4 out of 5 stars
How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.
In a Nutshell: When you're manservant to a diabolical entity...
I read John F Leonard's The Bledbrooke Works some years back and thought it was great, so my interest was piqued once more by another story set in the same place. Strowg is a novella that fits perfectly into its size, in that it doesn't need any more detail or backstory.
Charles Hennessey is Strowg's devoted factotum, and has been for many years ... Strowg himself is some form of vampiric creature, though the word 'vampire' is never used, but basically Charles's job is to find 'sustenance' for his master, who has now shed the human exterior and embrace his inner monster In exchange for his service, Strowg promises him eternal life. A slow drip, by passing on his own blood.
Despite the subject matter this is fairly low key horror, and it even has a subtle, darkly humorous thread running through it. This works really well, and Mr Leonard exhibits some suitably neat turns of phrase that added so much to this story. It's good, I recommend!
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