Reviews

The fourth of The Red Grouse Tales is also the most obviously paranormal in nature. Told by Pete, a keen fell runner and ladies' man, his one tale actually consists of three linked stories. The central and longest concerns a visit to an old chapel, all that remains of a stately home. There he meets a woman who relates the tragic story of Christine, the former owner of the house and supposed ghost. This isn't a ghost story designed to spook or discomfort; instead the intriguing tale of Christine, along with that of Pete himself, is a moral one of how some men and women manipulate each other and at what level that becomes unacceptable. The story itself is light with a happy (if not entirely surprising) ending that will leave a warmth where other stories in this collection have left a chill. The lightest of the Red Grouse tales (in the edition I read) but very much a suitable one to end with. Phil Leader