Pendle Fire

Social worker Johnny Malkin is battling a crippling workload and a hostile local community. That's on a good day: things are about to get a whole lot worse. Two fourteen-year-old girls are found wandering Aitken Wood on the slopes of Pendle Hill, claiming to have been raped by a gang of men. With no female social workers available, Johnny is assigned to their case. But what, at first, looks like yet another incident of child exploitation takes a sinister turn when the girls start speaking of a forthcoming apocalypse. When Johnny interviews one of the girls, Jenna Dunham, her story starts to unravel. His investigation draws him into a tight-knit village community in the shadow of Pendle Hill, where whispers of witchcraft and child abuse go back to the Middle Ages. One name recurs, The Hobbledy Man. Is he responsible for the outbreaks of violence sweeping across the country? Is he more than just myth?

What everyone is saying about Pendle Fire:

"Pendle Fire is a thrilling, fast-paced, easy to read, edge of your seat thriller that you really won't be able to put down and will race through!" --Gemma Myers, Between The Pages Book Club

"Pendle Fire is a mixture of fast-paced, thrilling life-threatening moments, crime (the most callous kind) and mystery." --Liz Scanlon, Cover To Cover

"If you are into dark tales with stomach-churning twist and turns this is the book for you." --Claire Stanley, The Secret World Of A Book Blog

"The plot is pretty fast paced and it didn't take me long to read with some parts providing plenty of tension and suspense." --Rachel Broughton, Rae Reads

"The story itself is really well done and I thought the mythology surrounding the Hobbledy Man was very well executed." --Helen Giles, Life Of A Nerdish Mum

"I was gripped from the beginning, the characters, the setting and the legend all worked brilliantly in the book." --Katie Jones, Katie's Book Cave

"If like me, you like your fiction to be dark, unsettling and full of tension then Pendle Fire could be just the book for you." --Neats Wilson, The Haphazardous Hippo

"Overall a fast-paced dark and disturbing tale, well written with a decent page count makes this an easy read to get stuck into." --David Baird, David's Book Blurg

"Pendle Fire is one hell of a dark and twisted read . . ." --Shell Baker, Chelle's Book Reviews

"It is a very fast-paced book, which kept me engrossed from start to finish and is so intriguing with all the mystery and folklore involved in the story." --Simon Leonard, Black Books Blog

"If you're looking for a dark, shocking thriller with a bit of a supernatural edge then look no further and pick up a copy of Pendle Fire." --Jordan Rose, Forever Lost in Literature

"Pendle Fire is a Dark, Sadistic, eerie, Crime Thriller that will definitely get under your skin." --Dash Fan Book Reviews

"There was plenty in this book that gave me the creeps but I also found it a really addictive read." --Donna Maguire, Donnas Book Blog

"I enjoy Southern's books and the way he's able to take some disturbing situations and bring them into the light without being overly grotesque about it. He handles these things with such class, while still creating a cutting story." --Ashley Spanton, CityGirlScapes

"This is a great story and one I recommend. I can't wait to read more from Paul Southern." --Jessica Bronder, JBronder Book Reviews

Pendle Fire is a dark and absorbing thriller, it does contain scenes which some readers may some find disturbing.