My first thought when I finished Sorrowsmile Meadow was — where on earth does L. Philipp Naughton get these ideas? And I mean that as one of the highest compliments I can pay a writer. This is a wonderfully original, hugely entertaining read that blends drama, mystery, dark folklore and genuine menace into something that feels entirely its own.
The set-up is deceptively simple. Maggie and Jeremy arrive in England with their young daughter Esther, a suitcase full of marital tension, and plans for a restorative holiday. What they find instead is the village of Begin Again — quaint and picture-postcard pretty on the surface, but deeply, unsettlingly wrong underneath. No internet. No mobile signal. Buildings that don’t quite add up. Villagers who seem to be hiding something. It has the feel of a place unstuck from time, and that’s not far from the truth — Begin Again has been locked in a pact dating back to 1357, bound to a notorious fourteenth century figure known as the Marcher Satan, and the ancient rituals that hold it haven’t finished yet.
The best comparison I can reach for is Brigadoon crossed with Stephen King — and if you can picture that combination, you’ll have a pretty good sense of what you’re in for. There’s that same quality of a place that exists just slightly outside reality, but with a darkness running through it that’s genuinely chilling rather than merely atmospheric. Naughton handles the merging of past and present skilfully, and the pacing is well-judged throughout — the sense of unease builds steadily without ever losing momentum.
Maggie is a compelling central character — curious, resourceful, and easy to root for — and young Esther is handled with real warmth. Jeremy, meanwhile, makes for a fascinating antagonist as the holiday slowly unravels him. My one small wish is that the author had given us a little more insight into Jeremy’s psychology as the darkness takes hold — he’s such an interesting character that I found myself wanting to understand him more fully. But that’s a minor note in an otherwise excellent book.
The dialogue is credible, the characterisation strong, and the world Naughton has built around Begin Again is richly imagined and genuinely memorable. If you’re looking for something that will keep you guessing, grip you from the first chapter and stay with you long after you’ve turned the final page, look no further. Highly recommended.
I award 5 stars.
