Aliya Whiteley’s Skein Island (Titan, £7.99) is a fine example of understated horror, whose accumulating sense of unease is only enhanced by being set in the familiar milieu of contemporary Britain. The eponymous island lies off the Devon coast, and is a refuge for women that offers week-long stays for selected guests. The sole payment required from each woman is a written story, a personal declaration which is then lodged in the island’s library. In measured, quietly assured prose, Whiteley introduces librarian Marianne Percival who, out of the blue, receives an invitation to stay on the island; before she goes, she suffers a terrible sexual attack. Her time there is interspersed with details of how and why the community was founded, and chapters from her husband’s viewpoint, as events conspire to bring about the break-up of their marriage. Whiteley skilfully blends Greek myth with the horrors of the second world war and scalpel-sharp observations of contemporary society in a compelling, disturbing read that examines gender roles and the power of individuals to take control of their lives.
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