AnnaBnana's Reviews > Long Lankin

This book is a wonderful, atmospheric ghost story. It is an historical story, fleshed out from a Scottish ballad about a man who kills a mother and her infant. The song has many versions, but the one used in the book is based on the legend that Long Lankin is a ghost who hunts children.

The story is told from several viewpoints, most often from the perspective of Cora, an east-Londoner who has been sent away with her sister to stay with their Aunt Ida, and Roger, a boy who lives in the neighborhood. The children know there are places they aren't supposed to go...things they aren't supposed to do, but they don't know why, which leads to risky outings and to a compelling investigation into the mystery of it all.

Barraclough does a masterful job at setting the scene. This book will give you the heebie-geebies, for sure! It's a little slow going at the start, but once you're really into the tale, there comes a point where you just don't want to stop. You know Long Lankin is going to come for the kids and there seems very little hope that they can defeat him. Definitely a page turner.