Mark N Drake

The Gathering of Shadows - The Glennison Darkisle Cases Mark N Drake

A gritty detective story that spirals into the realms of Lovecraftian Horror, 'The Gathering of Shadows' will delight fans of the genre as they travel with Jack Glennison from the stolid certainty of 1920s England to a world of lost temples, ancient gods, whispered chants and terrifying visitations. Glennison is a failed scholar, a frustrated policeman, a discharged soldier... and now a private detective about to get out of his depth. When a glamorous blonde arrives at his less-than-glamorous Manchester office, her missing person case has "straying husband" written all over it. But Jack's investigation soon takes an unexpected turn and he finds himself on a steamer bound for half-forgotten Darkisle in the Irish Sea. Here he finds himself confronting both dark forces and his own forgotten past. "The story is set in the early 1920s, in many ways the 'Golden Age' of Lovecraftian Horror. But far from being a Lovecraft pastiche, it has a distinct take on the Cthulhu Mythos, with a British sensibility that brings Brian Lumley to mind." (T. Finley) "The colourful descriptions conjure up an atmosphere which is a mixture of film noir, Indiana Jones and Victorian horror." (C. de Rossi) "The suspense increases from a detective's first laconic activities on a new case, to subtle signs of strangeness and finally to full horror" (N. Bergfeld) "... the game here lies with plotting a course through the clues and guessing who (or what) will be left standing as the last shotgun shell bounces across the strangely carved stone floor." (S. Matthews)