If you have never heard of Barbara Comyns or read any of her novels, may I introduce you to one of the 20th century's most interesting and startling writers. If you like the works of Daphne Du Maurier and Angela Carter then you will love the odd and highly memorable works of this author. The Juniper Tree is loosely based on the horrific Grimm's tale that has largely been censored or removed from most of the children's collections we would have grown up with. If you do not know the original tale-good, wait and read it after you have read this. Comyns' novel is the story of a young woman called Bella who at the beginning of the novel is a homeless single mother. She befriends a wealthy couple and begins the process of building a life for herself and her daughter. Like all Comyns' novels as a reader you are eased into an affinity with the main protagonist as she drifts through life. What outwardly seems like a pleasant enough story with a trajectory of rags to riches is littered with lots of signs and symbols that something might be amiss. It is hard to elaborate further here as this novel like her other stunning work 'The Vet's Daughter' is at risk of 'spoilers' if too much is said, so all I will say is please read this book. The more you read Comyns the more you become accustomed to awaiting' drop your biscuit in your tea' moments of shock or outright horror. The joy of Comyns writing is that in the build up to these short, sharp shocks there is so much humour and genuine gorgeousness in the way she writes. The vicious streak that you find in Carter and Du Maurier is not quite as visceral here but this makes her work all the more powerful and something you will puzzle over for hours afterwards. It is a tragedy that her body of work exists so quietly but once you are in the know, you are in the secret Barbara Comyns fan club and it's a wonderful place to be.