a 3.5/5.
So my advice? If you pick this book up, just know that the second half of the story makes the ride very much worthwhile if you are struggling as badly as I did.
Not gonna lie ... I struggled terribly with the first half of this book. The writing style and word choices were a turn-off. The prose felt deliberately overly-descriptive. Now, this isn’t always a bad thing, but it doesn’t work for me here. I don’t think that style fits this story at all. I mean, this is a story that takes place nearly entirely in one setting. A simple story. It doesn’t call for being overly fancy. It feels as if Nevill is trying EXTREMELY hard to make his writing sound super smart and clever at the expense of the pacing. It’s almost as if he is constantly pulling out the thesaurus to make his descriptions of things sound extra intelligent. I don’t claim to be the smartest person around, or know the meaning of every single word I come across, but I read tons of books. If I have to pull out a dictionary every 10 seconds while I’m reading a horror novel just to decipher basic plot points, then there’s a problem. And it was a huge distraction for me here, as it needlessly muddied the waters OVER and OVER again.
Mercifully, he dials this way back in the latter half, allowing his talent to really shine, culminating in a very compelling and creepy conclusion. The difference in my enjoyment level between the two halves of this book was substantial. I’d grade the first half as a 2/5, and the second half as a 4.25/5. I’m splitting the difference and calling this a 3.5/5.
So my advice? If you pick this book up, just know that the second half of the story makes the ride very much worthwhile if you are struggling as badly as I did.
October 29, 2021
** Edited as review is now live on Kendall Reviews! **
I’m actually a bit stuck as to how to begin this review.
Over the last few years, I’ve read a significant amount of Nevill’s work (not all, but a good portion) and he’s quickly become a favorite author of mine.
Nevill bridges the gap in the horror world. At least in my opinion. He walks that line between the classic horror literature of slow-build, constantly growing dread and characters that dissolve over the course of 300 pages, while also tapping into the current novella-hungry, Tik-Tok attention spans, with short snappy chapters.
And he does it brilliantly. A writer who if he was a musician, would release an album that was 50% 3-minute bangers and 50% 12-minute funeral dirges.
And I’m here for it. I’m eating this up, and good Lord, let’s not forget moments of pure terror that will absolutely make you squirm and shake and wish to God you were reading this at noon in a sunny park and not at 10pm with all the lights out and the house creaking and groaning around you.
‘Cunning Folk’ is all of what I just said. And it is brilliant.
What I liked: The story begins in earnest. Husband and wife, daughter and puppy move to their forever home, out in the countryside. It’s a beat-up house, needing TLC, but Tom and Fiona, loving husband and wife, are up for it. They want to give their daughter, Gracey, a life that she’ll remember. Of woods and the ability to run free and have space. And curse you, Nevill, because this is something my wife and I discuss daily. We grew up in the middle of nowhere, where we had the same neighbors (and they still live there) and I spent my free time playing on a mountain. And that’s all Tom and Fi want for Gracey.
But this is Nevill, and this is horror, and when you combine those two – things will not work out as planned. We learn this quickly. From the brutally dark prologue to the first moments where they meant their odd neighbors, an unsettling darkness takes hold and from there we get to witness a man become unhinged, a wife who can’t handle what’s become of her husband and a daughter who is sadly stuck in the middle.
Nevill does such a great job of making this a 300 page crumbling of Tom’s sanity and his life itself, that you’ll be excused if you don’t realize that the true horror of this book is the relationship piece between neighbors. We no longer know our neighbors as we did in years past. I’m in a fortunate situation where we actually do know the neighbors who live to the left and right of us, as well as the ladies who live in the suite above us. But that hasn’t always been the case, and Nevill does a sterling and surreal job of giving us bread crumbs and letting us follow them to see just how utterly off the walls the Moots really are.
One thing I want to touch on, and man alive is it hard not to tell you the massive, massive reasons why I love this book so much by staying spoiler-free, is this book would’ve been brilliant if Nevill hadn’t even had the woods come into play. It would’ve been perfect if it was purely a thriller/boundary story about neighbors clashing, but the woods. THE WOODS.
Every single sentence, scene and section set in the woods will leave you haunted. To the point that it almost created a panic attack while reading this. I had the blankets tucked tight around my feet (as one does while scared out of his mind) and I went to move a foot and couldn’t and instantly thought something from the shadows had grabbed me in the dark. Surprised I didn’t scream my head off. But that’s Nevill’s brilliance, that’s the power he has with words and descriptions.
The ending was fantastic and I’m not ashamed to admit there are a number of moments in here that made me well up, but that final moment gutted me and it all came crashing down. The love of a parent and child really knows no limits.
What I didn’t like: The only thing that really, for me at least, felt underutilized was a character that contacts Tom later in the book to help with his situation. He knows what the Moots are and wants to help, but I found it odd the man didn’t really do much onsite. Minor, and there is a reason for that, but I felt like he could’ve really come into play more if he were at Tom and Fiona’s house.
Why you should buy this: This is Nevill firing on all cylinders and it was interesting to read the notes afterwards to see how this book started life as a screenplay and was turned into a novel. I’m of the same mind as Adam, that this would make an excellent film and with his Netflix hits, I could see this happen. Saying that, the novel itself is pure bliss, pure dread and 100% folklore horror that takes the simple act of a family buying a house and quickly flips every bit of happiness and sunshine on its head. Outstanding work by one of the best out there.
I’m actually a bit stuck as to how to begin this review.
Over the last few years, I’ve read a significant amount of Nevill’s work (not all, but a good portion) and he’s quickly become a favorite author of mine.
Nevill bridges the gap in the horror world. At least in my opinion. He walks that line between the classic horror literature of slow-build, constantly growing dread and characters that dissolve over the course of 300 pages, while also tapping into the current novella-hungry, Tik-Tok attention spans, with short snappy chapters.
