This was very gripping, very gritty and superbly unsettling at times. Much of the unease doesn’t emanate from the supernatural, either. The hard graft in an unforgiving landscape is set against a creeping evil something that is turning the farmers, householders and businesses to secrecy and insomnia.

Witch Bottle sounded like a fantastic book. I really liked the description and so I was excited to read it.

Sadly it was awful and I eventually gave up after struggling though until I got to a part I decided I could no longer put myself though any more. (Having been a Midwife the part where his wife has her baby was wrong, No human would be able to turn a baby the way he writes it happens. Now I know this is a work of fiction but its not humanly possible to do a cephalic version that way!!!) A little research on the subject would have made him aware of this and it would have seemed more plausible if that had been the case.

I felt the whole story was very disjointed and all over the place. I feel it would have made a for a great short story without all the added bits. There was a lot of filler with huge detail about delivering milk.

Sadly not for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus Books for the ARC. (My Review is my own option)

I found this book very slow and just couldn't get into it. Nothing seemed to be happening apart from making witch bottles & delivering milk. It just didn't grab me so I am afraid that I didn't finish the book.

Wannabe writer Daniel has had it tough. He has split with his wife and been forced to leave his little girl behind.

He is a milkman, it's not the best job in the world but he likes it, likes his customers - sometimes and keeps himself to himself, out of the way of his cranky boss and colleagues.

On his rounds he meets Kathryn and he starts having feelings for her only to find that she is a witch.

Daniel has been having nightmares and Kathryn makes him a potion to protect him. Only it doesn't work. He is forced into the gates of hell.

I enjoyed the Fallen Stock delivery men who were believably scary. This book is dark, gory and unlike anything else i have ever read before. Its brilliantly descriptive and really well written.
⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for the opportunity to read the e-ARC of Witch Bottle, in exchange for an honest review.

The story follows Daniel, a man who is living a fairly solitary life as a milkman when strange occurrences and appearances begin in the town he works in.

While the novel is a slow starter, this adds to the atmosphere which Fletcher builds throughout the novel, one of distrust and uncertainty, both of the ghostly goings on and of Daniel. Daniel, as a main character, is far from perfect and we are instantly led to believe there is a dark past which we do not know the details of, yet there is something endearing about his simplicity, his routine and his enjoyment of solitude.

The imagery is somewhat haunting - from that first encounter with the Fallen Stock man to the image on the television in Daniel's childhood flashback - and we are regularly left with a feeling of unease throughout the novel. Kathryn's addition, while integral to the plot, feels two-dimensional, even once we've heard her own story. However, she is in the minority as The Bean and Ryan - two other minor characters - certainly make up for it. While neither are particularly likeable, both are incredibly realistic.

This is not a ghost story of horrible occurrences to good people, this is the haunting of normal people and, frankly, this is how it reads.

This is an enjoyable read, with just the right amount of the supernatural and, while the true villain may seem laughable, there is something horribly poignant about a villain that no one can see, but they certainly can feel.

Witch Bottle by Tom Fletcher is a dark, nightmarish novel of a milk delivery man named Daniel coping with his demons and being haunted by his past, against a backdrop of rural Cumbria.

The creepy atmosphere was well captured and I think it would appeal to many horror fans, especially the sections with the chilling Fallen Stock men. I think partly because the book was so well written I was pleased to reach the end. I don't want to go back to Daniel's world ever again!

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.

What a weird read. The main character is a milkman, yes you heard right. He is having nightmares and seeks out the help of a local witch, like you would. The witch gives him a witch bottle to protect himself. Obviously it doesn't work as the gate way to hell is now open. I had such high hopes for this book. Why has the author spent so much time e describing his milk round. I did finish this book but it was a struggle. I really hope other readers will enjoy it more just not for me.
Thanks to Quercus Books and Netgalley for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

Daniel has left his wife and baby daughter and has become a milkman in Cumbria. He is living in a cottage that belongs to his uncle and working in a dead end job, but one that he enjoys. He likes the driving, the interaction with customers, and the fact that he spends much of the time on his own. In flashbacks, we learn about Daniel’s past, the reasons why he made the decision to leave his family and his childhood.

