''The Small Hand: A Ghost Story'', is a novel by English author

Susan Hill Dame Susan Hill, Lady Wells, (born 5 February 1942) is an English author of fiction and non-fiction works. Her novels include ''The Woman in Black'', '' The Mist in the Mirror'', and '' I'm the King of the Castle'', for which she received t ...

, first published in 2010 by

Profile Books Profile Books is a British independent book publishing firm founded in 1996. It publishes non-fiction subjects including history, biography, memoir, politics, current affairs, travel and popular science. Profile Books is distributed in the UK by ...

. A television film adaptation, ''Susan Hill's Ghost Story'', was broadcast by Channel 5 in December 2019.

Plot

On returning from a visit to a client, antiquarian book dealer Adam Snow takes a wrong turn and comes across a derelict Edwardian House. Overcome by curiosity he approaches the entrance and feels a small cold hand creeping into his own 'as if a child had taken hold of it'. Over the coming weeks he becomes subject to nightmares and

panic attacks Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear and discomfort that may include palpitations, sweating, chest pain or chest discomfort, shortness of breath, trembling, dizziness, numbness, confusion, or a feeling of impending doom or of losing ...

and further visits from the small hand. He vows to learn more about the house and its overgrown garden.

Reception

Reviews were mixed : * Jeremy Dyson writing in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' writes 'this is a wonderful piece of storytelling that does what a good story ought to do: it keeps you guessing, pulls you in. And when the climax comes, the explanation and the source of the haunting are not what you think at all. You really don't see it coming.' *However Joan Smith writing in ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, wh ...

'' complains The Small Hand'' exists in a version of the modern world that doesn’t quite feel convincing, and Hill has to keep up the eerie atmosphere by reminding the reader that events are tending towards a tragic denouement. By definition ghost stories deal in the unexplained, but this one leaves too little to the imagination.Article title
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References

External links

*
Quotes from the critics and links to all the press reviews for ''The Small Hand''.
Novels by Susan Hill 2010 British novels Ghost novels Profile Books books {{2010s-ghost-novel-stub