And he does it brilliantly. A writer who if he was a musician, would release an album that was 50% 3-minute bangers and 50% 12-minute funeral dirges.
And I’m here for it. I’m eating this up, and good Lord, let’s not forget moments of pure terror that will absolutely make you squirm and shake and wish to God you were reading this at noon in a sunny park and not at 10pm with all the lights out and the house creaking and groaning around you.
‘Cunning Folk’ is all of what I just said. And it is brilliant.
What I liked: The story begins in earnest. Husband and wife, daughter and puppy move to their forever home, out in the countryside. It’s a beat-up house, needing TLC, but Tom and Fiona, loving husband and wife, are up for it. They want to give their daughter, Gracey, a life that she’ll remember. Of woods and the ability to run free and have space. And curse you, Nevill, because this is something my wife and I discuss daily. We grew up in the middle of nowhere, where we had the same neighbors (and they still live there) and I spent my free time playing on a mountain. And that’s all Tom and Fi want for Gracey.
But this is Nevill, and this is horror, and when you combine those two – things will not work out as planned. We learn this quickly. From the brutally dark prologue to the first moments where they meant their odd neighbors, an unsettling darkness takes hold and from there we get to witness a man become unhinged, a wife who can’t handle what’s become of her husband and a daughter who is sadly stuck in the middle.
Nevill does such a great job of making this a 300 page crumbling of Tom’s sanity and his life itself, that you’ll be excused if you don’t realize that the true horror of this book is the relationship piece between neighbors. We no longer know our neighbors as we did in years past. I’m in a fortunate situation where we actually do know the neighbors who live to the left and right of us, as well as the ladies who live in the suite above us. But that hasn’t always been the case, and Nevill does a sterling and surreal job of giving us bread crumbs and letting us follow them to see just how utterly off the walls the Moots really are.
One thing I want to touch on, and man alive is it hard not to tell you the massive, massive reasons why I love this book so much by staying spoiler-free, is this book would’ve been brilliant if Nevill hadn’t even had the woods come into play. It would’ve been perfect if it was purely a thriller/boundary story about neighbors clashing, but the woods. THE WOODS.
Every single sentence, scene and section set in the woods will leave you haunted. To the point that it almost created a panic attack while reading this. I had the blankets tucked tight around my feet (as one does while scared out of his mind) and I went to move a foot and couldn’t and instantly thought something from the shadows had grabbed me in the dark. Surprised I didn’t scream my head off. But that’s Nevill’s brilliance, that’s the power he has with words and descriptions.
The ending was fantastic and I’m not ashamed to admit there are a number of moments in here that made me well up, but that final moment gutted me and it all came crashing down. The love of a parent and child really knows no limits.
What I didn’t like: The only thing that really, for me at least, felt underutilized was a character that contacts Tom later in the book to help with his situation. He knows what the Moots are and wants to help, but I found it odd the man didn’t really do much onsite. Minor, and there is a reason for that, but I felt like he could’ve really come into play more if he were at Tom and Fiona’s house.
Why you should buy this: This is Nevill firing on all cylinders and it was interesting to read the notes afterwards to see how this book started life as a screenplay and was turned into a novel. I’m of the same mind as Adam, that this would make an excellent film and with his Netflix hits, I could see this happen. Saying that, the novel itself is pure bliss, pure dread and 100% folklore horror that takes the simple act of a family buying a house and quickly flips every bit of happiness and sunshine on its head. Outstanding work by one of the best out there.
December 11, 2022
This is a *very* slow burn that gets pretty crazy in the final act!! It honestly reminded me a lot of the movie The Wailing in more than a few ways. Great if you don’t mind a slow, slow burn.
October 4, 2022
Within the shadows, inking the waters of the dangling man’s vision, most of the intruder’s form remains indistinct. But what can be seen steps birdlike and probing. Then stops. A thing girlishly thin and chalky in half-light. Only the head is dark. And tatty and showing too many teeth. Standing upon one leg, the intruder points at the hanged man.
Who never met bad neighbors next door in life?
You don't really get to choose your neighbors. All you can do is try your best to be a good one and hope they will too.
The sound of Fiona opening the front door distracts him. ‘Daddy! Daddy! Look!’ Archie barks and won’t stop, and doesn’t seem ready to go inside with the girls. But between the puppy’s yaps, Tom is sure he hears a sharp intake of breath from beyond the hedge; the kind of sudden inhalation that is sparked by outrage.
But after moving to their new home bordering on the woods, an old house in desperate need of fixes, and with a very dark past, Tom, Fiona and little Gracey, to say nothing about their dog, are going to meet the worst kind of neighbors ever.
Because the Moots, the elderly couple next door, don’t like people living near them at all, and they are going to do very bad things to guarantee their privacy and tranquility.
Very, very, bad and nasty things.
A man hanged himself right there. Was he so blinkered by a need to buy a house that he was able to dismiss that crucial fact? What was he thinking? Fiona’s been tearful for a week and is more forlorn than he’s ever seen her. The strain of it all. They live next door to cunts. And now Gracey’s traumatised. This was too much to ask of them.
Cunning Folk is second novel from Adam Nevill I’ve read after The Reddening and, like previous one, is a very nice, creepy, and sometimes disturbing as hell folk/cosmic horror tale, with a slow burn first half introducing characters, setting and atmosphere, creeping under this reader’s flesh, mixing eeriness with a nice touch of dark humor, before things quickly escalating and throwing poor Tom and his family literally to hell.
Standing upon a naked and more spacious boundary between the two houses than existed that afternoon, he now recalls the sounds of snapping wood he heard in the kitchen. As he’d rinsed the metal tablet and while they comforted their frightened four-year-old daughter, he’d heard someone breaking wood out here. It was his fence.
