The Wise Friend served as my introduction to Ramsey Campbell. As such I have no other works to hold up in comparison, simply the legendary author’s name standing behind this title. Combine that with the Flame Tree label on the book and I went in sight unseen. The plot is intriguing. We live inside the head of Patrick, who with the help of his son, Roy, uses a journal to investigate certain locations associated with the occult. The journal belonged to Patrick’s Aunt Thelma, who killed herself under mysterious circumstances.
I have read horror novels a plenty that I would categorize as slow-burn, but none fit the term quite so well as this one. The Wise Friend moves at a purposefully plodding pace, reveling in exposing the cracks in the relationships between the main characters; Patrick, his ex-wife Julia, Roy, and Roy’s girlfriend, Bella. The underlying obsession with learning more about Aunt Thelma and her work lies at the root of all the interactions in this book.
I had trouble finding any of the characters involved particularly compelling. I was not overly invested in Patrick’s relationship with his son, nor with anyone else. What kept me reading, and I did consider putting this novel away more than once, was the way Campbell moved the narrative forward. There is a constant feeling, an atmosphere, that something big is going to happen, that it’s right around the corner. In the end, we’re not let down. There is a place it’s all leading to and it is legitimately horrifying.
While I don’t believe this novel is for everyone, I really do have to commend the author for the way he leads the reader along down the story’s path, getting them to wonder what happens next. My reading preference is for a character-driven story, but I can’t argue against someone who writes in such an engaging way that I need to find out where the story goes even though I don’t care where the characters end up. If you like slow-burn occult horror, or are just a lifelong Ramsey Campbell fan, you may want to get wrapped up in The Wise Friend.

I received a copy from the publisher for review consideration.