The Mask of Merryvale Manor by Pete Sherlock is a mid-20th century mystery and coming of age story set in the claustrophobic country estate of a powerful aristocratic family with influence and secrets to keep.
Pete Sherlock is a BBC investigative journalist based in Birmingham who specialises in digging up stories from complex data. He has won journalism awards from the Wincott Foundation and the Drum.
The Mask of Merryvale Manor begins on the cusp of the 1960s when 16-year-old Ben Butler arrives at Merryvale Manor, a country pile in Dorset County, England and is taken in by his wealthy relatives, the Drummonds. Under the wing of his confident cousins, he quickly adapts to their debonair lifestyle only to begin doubting the family’s true colours when, five years later, the body of an old visitor is discovered on the estate. After the morbid discovery, the family begins to fall apart under the haunting eyes of the Ooser, a centuries old demonic mask that overlooks the Drummond family home.
The novel has already been praised as ‘a fabulously dark and atmospheric page-turner full of complex characters and deceit’ by Amanda Geard, author of The Midnight House
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