A real blast of a read for me, and a certain spine-chilling scene is going to stay with me for my whole life, but I enjoyed second half of this book much more than its first half, engaging and thrilling too, maybe just a bit too slow and over-descriptive for my taste, but besides that, I totally loved the ride since start to the end.
om knows the signs and wants to get out of the dreadful wood, the blinding thorns, this reek of compost and throttled carrion. Cautiously, he moves backwards, glancing up and around himself as if wary of aerial attack, until he reaches the broken gate where the old crucifixes glimmer like dull pewter. Dim beacons reminding him he’s home.
A highly recommended spooky season read to all horror fans reading this.
October 21, 2021
Damn he’s good. Review to come.
September 15, 2024
’They are people. They are animals.’
This story has injured me! I’ve unwittingly chewed both my thumb nails down to the quick reading this!!
Nevill is a master of slow, creeping, dread, and has impressed me once again with his fabulous folk tale. Just bordering on a tad too slow initially, but picking up pace at half way, I had a feeling I’d be rewarded for my patience, and I was right, Cunning Folk turned out to be a truly frightening, atmospheric, reading experience.
Definitely one for the horror reader who enjoys literary, folkloric horror writing with tonnes of tension, uncomfortable psychological character meltdowns and a simmering uncertainty that keeps those pages turning. (Or screen swiping, in this case.)
This is the third novel I have read by this author, having read, and immensely enjoyed ‘The Vessel’ at the beginning of the year, and ‘Apartment 16’ about 10 years ago! I need to make some space on my ‘horror forever shelf’ and get physical copies of these titles I’ve read so far. They’d nestle most comfortably alongside Andrew Michael Hurley’s books, who, just like Nevill, gently whispers his scary stories into my ear, chilling me to the bone, exactly as this one did.
Never underestimate the power of ancient, dark magic and the madness of old people.
4 ⭐️ - Very good. I liked it a LOT.
This story has injured me! I’ve unwittingly chewed both my thumb nails down to the quick reading this!!
Nevill is a master of slow, creeping, dread, and has impressed me once again with his fabulous folk tale. Just bordering on a tad too slow initially, but picking up pace at half way, I had a feeling I’d be rewarded for my patience, and I was right, Cunning Folk turned out to be a truly frightening, atmospheric, reading experience.
Definitely one for the horror reader who enjoys literary, folkloric horror writing with tonnes of tension, uncomfortable psychological character meltdowns and a simmering uncertainty that keeps those pages turning. (Or screen swiping, in this case.)
This is the third novel I have read by this author, having read, and immensely enjoyed ‘The Vessel’ at the beginning of the year, and ‘Apartment 16’ about 10 years ago! I need to make some space on my ‘horror forever shelf’ and get physical copies of these titles I’ve read so far. They’d nestle most comfortably alongside Andrew Michael Hurley’s books, who, just like Nevill, gently whispers his scary stories into my ear, chilling me to the bone, exactly as this one did.
Never underestimate the power of ancient, dark magic and the madness of old people.
4 ⭐️ - Very good. I liked it a LOT.
December 4, 2022
The writing is beautiful. I really wanted to love this book. I almost dnf'd it a couple times. The pacing is off in my opinion. Didn't connect for me. The ending seemed rushed.
January 26, 2022
Edited: reviewing afterword and book:
That treatise after the end of the book that Adam has written is so humorous that I did laugh— at first. It’s also a very serious issue and a source of misery. Neighbors.
The whole time I was reading this book, I thought, how appropriate a theme this book is for these times we are living in! We’re doing some highly detailed research or hiring a P. I. next time we get new neighbors.
More later…
Now on to the book itself: What a trip! I kept thinking alright so is this poor new homeowner really going nuts? No wait, he can’t be because of this one part…
This was a surreal reading experience at times while it would also become a scary-in-your-face, real-world one at others. That made it unique to me as well as the subject matter, treatment and tone. I was right with him when he made decisions to go ahead with his plans even though he had doubts. I was scared with him.
The subject matter brought old world folk horror into what felt like the every day and ‘modern’ world, causing a crash that makes you think outside of our normal, safe, boxes.
4.5 cunningly impish stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
That treatise after the end of the book that Adam has written is so humorous that I did laugh— at first. It’s also a very serious issue and a source of misery. Neighbors.
The whole time I was reading this book, I thought, how appropriate a theme this book is for these times we are living in! We’re doing some highly detailed research or hiring a P. I. next time we get new neighbors.
More later…
Now on to the book itself: What a trip! I kept thinking alright so is this poor new homeowner really going nuts? No wait, he can’t be because of this one part…
This was a surreal reading experience at times while it would also become a scary-in-your-face, real-world one at others. That made it unique to me as well as the subject matter, treatment and tone. I was right with him when he made decisions to go ahead with his plans even though he had doubts. I was scared with him.
The subject matter brought old world folk horror into what felt like the every day and ‘modern’ world, causing a crash that makes you think outside of our normal, safe, boxes.
4.5 cunningly impish stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 15, 2022
This book was absolutely fucking BRILLIANT. It had me hooked right from the get go, it sunk its claws in deep and didn’t let go. In fact, it still hasn’t let go because I’m still thinking about it constantly days later. This story just takes nightmare neighbours to a whole new deliciously evil level and I revelled in every second of it. It was just so stunning, Nevill cast a wicked spell on me with this story and I’ll never get over it. I’m a big fan of folk horror but this is unlike any folk horror I’ve read before and by far the very best I’ve read yet. It just gets under your skin and as the evil escalates you can just feel the atmosphere thicken with it around you. It’s dark and unsettling and terrifying and just perfection from start to finish. Some parts I will never be able to get out of my head that’s how truly awful they were, in the best way possible of course!
