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Generations of a family are plagued by a Hungarian horror in this gripping, multi-stringed thriller. The Hosszu Eletek – the “long lifes” – are a subspecies of humanity, blessed with great longevity, who possess the power to heal themselves and alter their appearance at will. Unfortunatཧely for Hannah Wilde, the one known as Jakab is i🎀nsane, and has been stalking and murdering her family since the late 19th century.

The String Diaries is a page turner, and will keep you awake late into the night. This is not for itsဣ mild horror content, but mainly because the multiple storylines it presents – modern-day UK, late 19th century Hungary and points between – are thoroughly engaging – to a point. For here the book also lets us down, as Jakab’s backstory turns out to be simply a chronicle of his budding evil, passing up several opportunities for twists in favour of a predictable throughplot.

The impact is somewhat further lessened by dubious usage of language; in the main, the use of words that don’t mean quite what the author thinks they mean. Although we did read a proof copy (so that issue might have been fixed by the time the book hits the shelves), such dodgy wordery shouldn’t get to this late stage. It’s a shame, as Jones’s otherwise solid writing is one of several positive attributes that takes The String Diaries some way to being a standout read.

Guy Haley

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