Fear Across the Mersey by Ramsey Campbell
PS Publishing, hardback, £25.00, August 2024, ISBN 9781803943701
Another narrative with a strong opening, in medias res as we meet Dutton, an unemployed alcoholic stalking his elderly neighbour as a precursor to beating her to death. Campbell quickly shifts our sympathy away from the victim by hinting that she may have purchased a baby to either raise as her own, exploit for some nefarious purpose, or both. When Dutton discovers that the ‘old woman’ is pregnant, we cannot be sure whether he is suffering from brain damage caused by long-term alcohol abuse, whether it’s a phantom pregnancy, or whether there is a supernatural element in play. These options are held in a delectable tension when he is stalked himself, by the woman’s pram – which sounds farcical but is both convincing and frightening. Like ‘The Companion’, the initial hook is complemented with a twist in the final sentence, the two devices bookending an accomplished and disturbing tale of urban terror.
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