February 2, 2022
So until the last part of the book I was leaning toward a 3.5 rounded up to 4. But the 2nd half of this one was so intense I had to bump it up to a 4.5 rounded to 5. Amazing! The beginning of this book is VERY descriptive, maybe it's purposeful, maybe not but it goes into massive amounts of detail. Especially about flowers, trees, the woods etc. I kept losing focus and having to go back over paragraphs to remember what the hell I had just read. It was creepy enough to keep my attention, however, and thank goodness it did. Because when this book kicked into gear you could not take a breath. The action was so intense, things were happening at a speed my poor eyes could almost not keep up with.
So I would definitely recommend this for horror fans but be warned, you will possibly struggle at the beginning but don't give up! It is 100% worth it in the end.
So I would definitely recommend this for horror fans but be warned, you will possibly struggle at the beginning but don't give up! It is 100% worth it in the end.
November 8, 2022
Well, this was my first experience with this author, and it turned out to be the creepiest, scariest book I've read this year. Maybe some of this is due to the fact that I live next door to a creepy house, which housed creepy neighbors where a creepy incident took place years ago.
This guy can write. He likes to take his time describing a scene which for some may feel like it slows the story down. I personally love when authors take that approach but can understand why it might be a turnoff for others. At about 100 pages left, I felt my heart racing. I couldn't put this sucker down as I stressed over what was going to happen to this family.
In short, this book made me an instant fan of Nevill. I only heard of this writer because not long ago I watched a movie called The Ritual (a great movie btw) that I later found out was based on one of his novels. I'll be thinking about this one for a while and look forward to my next Nevill read. Maybe I'll pick up the Ritual next...
This guy can write. He likes to take his time describing a scene which for some may feel like it slows the story down. I personally love when authors take that approach but can understand why it might be a turnoff for others. At about 100 pages left, I felt my heart racing. I couldn't put this sucker down as I stressed over what was going to happen to this family.
In short, this book made me an instant fan of Nevill. I only heard of this writer because not long ago I watched a movie called The Ritual (a great movie btw) that I later found out was based on one of his novels. I'll be thinking about this one for a while and look forward to my next Nevill read. Maybe I'll pick up the Ritual next...
November 8, 2021
Totally Gripped!!
Omg from the first page, I was totally gripped! This book is an absolute page turner, and I was foregoing watching the telly at night because I couldn’t wait to get back to this book. This is the first book from Adam Nevill which I have read, but I CANT wait to read more. I’ve never had good neighbours next door to any properties I have lived in, and they have always been problematic, loud music and banging at all hours of the night, poisoning my mum’s dog when she got into their garden, posting little notes through my door because I had been coughing too loudly in the night. This story resonates with most of us, but thanks to Adam Nevill I will be choosing my neighbours more carefully! A MUST READ!!
Omg from the first page, I was totally gripped! This book is an absolute page turner, and I was foregoing watching the telly at night because I couldn’t wait to get back to this book. This is the first book from Adam Nevill which I have read, but I CANT wait to read more. I’ve never had good neighbours next door to any properties I have lived in, and they have always been problematic, loud music and banging at all hours of the night, poisoning my mum’s dog when she got into their garden, posting little notes through my door because I had been coughing too loudly in the night. This story resonates with most of us, but thanks to Adam Nevill I will be choosing my neighbours more carefully! A MUST READ!!
February 28, 2022
A few people commented on this writing style. My god it’s awful.
Eg: “John walked to his car in the pouring rain” becomes “John sauntered to his motorised vehicle whilst overhead the dark grey skies continued to release unbidden, teeming droplets of water vapour that pooled down onto his skin, cooling him”
Please mate. It’s a paperback horror book. It’s like you’re trying so bloody hard. At the end one character gets a thesaurus. I was wondering if this was some sort of in joke about the ridiculous writing style of this book.
Story is meh and writing is really awful.
Eg: “John walked to his car in the pouring rain” becomes “John sauntered to his motorised vehicle whilst overhead the dark grey skies continued to release unbidden, teeming droplets of water vapour that pooled down onto his skin, cooling him”
Please mate. It’s a paperback horror book. It’s like you’re trying so bloody hard. At the end one character gets a thesaurus. I was wondering if this was some sort of in joke about the ridiculous writing style of this book.
Story is meh and writing is really awful.
October 20, 2022
Do you guys remember that episode of “Friends” where Joey uses a thesaurus to write an important letter for Monica and Chandler? Well that’s how the writing in this book felt for me. I wanted to love this so much. But I’m not gonna lie, this was so so hard for me to get through. This book might as well have been just nothing but daunting descriptions of really simple concepts and really simple tasks. It wasn’t for me.
And I literally didn’t give a single care about any of the characters. Like at all. The ending honestly just made me mad tbh. It was hard to care about the high stakes situation when I wasn’t rooting for anyone. I was hoping for a “but the love of family trumps all” storyline like we get in ‘the book of accidents’, but this wasn’t that and I was disappointed.
There is a perspective from the child which I would have thought would be fun and unique, but for some reason it just frustrated me.
I really want to read no one gets out alive….. but I’m not sure I can stomach it if the writing is as flowery as it was in this. There is no earthly reason that this should be written this flowery in my opinion. I get it’s folk horror but…. Wow.
To be fair though I’m not sure if the problem is the author, or folk horror itself. I always pick up folk horror expecting to love it so much, and I’m without fail pretty disappointed each time. It’s one of those things I want to be able to say is my favorite genre so bad because I love the idea of it, but in reality I think I might actually really dislike it lol. I probably won’t give up though (but I probably should)!
This did have me in like the first 30%, but after that point i was ready to be done with it. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t skim the last two chapters.
I did like the banter with the neighbors and they were really interesting in general. What was going on with them had my interest, but also it felt like side story at certain points and I was just so overwhelmed by the things I didn’t like it didn’t do much for me . I just wish I liked the story more!
And I literally didn’t give a single care about any of the characters. Like at all. The ending honestly just made me mad tbh. It was hard to care about the high stakes situation when I wasn’t rooting for anyone. I was hoping for a “but the love of family trumps all” storyline like we get in ‘the book of accidents’, but this wasn’t that and I was disappointed.
