Book review: Bellman & Black, by Diane Setterfield

by Diane Setterfield
Bond Street Books
3 stars

Diane Setterfield's debut novel, 2006's , was a gothic masterpiece of rewarding complexity, with a beautifully embroidered plot and the power to awe. The book - accessible on many levels - took Charlotte Brontë's and echoed and warped it so eerily that Setterfield earned plaudits for her deft interpretation.

Seven years is a long time between a smash-hit debut and its follow-up. So, is a worthy successor?

Unlike her previous novel, it's no supernova. But it is a dark star and generally meets expectations, although it lacks the twists and turns and brilliant narrative trickery of . Thankfully though, Setterfield's prose here is as gratifyingly dark and brooding as it is in her debut.

's protagonist is William Bellman, who, as a boy of 10, made a bet with his chums that he could hit a crow with a stone from his catapult. As his missile arced through the air, Bellman realised in a fraction of a second that he didn't actually want to kill the creature. But he won the bet - unfortunately for the crow, and, as the following chapters reveal, unfortunately for him too.

This single incident foreshadows the rest of his life - crows and rooks become recurring and ominous motifs throughout the book.