Naomi's Room

Naomi's Room is a 1991 horror novel by Northern Irish author Jonathan Aycliffe, described by the Newcastle Evening Chronicle as being "among the finest of English ghost stories".[1] It has been optioned for film in Hollywood.

Naomi's Room
First edition
AuthorJonathan Aycliffe
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperCollins
Publication date
21 Nov 1991
Media typePrint
Pages172
ISBN0-246-13926-9

Plot introduction

Pembroke College academic Charles Hillenbrand looks back on his life and his marriage to Laura, who gave up her job at the Fitzwilliam Museum on the birth of their daughter Naomi. On Christmas Eve 1970, Charles took his four-year-old daughter on a shopping trip from Cambridge to London by train. Naomi disappeared in Hamleys toy shop, and days later her mutilated body was discovered in Spitalfields. But Naomi does not rest in peace and Charles and Laura are haunted by her presence as other murders follow. The policeman leading the investigation is found with his throat cut in the crypt of a church near Brick Lane, then a press photographer who had shown Charles disturbing images in the photos he had taken is murdered, parts of his body found strewn along a Spitalfields alley...

Reception
  • "A Chilling story which gives the lie to any notion that supernatural horror is remotely therapeutic. Aycliffe has a fine touch." The Independent[1]
  • "A powerful psychological ghost story... the residual spirit of Jack the Ripper complicates matters and initially seems to intrude too much on the core story, but Aycliffe eventually resolves things quite neatly."[2]
gollark: But rail would be quite fast, possibly cheaper if you ignore the huge initial investment, and could ship cargo!
gollark: Consider: interstate travel by road is quite slow, thus making the US significantly more divided. Airports are faster, but also more expensive and not good for bulk goods, plus security queues make things slower.
gollark: Small brain: interstate highway system.Large brain: airports everywhere or something.Large glowy brain or something: interstate high-speed maglev railway.Galaxy brain: interstate suborbital rocket system.Transcendent universe brain: interstate passenger railgun.
gollark: I'd hope shadowy conspiracies would be better.
gollark: They're just evil government #124901724, governments do not appear to be very good at long term planning in general.

References
  1. Cover notes, 2013 Corsair edition
  2. Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Horror Fiction by Don D'Ammassa
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