There is a perspective from the child which I would have thought would be fun and unique, but for some reason it just frustrated me.
I really want to read no one gets out alive….. but I’m not sure I can stomach it if the writing is as flowery as it was in this. There is no earthly reason that this should be written this flowery in my opinion. I get it’s folk horror but…. Wow.
To be fair though I’m not sure if the problem is the author, or folk horror itself. I always pick up folk horror expecting to love it so much, and I’m without fail pretty disappointed each time. It’s one of those things I want to be able to say is my favorite genre so bad because I love the idea of it, but in reality I think I might actually really dislike it lol. I probably won’t give up though (but I probably should)!
This did have me in like the first 30%, but after that point i was ready to be done with it. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t skim the last two chapters.
I did like the banter with the neighbors and they were really interesting in general. What was going on with them had my interest, but also it felt like side story at certain points and I was just so overwhelmed by the things I didn’t like it didn’t do much for me . I just wish I liked the story more!
December 13, 2021
If you ever thought you had bad neighbours, think again!
This book was so unsettling. The way the wrongdoings escalated was tremendous! And the fear factor in this story was, for me, spot on the fact that the bad blood between the family that moves to this house and the people next door lacks of motives. How could you face such events without understanding what really started them? That's what the main character is dealing with here. And I don't say it as a critique, on the contrary!, this is what really freaked me out!
I loved it and totally recommend reading it! Go in with as little infomation about it as you can, because it is a ride and will surprise you.
And, show respect to your neighbours... because you never know! Haha.
This book was so unsettling. The way the wrongdoings escalated was tremendous! And the fear factor in this story was, for me, spot on the fact that the bad blood between the family that moves to this house and the people next door lacks of motives. How could you face such events without understanding what really started them? That's what the main character is dealing with here. And I don't say it as a critique, on the contrary!, this is what really freaked me out!
I loved it and totally recommend reading it! Go in with as little infomation about it as you can, because it is a ride and will surprise you.
And, show respect to your neighbours... because you never know! Haha.
October 16, 2022
Classic Adam Nevill. Domestic horror, a family dreaming of a better life, buy a house they can hardly afford that needs so much work doing to it. Join this family as their life slowly unravels, add VERY strange neighbours, a magical wood at the bottom of the garden, and WTF did the dog just dig up the garden? I don't think the transition into insane nipple sucking, rabbit stroking folk horror is a smooth as some of his other books but what the hell !!!!!
As with all books by Mr Nevill, after reading, you will need cleansing.
As with all books by Mr Nevill, after reading, you will need cleansing.
November 1, 2021
Yip, this is what horror is all about. Another creepy tale but this time focusing on those who are physically close to us in proximity when we are at our safest. What are they doing behind the scenes? Do you REALLY know?
I kind of struggled a bit to get used to the present tense and often clipped sentences of Adam's latest work (possibly due to the fact that most book i've read are in past tense so i found it a bit jarring). He also describes scenes like no-one else i've read, even though i feel they can be a bit long winded - but then again, that's what makes him such a highlight in the horror literature world. As off put as i sometimes was, it didnt take away from the journey that the story weaves. And that is much to his credit. It borders on awkward and cringy, but then soon gets super creepy and horrific. One scene - involving a floorboard (that's not a spoiler!) actually caused me to stop reading for a bit so i could take it in. I was shocked and emotionally assaulted - and that's no exaggeration.
Adam's name is big in the horror game and he always delivers. This time is no different. Go ahead, and creep yourself out. And maybe, just maybe, you will look at your neighbours slightly different next time...
I kind of struggled a bit to get used to the present tense and often clipped sentences of Adam's latest work (possibly due to the fact that most book i've read are in past tense so i found it a bit jarring). He also describes scenes like no-one else i've read, even though i feel they can be a bit long winded - but then again, that's what makes him such a highlight in the horror literature world. As off put as i sometimes was, it didnt take away from the journey that the story weaves. And that is much to his credit. It borders on awkward and cringy, but then soon gets super creepy and horrific. One scene - involving a floorboard (that's not a spoiler!) actually caused me to stop reading for a bit so i could take it in. I was shocked and emotionally assaulted - and that's no exaggeration.
Adam's name is big in the horror game and he always delivers. This time is no different. Go ahead, and creep yourself out. And maybe, just maybe, you will look at your neighbours slightly different next time...
October 5, 2021
Do you really know what lurks on the other side of the garden fence?
It looks like Adam Nevill is going to have a stellar finish to 2021, hot on the heels of the hit Netflix adaptation of No One Gets Out Alive (2014) his hotly anticipated tenth novel Cunning Folk creeps into print, timed to perfection for Halloween. I have been a fan of Nevill for many years and a release from this author is always a high point in my literary calendar and this latest did not disappoint. One cannot help being continually impressed by his ability to reinvent supernatural horror, with Cunning Folk being a completely different beast from its predecessor The Reddening (2019). How many times can you repackage these types of scares without getting repetitive? I am not sure of the answer, but Nevill has the knack and should you require further evidence one only needs to read his third collection of short stories Wyrd and Other Derelictions (2020) for confirmation. This highly original oddity turns the standard short story format on its head by presenting tales, with no central characters or plots, which are entirely based around description.
If you are after a limited-edition signed hardback (the 600 copies are going fast) of Cunning Folk then head to Nevill’s website ASAP as the majority of copies were snapped up via pre-orders, otherwise, Amazon and other retailers will be handling the paperback which is also being released by his own Ritual Limited brand. Interestingly, Cunning Folk started life as a film screenplay which the author then rewrote as a novel and as it is shorter than the majority of his fiction I imagine its origins as a screenplay has something to do with its shorter length. If you are expecting a multistrand 500+ page epic akin to No One Gets Out Alive or The Reddening you might be disappointed (but not for long) as this is a much leaner and tighter beast which is set in a single location and told entirely in the third person by a family of three; Tom, Fiona and their four-year-old daughter Gracey. One would imagine that this is the sort of original material the Shudder channel might be interested in. Their films often specialise in single location sets with small casts, very similar to how the dynamics play out in this story.
