Left on the Shelf: The Folly by Gemma Amor

He shuffled out of the prison door in a daze, a small bag of belongings clutched to his chest. I saw him pause as the early light of day embraced him. He closed his eyes briefly, and dragged in a deep, full breath, up through is nostrils, out through his mouth. I had haggled for his release to be set at five in the morning, to help avoid attention from the press...

***

The Blurb

Morgan always knew her father, Owen, never murdered her mother. She has spent the last six years campaigning for his release from prison. Finally, mid-pandemic, Owen is set free, but the debt-riddled pair can no longer afford (or bear) to live in the family home- a house last decorated by a dead woman’s blood.

Salvation and the chance for a new start in life comes in the form of a tall, dark and notorious decorative granite tower on the Cornish coastline known only as ‘The Folly’. The structure is empty, prone to break-ins, and the owner needs a caretaker- food and bills included. It’s an offer too good to refuse. Morgan and Owen relocate, leaving everything of their former lives behind and hoping that a change of scene and the remote location will be good for them both.

At first, the Folly is indeed idyllic, but soon enough that peace is shattered when a bald-headed stranger arrives. A stranger who acts like Morgan’s mother, talks like her mother, and wears her dead mother’s clothes.

What does he want? Why won’t he leave them alone? Why does he keep mentioning the year 1976?

And what secrets does the Folly tower hold?

My Review

Anyone who follows my blog regularly will know that I do not read horror. I'm a complete scaredy cat about the whole thing. So you may be wondering why I read this book when it sits absolutely in the horror genre?

At the beginning of this year I promised myself that I would read a few books that were outside of my comfort zone. When I was offered a copy of this book I decided that this was the book that would allow me to dip my toe into the horror genre.

I have completely surprised myself as I enjoyed this book very much. Yes, it was a bit spooky and creepy but it was totally gripping and I had to read on.

I liked the main character, Morgan who has fought for her father's release from prison after being incarcerated for murdering her mother. For the five years of his imprisonment she has been totally convinced of his innocence and has fought hard for his release. This is the point at which the story begins. Owen is released from prison and they are attempting to put the past behind them and move forward.

They move to remote part of Cornwall and into the titular Folly, and that is when things start to get creepy. A bald headed man turns up and seems to be channelling Morgan's deceased mother.

It is also set during the covid pandemic which served to highlight the isolation of the characters. However, it also addresses the theme of identity, who we are, where we belong and what happens when the past is revealed to be different to what you have always believed.

It is a powerful and short book at 160 pages but it oozed with atmosphere, suspense and tension.

The book was only released yesterday and it made for an enjoyable read.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1915523563

Publisher: Datura Books

Formats: e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages: 160 (paperback)

Purchase Links

About the Author

Gemma Amor is a Bram Stoker and British Fantasy Award nominated author, voice actor/podcaster and illustrator based in Bristol, in the UK. She self-published her debut short story collection Cruel Works of Nature in 2018, and went on to release Dear Laura, Grief Is A False God, White Pines, Girl On Fire, These Wounds We Make, We Are Wolves and Six Rooms before signing her first traditional publishing deal for her novel Full Immersion, published by Angry Robot books in 2022.

This was followed by The Once Yellow House, Christmas At Wheeldale Inn and All Who Wander Are Lost is her twelfth published book (her fifth for Cemetery Gates Media). Her next scheduled release is The Folly in 2024 with Datura books and an anthology of ancestral horror for Titan Books called Roots Of My Fears, as Editor, in 2025.

Gemma is the co-creator of horror-comedy podcast Calling Darkness, starring Kate Siegel, and her stories feature many times on popular horror anthology shows The NoSleep Podcast (including a six-part adaptation of Dear Laura), Shadows at the Door, Creepy and The Grey Rooms. She also appears in a number of print anthologies including Ellen Datlow’s The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Fifteen, and has made numerous podcast appearances to date.

A short film she co-wrote called Hidden Mother (2021) was well received at multiple film festivals and she just finished her first feature length screenplay, an adaption of her novella Dear Laura. Gemma illustrates her own works and also provides original, hand-painted artwork for book covers on commission. She narrates audiobooks too, including The Possession Of Natalie Glasgow by Hailey Piper, in 2020, and Full Immersion in 2022. She launched new folk-trivia podcast Wyrd, Wild & Wonderful in 2024.

You can also find Gemma at

https://gemmaamorauthor.com/

Twitter / X

Instagram

Tik Tok