The Apparition Phase

Wonderful. Perfectly capturing the weirdness of the 70s,where the tv schedule was full of the paranormal and the apocalyptic, not just aimed at adults but kids too. Some excellent pop references, Dr Who, The Stone Tapes and those brilliant Ghost Stories For Christmas that the BBC did, the influences are plain to see.

One slight grumble. Part one is so good, meeting Tim and Abi as young teenagers, the observations and the whit almost perfect. The rest of it falls away, just a little, but it's still excellent.

So, if you love ghosts, books by Neil Spring, Adam Nevill and pretty much anything weird from the 1970s, this is probably a good book for you.

A book with much more to it than the blurb suggests. Narrated by Tim from a much later point in his life as he looks back on his even-more-than-average tumultuous teenage years. Set in England in the 1970s, Tim gets caught up in an experiment to find a ghost at an aged country house in Suffolk with some explosive consequences.

The prose and pacing are both excellent from Maclean and here he has produced a great haunted house tale with a twist. Without giving too much more away, this is a great read and - as a debut - a definite indicator a talent I will be keeping an eye on!