Nevill skilfully tinkers with the boundaries of the uncanny with whatever he writes, making it beautifully tricky to compare this new book with his earlier output. For example, the strong and very convincing father/daughter relationship bond from Lost Girl (2015) resurfaces here in a different guise and stylistically you might spot similarities with House of Small Shadows (2013) which is also predominately set in a single location with a handful of characters. As with much of his recent fiction the setting is rural south-west of England, mirroring his own family’s relocation from city life some years earlier. I am also sure many of the social anxieties of city folks moving to the countryside are very much Nevill’s own and will touch the nerves of many readers.
Cunning Folk opens with Tom, Fiona and Gracey arriving at their new home in the countryside. They have finally realised their dream of getting on the property ladder by buying a dilapidated house and are escaping their old life in a one-bedroom city flat. They dream of having Gracey mixing with nature, have picnics in the local forest, escape rental properties forever whilst converting their wreck into a loving home. However, even before we get to the horror the couple have serious real-life anxieties, in particular money troubles. Fiona works in a bank, whilst Tom is a free-lance graphic designer with very little work and less income. They quickly realise their dream home is a money pit and their savings, which are earmarked for a new boiler, roof and other renovations dwindles with alarming speed. Although the novel is mainly from Tom’s third person perspective the relationship between him and Fiona is a core element of the novel and the alarming flashpoints which follow.
Nevill’s fascinating endnotes discuss how the novel came about with some of the inspiration coming from his own nomadic existence in moving from rental property to another, without the prospect of ever getting on the property ladder. Via Cunning Folk, he asks a serious question; how well do we know our neighbours? In a big city it is very easy to remain anonymous, but what if your only neighbours for miles, like in this novel, turn out to be anti-social weirdos? We all know the personal stress which noisy or troublesome neighbours can bring, multiply that by a thousand and you have Cunning Folk (and then some).
Tom’s house is a wreck and their garden is trashed, however, the neighbours is akin to a property in BBC TV show Escape to the Country. Things get off to a bad start when the elderly Mr and Mrs Moot notice Tom spying on them from an upstairs window and although he tries to be chatty, the Moots are aggressive and very unfriendly and soon an escalating tit-for-tat campaign of petty damage and disruption begins which is all too believable. This is entirely seen from Tom’s point of view, with the Moots absent for large parts of the story or lurking in the shadows. The developing sense of isolation and paranoia is quite superb as Tom begins to teeter on the edge of obsession. And just wait until you get to the chainsaw scene. Big, BIG, mistake.
Before long Tom’s every waking moment concerns the Moots, bad dreams arrive with alarming regularity and their daughter is unsettled by unpleasant experiences in the woods which back onto their property. Much of the horror is beautifully restrained, ambiguity is used to full effect and the reader truly begins to appreciate how out of place Tom and his family are in this remote location with dodgy broadband being the least of their problems. In reality most of us only truly notice your neighbours when they become problematic and Cunning Folk dishes this out in spades. This is not Joe Dante’s comedic The Burbs or the horror of violent local psychos from the horror flick White Settlers, but something much older and sinister. If you enjoy Cunning Folk other recent and excellent literary Folk Horror points of reference which cover some of the same ground include Tom
Fletcher’s Witch Bottle and James Brogden’s Bone Harvest.
Adam Nevill has not written another haunted house novel, there are more than enough of them to go around; this tale is more about an unlucky family who are in the wrong place at the wrong time and run out of options, both financial and personal. Cunning Folk is littered with great sequences, none better than the outstanding plank scene (you will know what I mean when you read it) with most of the violence saved for the final 20% with a cool curveball in the final 10%. The final chapters still had my eyes nailed to the page for the knockout ending which I loved right to the final paragraph.
Along the way there are also some black comedic moments thrown into the mix and I will be very interested to see the reception this novel receives from long term Nevill fans who should be wise enough to appreciate the change of pace and direction this novel provides in comparison to his other recent fiction. If you have never read Nevill previously, this is also a fine introduction to his work, which is easy to whizz through in a couple of days. Nevill’s body of work gets more impressive with every release and this latest entry will have you looking over the garden fence with fresh (and suspicious) eyes just in case your neighbours might be ‘Cunning Folk’.
It looks like Adam Nevill is going to have a stellar finish to 2021, hot on the heels of the hit Netflix adaptation of No One Gets Out Alive (2014) his hotly anticipated tenth novel Cunning Folk creeps into print, timed to perfection for Halloween. I have been a fan of Nevill for many years and a release from this author is always a high point in my literary calendar and this latest did not disappoint. One cannot help being continually impressed by his ability to reinvent supernatural horror, with Cunning Folk being a completely different beast from its predecessor The Reddening (2019). How many times can you repackage these types of scares without getting repetitive? I am not sure of the answer, but Nevill has the knack and should you require further evidence one only needs to read his third collection of short stories Wyrd and Other Derelictions (2020) for confirmation. This highly original oddity turns the standard short story format on its head by presenting tales, with no central characters or plots, which are entirely based around description.
If you are after a limited-edition signed hardback (the 600 copies are going fast) of Cunning Folk then head to Nevill’s website ASAP as the majority of copies were snapped up via pre-orders, otherwise, Amazon and other retailers will be handling the paperback which is also being released by his own Ritual Limited brand. Interestingly, Cunning Folk started life as a film screenplay which the author then rewrote as a novel and as it is shorter than the majority of his fiction I imagine its origins as a screenplay has something to do with its shorter length. If you are expecting a multistrand 500+ page epic akin to No One Gets Out Alive or The Reddening you might be disappointed (but not for long) as this is a much leaner and tighter beast which is set in a single location and told entirely in the third person by a family of three; Tom, Fiona and their four-year-old daughter Gracey. One would imagine that this is the sort of original material the Shudder channel might be interested in. Their films often specialise in single location sets with small casts, very similar to how the dynamics play out in this story.