During his day, Daniel often visits the La’al Tattie Shop, where he becomes friend with Kathryn. Although he has made the decision to live alone, he finds himself attracted to Kathryn and that will be useful for him, because Daniel has an unwanted visitor and it turns out that Kathryn is a witch. On his rounds, Daniel realises that other people are struggling with the same problem he is and, when Kathryn begins to create ‘witch bottles,’ for his customers, he agrees to deliver them.

There is much about this novel that I really liked. I thought it was wonderfully written and I enjoyed Daniel’s company (although I could have done without the author using him as a mouthpiece for his political views) as we met the other characters in the novel. I especially enjoyed the creepy Fallen Stock men, who drive around and dispose of dead farm animals. They were believably unnerving, as was the mix of spooky and psychological.

This is an interesting literary read, which has a good sense of place and has characters you come to care about. I received a copy of this novel from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

Estranged from his wife and daughter, Daniel has let himself go. Working as a milkman he has let himself go. His hair is long and has grown an unkempt beard. And then the nightmares start.

During his milk rounds, he meets Kathryn, an amateur witch who sells her potion incognito via Facebook who asks Daniel to start delivering her witch bottles during his daily job.

Tom Fletcher has done a great job of inserting the fantastical amongst the mundane. His characters are fully rounded, each bringing something to the story and not just their for filler.

The issue I had with the book was that it started brilliantly with Daniel's dream of a giant, however, from that point, it just did not live up to the beginning. There were times when opportunities felt missed to make it more suspenseful, such as when Daniel sees his ghost for the first time standing in the garden. The whole scene was over in a few sentences and what should have been a jarring moment for the character felt brushed aside and rushed.

Tom Fletcher had a great premise which has been compared to Andrew Michael Hurley’s The Loney and Starve Acre, however, with no disrespect to Tom Fletcher, I do not think it managed to live up to those two books.

I will keep an eye out for Tom Fletcher's work but as a whole, this didn't work for me.

It's taken me a few days to gather my thoughts on this book because it's one hell of a read. Overall, I think this is one of my favourite books of the year so far as it's given me a lot of thoughts and feelings and, yeah, I guess a lot to try and unpack really.

While it's never explicitly stated as such, I think reading this book was as close to a description of my own experience of living with depression as I've ever encountered before. It's so visceral and close to real life - from the monotony of daily life to how futile everything feels, how difficult it is just to have interactions with other people and maintain relationships. The writing is so strong in this book, often there would be a turn of phrase or description that chimed with me so much. Despite the misery, I really enjoyed it.

What Fletcher has done tremendously well though, is find the horror in the simplest of things. Nothing in this book feels safe. The atmosphere is bang on, the tension is so tightly wound you turn each page expecting and fearful of a snap. While gruesome and graphic at times I think it's in the descriptions and building atmosphere that this book is at its strongest.

So much of this book is going to stay with me for a long time. For a short book with some characters that we only meet for maybe a couple of paragraphs, all of them are memorable in their own way. This is a book filled with stories within stories and tantalising threads that never twist in entirely the way you expect them to.

There are so many themes to explore in this book I'm not sure where to even begin with all of them - folk horror and rural v city life, relationships, depression and mental health, family and community, the gig economy and society. Just...loads and all of it handled deftly.

Brilliant book, really really loved it. Thank you so much to the publisher, Netgalley and Tom Fletcher for the copy in exchange for review.

This novel grips, tugs, claws at you from the very first page - a scene of bleak horror as the giant feasts on flesh - and a jarring plummet back to reality. Fletcher really displays intelligent, fresh writing in the fact that you're sent on a path of the mundane, from the bleak PoV of character 1 yet you're still intrigued, still gripped by the tedium of real life because there's something there under the surface.

Daniel aspires to be a fantasy author (immediately relatable in many ways, for me), and his outlook on the surroundings do give a fantastical edge to the way he describes everything - though it seems tinted grey, moody. Glum. His outlook is as poor as the job he works pays. Yet, it is his voice that pulls you through, ever intrigued by the sightings of the figure, his new 'witch' girlfriend and those on his milkround who seem troubled with their own ghosts - literally. While there's nothing so convincingly supernatural at the start, there's that nagging in the back of your mind that something isn't right.

The character is complex, clearly-multilayered. There's things about his past that add credibility to what's happening now. Not of sound mind, especially after his run in with the Fallen Stock men, and reality begins to warp, true horror is painted over every day life.

