The Ravensmere Trilogy (Ravensmere #1-3)

This is the superb anthology edition featuring all three books in the trilogy (The Secrets of Brimstone Manor, The Villainy of Victor Tainn, and The Fortunes of a Frightful Dragon) with an author’s introduction and exclusive bonus material.

The Ravensmere Trilogy is a Gothic fantasy full of wonderful humour, yearning romance, spooky manor houses, bikers, secret societies, creepy churches, student high jinks, campervan travels, and ancient lurking evil.

Step back in time, not too far, really, to the early 1970s, a world very different from our own. There are no mobile phones, laptops, social media, or even a sniff of the internet. But what is there, and in spades, is mystery, magic, secret societies, witches, warlocks and the weirdest thing of all – a creature called Arddhu Og that invades the mind with her own fearful agenda. Ravensmere is a university town that seems like any ordinary place on arrival, but as you get to know it, you soon realise all is not what it seems …

Bill Blackthorne is a shy and nerdy young man with some serious problems. He has no memories of his past and can see curled horns and yellow eyes on people who appear perfectly normal to others. Recruited as an occult detective by his weird mother, Beryl, he’s told he’s a very special chap who holds a secret vital to solving their most mysterious case. Bill is pleased until the police tell him they intend to extract this secret with psychotropic drugs and ‘sixteen-volt electro-convulsive treatments’ …

When Bill meets his friend Arthur at Ravensmere University, they fall in with two pretty but oddly mysterious student girls. Bill falls instantly in love with Ophelia, and Arthur thinks Lilith is fun and up for high-jinks. But the boys don’t know that the girls are witch-freaks, seriously into the occult, and are planning to use the boys in a terrible way to resurrect a dark and evil power they couldn’t possibly understand …

The swingingly hip world of Ravensmere had long since dismissed tales of gallant knights, fawning princesses and fiery dragons as laughably risible nonsense. But Bill and his friends discover that fairy tales do exist and are far more perverse than anyone could ever imagine. Seven hundred years ago, a brave and dutiful knight defeated a fierce and irascible dragon, or so the legend goes …

If Bill is to save the world, he must bring forth arcane and indecipherable magic from a murky and distant past and strike a pact with humanity’s most cunningly diabolical enemy.

The Ravensmere Trilogy is a must-read for all dark and spooky fiction fans who like liberal doses of fun.

REVIEWS OF THE NEW EDITION OF BOOK ONE
“I didn’t expect to laugh this much in a story about witches and electroshock treatments. There’s something really human about how messed up and confused everyone is. The 1970s setting feels authentic, no internet, just raw life and danger. By the time the magic kicks off, I was completely hooked. I’ll be following this trilogy for sure.” Goodreads reviewer. *****

“The author’s descriptions are insane. I could see Brimstone Manor, smell the damp halls, hear the madness in every conversation. There’s a rhythm to the writing that feels almost musical. It’s both unsettling and beautiful. I read it over two nights and couldn’t stop thinking about that final twist.” Goodreads reviewer. *****

“This is exactly what I hoped for: old-school gothic vibes with modern pacing. The dialogue is witty, the mystery is layered, and the supernatural elements are handled so cleverly. I’m recommending it to all my book club friends.” Goodreads reviewer. *****