Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton for sending me an early copy of Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt in exchange for a review. The town of Black Spring is like no other; it has a secret that must be kept confined amongst its community. The secret is Katherine Van Wyler - The Black Rock Witch, a 350 year old witch, bound in chains, who cannot see or speak as her eyes and mouth have been stitched shut. Despite her morbid appearance, she wanders harmlessly, lurking from one place to another usually in a repetitive cycle as if stuck in some warp. Residents log her movements on HEXapp, a tracking app created by the HEX team who oversee her movements and are on standby to prevent any trouble as there is a history of strange events occurring when Katherine is intimidated. The community have settled into choosing a quiet life by accepting the witch and leaving her to do what she does. This is until a small group of friends take it upon themselves to carry out some experiments in the name of science. Hoping to catch some genuine evidence of phenomenon footage to forward to National Geographic. However one member of the group has a personal grudge and wants to take things much further, where the peace of Black Spring will be broken. I was slightly apprehensive starting HEX as I loved horror in my teens, Stephen King in particular. Unfortunately now the horror market is flooded with lacklustre plots and forgettable endings (if I even get that far.) A book or film full of blood and guts does not remotely interest me. It’s about raising the psychological fear, messing with the mind and keeping it elevated and alert, the fear is in the waiting, the not knowing, the thing you see in the corner of your eye or make out in the shadows in the dark, you know its ok and probably nothing but what if it isn’t, what if it is something evil, what if its there to make your worst nightmares a reality, what if this time its coming to slit your throat. If a horror book has not made me feel uncomfortable on some level, it has failed. The Black Spring community have become comfortable with something terrifying creeping around the neighbourhood. Normality is waking up to it standing by the side of the bed. Fear is gone, become a joke, replaced by a chained up old witch who cannot see or speak. Yet as uncanny as it maybe Thomas Olde Heuvelt manages to make the reader feel like we are all part of the safe community, comfortable with this lurking unknown presence. Some feel she needs nurture, befriending her and offering her gifts and at times I myself felt some strange sincerity. However the group of young teenage boys are curious, they don’t want restrictions, they want to be brave, maybe become famous on youTube. This younger generation are no different to ours knowing when it comes to computers they are more than a few steps ahead of the game. HEX does not fail to deliver. This is a creepy book with intriguing characters and a disturbing plot that draws you in and holds you lingering in the fear of not knowing… Prepare for a sleepless night.

There are plenty of people out there writing blood-soaked zombie horror or 'urban fantasy' but potential heirs to the work of masters like Stephen King or James Herbert are far and few between. Despite looking even younger than Owen Jones Heuvelt could very well be that writer... The plot involves a seemingly idyllic town in upstate New York which harbours a dark secret. The whole community of Black Spring is under a curse, living their entire lives in thrall to the Black Rock witch, and it has been since her premature death back in the C17th. The witch's eyes and mouth are sewn closed and somehow she drives anyone who tries to leave the community (even just for a few days) to insanity and suicide. This is, of course, a modern community so the town leaders keep an eye on the witch via a sophisticated cctv system and do their best to discourage incomers. The one thing, however, which they are powerless to prevent is the frustration the town's teenagers feel at the restrictions they must all live under. This book isn't scary because of what the witch does - although she is a deeply creepy and unsettling figure - but because of the actions of the townspeople. To quote Jean-Paul Sartre (which I don't often do), 'hell is other people'. The witch aspect of this book is pure speculative fiction - everything else that happens is down to the dark side of human nature and it rings all-too-chillingly true.

This is legitimately the scariest book I have read in a long time. And I loved it sooo much. This story is dark and haunting (hmm) and had me throwing my kindle and pacing the room to calm down

I have to say it took me a while to actually start enjoying it. First half feels very slow and not much happens. Second half was incredible. Really enjoyed it though I feel like some parts were left unexplained. I understand this was done on purpose for the reader to interpret but too much was left open. Still really enjoyed it, very scary, very intense

I read this book for Halloween when it come out and the story just blew me away. It was a story that will actually stay with me, I've been praying for them to make this into a film because it's just so good. I can't say too much about this book as I don't want to give anything away but it sends a powerful message, characters are easy to follow and it's just written perfectly, the ending was very well thought and carefully finished.