A startling vision of death - a mystery that is truly grotesque but the way it is worked into the norm, into reality, is what is truly horrifying. The promise that if you just look under the surface, there's another world there. A truly original world where everyone ends up in the same pit... With the giant. The world-building that went into this 'horror' is fantasy-esque, thorough and highly interesting, but there are no heroes here. No escaping this fate. A remarkable twist that states you in the face at the start and harasses you until you can't deny it.

The prose is grey, glum, clever. The choice of words is perfect - it really speaks to the theme of the book. A true nuanced voice of the character. Daniel's personality comes through in full, depressing force with the choice of words; his world view can be extracted from his very turn of phrase and it is that which carries you through the book at speed, despite the mundanity of it all.

The ending comes on quick. Fight with the rat-men. A hero. Then the witch, a promise of worse to come. An exciting, chest-tightening ride to the end which only stops when you're jerked out at the ebd, reeling from what took place. With more questions than answers.

Overall, if you love your horror with a big more imagination, with some real depth to the reason and world-building behind the story, this is a book I'd recommend. But if you'd like answers, maybe not. It is abrupt, fast-paced and mystifying right up to that last page.

Spooky, unsettling and atmospheric. There is a juxtaposition between realism and the supernatural that creates a real tension throughout, and the writing is effective and strong. The sense of unease builds throughout the book, but it has a slow burn feel despite its relatively low page count - not a bad thing. The characters are really well-imagined, although I found Kathryn fascinating and would have liked to learn a lot more about her.

A proper literary horror.

I really wanted to like this as I really like Tom but I couldn't get on with it. I found it stunted and wasn't able to finish it.

I'm afraid I didn't finish this.
I got to 50% of the way through the book and realised it wasn't working for me.
It was too slow,taking too long to set the scene.
Not creepy enough.


Going by the reviews I read before giving up,I think it was a good decision.

Witch Bottle sits within the Horror genre and follows Daniel, who separated from his wife and moved away from his family home which he shared with his wife and young daughter. Following his separation he moved to the rural countryside in the Northwest of England and took on the job of a Milkman, however he began to experience visions of a Giant and other scary beings. It soon became apparent that he wasn’t the only one to be suffering with these visions and turned to Kathryn, a Witch, for help.

In considering the characters within the book and I found the Protagonist, Daniel, to be very well developed and I enjoyed meeting the people that he would encounter on his milk round.I found that they were very well described within the limited page-space that they occupied. I was especially pleased with the development of Daniel’s colleague, Ryan. I could picture him clearly in my mind as I read about him and I enjoyed the stark contrast in character between him and Daniel. I felt that the author did a great job in conveying the creep factor and really invoked a sense of fear and dread within me as I turned the pages.

The book has 3 time lines narrated from Daniel’s view point: Scenes from Daniel’s childhood; Scenes of his relationship with his wife before, during and after the birth of their daughter; and the present day. There are even some chapters relating to Kathryn’s point of view both in the present day and her history. I feel that the book was focusing on grief and fear and how both can really affect people’s lives, as well as highlighting the presence of anxiety, mental health, domestic violence and war. Perhaps the Giant could be a metaphor for the negativity that is present within the world in general?

I found the book to be well written and it was extremely atmospheric which I loved. I felt that the author did a great job in conveying the creep factor and really invoked a sense of fear and dread within me as I turned the pages. The chapters were short and engaging which helped with the slow pace of the book, a very good read for the autumn/winter months. I would recommend this book to my friends and family, however I have specific tastes when it comes to reading horror especially with how they end so my rating for this book is 4 out of 5 Stars.

This is the first book that I have read from this author so I am unable to offer a comparison of his other works however I do intend to begin the Fell House Series in the near future.

I have to agree with other reviews that the author Tom Fletcher has created a book with a strong sense of place. I did however find some elements overly descriptive such as the milk run which I found distractingly from the story. I also did not care much for the white male protagonist. This is meant to be horror but I feel the narrative would have worked better if it was written as a straight up thriller. The real horror writings shines in the real time episodes such as the criminal activity, the pregnant woman giving birth and the fratricide. Where it falls down is in the attempt at creating suspense by depicting nightmares and delusional fantasies of the characters. I found the writing on this rather weak sadly. If your interested in how the mundane can become weird you will enjoy this.