Nevill skilfully tinkers with the boundaries of the uncanny with whatever he writes, making it beautifully tricky to compare this new book with his earlier output. For example, the strong and very convincing father/daughter relationship bond from Lost Girl (2015) resurfaces here in a different guise and stylistically you might spot similarities with House of Small Shadows (2013) which is also predominately set in a single location with a handful of characters. As with much of his recent fiction the setting is rural south-west of England, mirroring his own family’s relocation from city life some years earlier. I am also sure many of the social anxieties of city folks moving to the countryside are very much Nevill’s own and will touch the nerves of many readers.
Cunning Folk opens with Tom, Fiona and Gracey arriving at their new home in the countryside. They have finally realised their dream of getting on the property ladder by buying a dilapidated house and are escaping their old life in a one-bedroom city flat. They dream of having Gracey mixing with nature, have picnics in the local forest, escape rental properties forever whilst converting their wreck into a loving home. However, even before we get to the horror the couple have serious real-life anxieties, in particular money troubles. Fiona works in a bank, whilst Tom is a free-lance graphic designer with very little work and less income. They quickly realise their dream home is a money pit and their savings, which are earmarked for a new boiler, roof and other renovations dwindles with alarming speed. Although the novel is mainly from Tom’s third person perspective the relationship between him and Fiona is a core element of the novel and the alarming flashpoints which follow.
Nevill’s fascinating endnotes discuss how the novel came about with some of the inspiration coming from his own nomadic existence in moving from rental property to another, without the prospect of ever getting on the property ladder. Via Cunning Folk, he asks a serious question; how well do we know our neighbours? In a big city it is very easy to remain anonymous, but what if your only neighbours for miles, like in this novel, turn out to be anti-social weirdos? We all know the personal stress which noisy or troublesome neighbours can bring, multiply that by a thousand and you have Cunning Folk (and then some).
Tom’s house is a wreck and their garden is trashed, however, the neighbours is akin to a property in BBC TV show Escape to the Country. Things get off to a bad start when the elderly Mr and Mrs Moot notice Tom spying on them from an upstairs window and although he tries to be chatty, the Moots are aggressive and very unfriendly and soon an escalating tit-for-tat campaign of petty damage and disruption begins which is all too believable. This is entirely seen from Tom’s point of view, with the Moots absent for large parts of the story or lurking in the shadows. The developing sense of isolation and paranoia is quite superb as Tom begins to teeter on the edge of obsession. And just wait until you get to the chainsaw scene. Big, BIG, mistake.
Before long Tom’s every waking moment concerns the Moots, bad dreams arrive with alarming regularity and their daughter is unsettled by unpleasant experiences in the woods which back onto their property. Much of the horror is beautifully restrained, ambiguity is used to full effect and the reader truly begins to appreciate how out of place Tom and his family are in this remote location with dodgy broadband being the least of their problems. In reality most of us only truly notice your neighbours when they become problematic and Cunning Folk dishes this out in spades. This is not Joe Dante’s comedic The Burbs or the horror of violent local psychos from the horror flick White Settlers, but something much older and sinister. If you enjoy Cunning Folk other recent and excellent literary Folk Horror points of reference which cover some of the same ground include Tom
Fletcher’s Witch Bottle and James Brogden’s Bone Harvest.
Adam Nevill has not written another haunted house novel, there are more than enough of them to go around; this tale is more about an unlucky family who are in the wrong place at the wrong time and run out of options, both financial and personal. Cunning Folk is littered with great sequences, none better than the outstanding plank scene (you will know what I mean when you read it) with most of the violence saved for the final 20% with a cool curveball in the final 10%. The final chapters still had my eyes nailed to the page for the knockout ending which I loved right to the final paragraph.
Along the way there are also some black comedic moments thrown into the mix and I will be very interested to see the reception this novel receives from long term Nevill fans who should be wise enough to appreciate the change of pace and direction this novel provides in comparison to his other recent fiction. If you have never read Nevill previously, this is also a fine introduction to his work, which is easy to whizz through in a couple of days. Nevill’s body of work gets more impressive with every release and this latest entry will have you looking over the garden fence with fresh (and suspicious) eyes just in case your neighbours might be ‘Cunning Folk’.
September 20, 2021
A tight, fast paced, and scary novel about using your life savings to move into a derelict house right next-door to NEIGHBORS FROM HELL. Cunning Folk is a story filled with the classic Adam Nevill tropes: frightening dream sequences, terrifying things dropping from the ceiling, grotesque effigies of pagan deities, and a wonderfully suffocating first half that will force you to read at a breakneck speed to get yourself mentally to safe ground.. (before Amazon sent me Cunning Folk a month earlier than expected, I had just re-read No One Gets Out Alive in anticipation for the film and found myself ripping through that books first 400 pages of misery and terror)
The scares in Cunning Folk resonate hard; as someone who would love to buy a house but lives in Los Angeles where 900 sqft cost 1.25 million, I almost too easily slid into the role of the main character, which made his confrontations with those terrible neighbors (who were of course boomers) all the more anxiety inducing. I found myself taking breaks from the book daydreaming about enacting revenge on Mr. and Ms. Moot, only to find my own ideas of neighborly conflict escalation countered tenfold a few chapters later. I'll never think of the sound of a popping grape the same way again. In fact, the descriptions of sounds throughout the novel are enough to send prickles down my spine. Injuries are highlighted by descriptions of crunches and pops that nearly trigger gag reflexes.
