Fear Across the Mersey XIII: The Show Goes On | review by Rafe McGregor

Fear Across the Mersey by Ramsey Campbell

PS Publishing, hardback, £25.00, August 2024, ISBN 9781803943701

A well-placed title as the collection moves on to its second half. Lee inherited what we call a corner shop in the UK (regardless of its location – the US ‘convenience store’ seems more appropriate) in central Liverpool. He is, quite rightly, worried about being broken into or robbed and this is another one of Campbell’s tales where the casual violence and everyday brutality of city life is never far from the foreground. Lee discovers that part of the wall between his shop and the derelict cinema next door has collapsed, can’t get anyone to repair it, and decides to stand guard overnight to deter burglars. He hears noises in the cinema and makes a brave foray into the darkness, but what he finds there isn’t nearly as bad as what’s waiting for him when he returns. Not only well-placed, but well-paced and well-written with one of Campbell’s best conclusions so far.