"The Estate had no formal name, it was just a grouping of streets. But the locals called it the Concrete Grove." Lana Fraser has been forced to move there, along with teenaged daughter Hailey, following the death of her husband. Quickly getting herself deeply in debt with the local crimeboss, Monty Bright, she gives him her body to help pay off the sum. But he wants more, specifically Hailey, who may just know more about the supernatural powers in the Grove than anyone realises.This is Gary McMa...

If this novel were a movie the filmmakers would have used the same bleach bypass film processing technique used for 1984. The action of this novel almost exclusively takes place in murky, gray interiors, and in dusty, crumbling city streets under overcast skies. On film, the one scene that takes place on a sunny day would have been presented overexposed, all blinding light and shadows. If this novel were a film, it would be one of those art-house pictures where the blemished and unwashed charact...

The Concrete Grove is a cast-off place of society. A place where the down-on-their-luck people get shoved out to. The question that immediately came to my mind was "why this place"? What was it about this place that shut it off--mentally--from the rest of the world around it?Gary McMahon is wonderful with building the most oppressing atmospheres, and with infusing his characters (both good and bad), with unique traits that make them stand out. I could so easily envision myself walking around his...

Imagine a place where all your nightmares become real. Dark urban streets where crime, debt and violence are not the only things to fear. Picture a housing project that is a gateway to somewhere else; a realm where ghosts and monsters stir hungrily in the shadows. Welcome to the Concrete Grove. This deprived area is Hailey's new home, but when an ancient entity notices her, it becomes something much more threatening. She is the only one who can help her mother as she joins in a dangerous dance w...

The book opens with this quote: "One of the widespread beliefs is that hummingbirds, in some way, are messengers between worlds. As such they help shamans keep nature and spirit in balance" Great. Hummingbirds. What's so scary about that you say? Plenty about that is scary, which is why you should read this book. The Concrete Grove is described as what we here in the U.S. would call the projects. It's an urban area, filled with drug dealers, gang members and violence. At the center of these circ...

4.5 starsWow, I haven't read anything quite like this for a long while, so few horror writers achieve that perfect fusion of the nightmarish with stark realism, my favourite kind of horror. I've always found the intrusion of something sinister into plausible everyday life to be more effective - the thought this just might really happen ... McMahon makes excellent use of the phenomena of urban decay in invisible sink estates (the scary thing is such places continue to exist, and are often left to...

*******************Possible Spoilers******************Hailey and her mother, Lana, are living in the Grove projects after Hailey's father runs them into the poor-house, bails, and leaves them in serious debt, fending for themselves. Their relationship is strained and it doesn't help that the loan sharks still expect to be paid one way or another. Tom, a man drowning in his role as caretaker to a wife he no longer loves, happens upon Hailey unconscious on the ground during his jog. Hailey doesn't...

This book appealed to me from the description, I liked the concept, the cover art, the promise of a new author. Guess it just didn't quite live up to that, which isn't to say it wasn't good. It was in fact very well written and really horrific, but something about it...the opressive overwhelming bleakness, the morally questionable characters, the weirdness of their interactions, the overall (for the lack of better word) unpleasantness...don't think I can give it more than 2 stars. It reminded me...

An interesting tale of what I'll call "urban decay horror". The Grove is a tainted place that contaminates not only those that dwell there, but anyone who dares enter it's environs. An atmospheric story, where the bleak shadow of despair hangs like a fog, mysterious and chilling.

What can i say? This was a winner for me. The writing flowed and descriptions were a little poetic. Story was a little slow, but towards the middle it didn't let go. I was surprised at how dark it got, but for me the darker the better. I also enjoyed themes of redemption and sacrifice for a place where you don't hurt...hmm kinda sounds like heaven. I enjoyed this and can't wait to read more from Gary. This makes my second read from this author and I'm glad i stuck with him. Talented writer for s...

The word concrete, the overpowering image of the Concrete Grove, the shear struggle for survival in a world full of harsh, bitter and destructive influences is what flows through this book making it an unbelievable and at times difficult read. The content is bleak, the subject matter is bleak and the characters we meet, for the most part are people at the bottom of the food chain struggling for some form of survival and existence. The story takes place in a run down council estate somewhere in N...

Absolutely excellent.

I am so angry I started this book. Let me be fair: the writing is not bad (this is for those who are satisfied with only that). It has a great first chapter, a promising chapter. It comes down to expectations. I expected a horror story. The only horror I got is the lives of these pathetic, weak, broken people. Sure, there are supernatural elements, but they are swallowed by the misery. I can't even begin to explain how this book made me feel. (view spoiler)[ I wish this book had some kind of war...

In the Concrete Grove, Gary McMahon successfully fuses grim urban realism with the spiritual mysticism of Machen and Blackwood. There are other echoes here too; creatures wander abroad in the grey environs of the Grove that made me recall late-night sessions of playing Silent Hill and a particular breed of demon evokes the grotesque visuals of Aphex Twin. The characters who inhabit The Concrete Grove are, on the face of it, familiar types but they are soon fleshed out as the story goes on until

British supernatural horror seems to be booming these days. Names like Adam Nevill, Simon Bestwick, Reggie Oliver, and Gary McMahon spring to mind. Nevill has been a favorite of mine and his fifth novel comes out this year. Bestwick won me over with his short fiction and then had a hit with his first novel The Faceless which was published last year. Gary McMahon was another author who first snagged my attention with some of his short fiction and has been keeping busy, with an impressive output o...

A ghost having sex with a manatee? Strange imagery abounds in Gary McMahon's The Concrete Grove, the first part in a trilogy about a rundown housing development that's apparently also a portal into another dimension.Single-parent Lana, her daughter Hailey and another resident of the area called Tom come into contact with the effects of this another realm while dodging a local loanshark and dogs wearing human faces. It's a slow boil, and murky throughout; things progress very slowly and not much

Tom Stains is trapped in a loveless marriage to a crippled wife who never leaves her bed. Lana Fraser is a widow saddled with a large financial debt and a teenaged daughter named Hailey. One night Hailey wanders into the Needle, the monolithic tower at the center of the urban wasteland known as the Concrete Grove, and is entered through a bloody orifice by a dark force, which causes her to undergo changes not usual for a fourteen year-old girl.This is a bleak novel. It's not that it's particular...

This is my fourth Gary McMahon book after reading Nightsiders, Rough Cut and Reaping the Dark, all of which were five star reads. Could this book achieve another five star rating? The answer is a resounding yes!The book is set on a British sink estate where life is grim and bleak. McMahon writes a gritty realistic picture of this run down decaying place and the characters that live their lives in this awful environment.The Grove is not all it seems. It is also a gateway to another dimension or w...

This is a very disturbing read.I will confess that I'm not sure if I like this book or not. It's a very strange, creepy, yet compelling read.The things that are happening are disturbing, weird, and nightmarish. Reading this book felt like being trapped in a dream that seemingly makes no sense, but at the same time tells you dark and scary secrets.There are several characters who take the stage. Some are likeable, others are despicable, and there are those who are just plain pathetic. All are lin...

I love horror stories in which our reality blends with the fantastical and this hits all the right buttons. Good characterisation, well written and full of horrific moments this is one of the best horror novels i've read this year.