Beyond Cunning Folk itself, I really love the work Ritual Limited has been putting out, and am happy Adam Nevill has kept so prolific while still managing his brand. Wyrd and Other Derelictions was my favorite release last year (tied with Stephen Graham Jones' Night of the Mannequins) and The Reddening the year prior was excellent. I even love the artwork keeping consistent between releases. Hopefully we don't have long to wait for a new Ritual Limited release, but for now Cunning Folk really scratches that Halloween season itch, something scary and even a little funny in parts, complete with masks the kids can make at home
The scares in Cunning Folk resonate hard; as someone who would love to buy a house but lives in Los Angeles where 900 sqft cost 1.25 million, I almost too easily slid into the role of the main character, which made his confrontations with those terrible neighbors (who were of course boomers) all the more anxiety inducing. I found myself taking breaks from the book daydreaming about enacting revenge on Mr. and Ms. Moot, only to find my own ideas of neighborly conflict escalation countered tenfold a few chapters later. I'll never think of the sound of a popping grape the same way again. In fact, the descriptions of sounds throughout the novel are enough to send prickles down my spine. Injuries are highlighted by descriptions of crunches and pops that nearly trigger gag reflexes.
Beyond Cunning Folk itself, I really love the work Ritual Limited has been putting out, and am happy Adam Nevill has kept so prolific while still managing his brand. Wyrd and Other Derelictions was my favorite release last year (tied with Stephen Graham Jones' Night of the Mannequins) and The Reddening the year prior was excellent. I even love the artwork keeping consistent between releases. Hopefully we don't have long to wait for a new Ritual Limited release, but for now Cunning Folk really scratches that Halloween season itch, something scary and even a little funny in parts, complete with masks the kids can make at home
October 6, 2022
After the catastrophe that The Ritual was for me (I absolutely adore the movie so was really crushed to discover the book is not my thing), I’m glad that the second chance I gave Adam Nevill paid off and Cunning Folks became my favorite one of the books I have read by him so far. It took a little time for me to get engaged and warm up to especially the main character Tom, who moves into a secluded house in the woods with this wife and daughter, because it is all he can afford with his tight budget, but soon realizes that he has some seriously creepy neighbors.
I even was considering dnf’ing at around the 30% mark when Neville grabbed me with a genuinely frightening chase-in-the-forest scene involving a child and a dog. I think the monsters he creates are his absolute strength, they are described beautifully and extremely creepily, so I decided to stick around and don’t regret it - I would recommend this book over his more popular work. I have, on my book shelf, a physical copy of The Reddening I need to read yet, hope it will keep up with this one.
I even was considering dnf’ing at around the 30% mark when Neville grabbed me with a genuinely frightening chase-in-the-forest scene involving a child and a dog. I think the monsters he creates are his absolute strength, they are described beautifully and extremely creepily, so I decided to stick around and don’t regret it - I would recommend this book over his more popular work. I have, on my book shelf, a physical copy of The Reddening I need to read yet, hope it will keep up with this one.
September 21, 2022
I truly loved this! Such a great storyline with some fantastic twists and turns. Can’t recommend highly enough! READ IT NOW!
October 13, 2023
The Greatest Horror is What Lives Nextdoor...
CUNNING FOLK by Adan Nevill
No spoilers. 5 stars. Tom and his family have spent most of their savings moving into their new home...
... six months after the previous owner hanged himself in the doorway of the house...
Their elderly nextdoor neighbors, the Moots, are standoffish and rude. The old woman is seen receiving visitors in her garden...
... who pay the old crone money for some service rendered, then either kneel to kiss her hand or her spread arse...
The neighbors house is perfect, and their gardens are pristine showplaces while Tom's family live in a decaying dump with a ratty garden...
Tom goes nextdoor to introduce himself, but the Moots make it known in word and deed that Tom and his family are unwelcome intruders...
... and warn Tom that the public woodland behind their properties is off limits to him and his family...
Clearing up his own weedy garden, Tom discovers lead tablets engraved with sigils buried on his grounds...
... at night, he has weird dreams, and during the day, freak accidents happen around his house...
... Tom soon learns that the neighbors are cunning folk who use malicious magic to their own advantage, and...
... they have a god that they are holding hostage in the woods... they've made it beholden to them for favors...
... and the pair of old folk are serial killers who've been killing their neighbors for years...
Sometimes the greatest horror of all is what lives nextdoor...
This story was a slow starter; It really didn't get going until you reach 40% but after that it was really quite chilling and, just when you think you're at the end, there is more to say Wow! about.
This is my favorite story by this author.
CUNNING FOLK by Adan Nevill
No spoilers. 5 stars. Tom and his family have spent most of their savings moving into their new home...
... six months after the previous owner hanged himself in the doorway of the house...
Their elderly nextdoor neighbors, the Moots, are standoffish and rude. The old woman is seen receiving visitors in her garden...
... who pay the old crone money for some service rendered, then either kneel to kiss her hand or her spread arse...
The neighbors house is perfect, and their gardens are pristine showplaces while Tom's family live in a decaying dump with a ratty garden...
Tom goes nextdoor to introduce himself, but the Moots make it known in word and deed that Tom and his family are unwelcome intruders...
... and warn Tom that the public woodland behind their properties is off limits to him and his family...
Clearing up his own weedy garden, Tom discovers lead tablets engraved with sigils buried on his grounds...
... at night, he has weird dreams, and during the day, freak accidents happen around his house...
... Tom soon learns that the neighbors are cunning folk who use malicious magic to their own advantage, and...
... they have a god that they are holding hostage in the woods... they've made it beholden to them for favors...
... and the pair of old folk are serial killers who've been killing their neighbors for years...
Sometimes the greatest horror of all is what lives nextdoor...
This story was a slow starter; It really didn't get going until you reach 40% but after that it was really quite chilling and, just when you think you're at the end, there is more to say Wow! about.
This is my favorite story by this author.
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