*eArc provided by the publisher and NetGalley

I simply didn't like the plot, story and writing style so I had to DNF. Not a kind of book I can appreciate

Daniel is an aspiring writer. Although, if you’re not feeling generous, you could describe him as a “failed” one, seeing that his long-planned novel never seems to get off the ground. Things are hardly any better for Daniel in the family sphere. Unable to cope with a fraught situation at home, he abandons his wife and baby daughter and settles down in a remote part of Cumbria. There he works as a milkman, driving around the rural lanes delivering groceries to villagers and local businesses. A budding relationship with Kathryn, who runs the La’al Tattie Shop, promises a fresh start. Kathryn is also a part-time witch and ward-maker. Lately, demand for her services seems to be thriving. In fact, something strange is clearly afoot. Daniel is being visited by a chilling nocturnal entity, a hooded figure who follows him and turns up at his house at the least unexpected moments. Moreover, the other villagers are also complaining of disturbed nights and ghostly visitations. These apparitions coincide with increased business for the sinister “Fallen Stock”, a company which collects and disposes of dead farm animals. Its vans are suddenly ubiquitous on the roads, driven by menacing employees who seem to know more than they are letting on. The novel follows Daniel as he tries to face and come to terms with his demons, which might well be related to the dread and unease which burdens the whole area.

The blurb compares Witch Bottle to Andrew Michael Hurley’s The Loney and Starve Acre. There are similarities for sure – the rural setting, the folk-horror vibes, the link between personal trauma and supernatural events and between the fears of the “individual” and those of the “community”. However, this comparison also does Tom Fletcher a disservice, because his is a distinctive and personal voice. Fletcher knows how to ratchet up the tension and his book is bleak and scary. But most of it is also a description of the life of a milkman, told from the protagonist’s perspective. I was also pleasantly surprised at the fact that for such a dark and atmospheric novel, it has its fair share of quick-fire dialogue and humour.

What I found less convincing about Witch Bottle, was its ending. For much of the novel, Fletcher manages a tricky balance between gritty realism and supernatural stuff. In the final chapters, however, there is a sudden shift towards the bizarre, what with surreal dream sequences and a gory finale which skirts the “low fantasy” genre.

Despite my reservations, this is a novel which I enjoyed reading and I will look out for future work by Tom Fletcher.

How a small thing like chatting with a lonely person can brighten up someone's day. When you give them the chance to talk about their problems, you might even help them by becoming the middleman between the ward maker and the one visited by unwanted nocturnal guests. In that sense, milkman Daniel does a far better job than those who turn a blind eye to all the terrible things happening in the world. 

The opening scene had me hooked: what am I reading? Where can I open a window to watch that giant? It is the perfect teaser for what's to come later in the book. There’s also a more symbolic role for the giant (monster) in the story. Past experiences can linger with you for a long time, eating you from within, until they bring the worst out in you and those around you. So, who is the actual monster, the giant or the human?

With every chapter you learn about another part of Daniel’s life, be it a story from the past, the introduction of an acquaintance, or a continuation of the present. The now is the most interesting as this is where the giant and the witch live. All these memories from the past serve a purpose but make for a slow first half of the book. Then out of nowhere, the witch bottle makes its entrance. Something is happening in Cumbria, and by page 100 you know it and they know it.

Every chapter ends with an anticlimactic sentence to end the scene, killing the action and any further thoughts, almost as if the Witch Bottle is a theater piece. Because of this, the book feels more like a collection of anecdotes and encounters held together by what’s going on in the area. Witch Bottle by Tom Fletcher is an interesting book to read, though not as suspenseful as the synopsis suggests. It is, as advertised, a “deeply atmospheric literary horror novel”.

I’m still not sure whether I like the ending. To me, it felt like the stories and troubles of the farmers - my favorite part of the book - were left behind in favor of finishing the bigger story. The supporting cast felt more like real people, while Bean, Ryan, and Graham were not as interesting. Kathryn's story seems unfinished as well, even more because some of the chapters were written from her perspective. I would have thought she would be more on top of things. On the other hand, Daniel stayed true to his personality until the end.

Daniel has left his wife and daughter and has moved to a remote rural area where he works as a milkman. His new start doesnt go quite as planned as he has started to have nightmares, and has been seeing a hooded figure watching him from outside his window. He is helped by a local witch, who makes "witch bottles" to protect from hauntings. Daniel soon discovers that these hauntings are happening all over the local area and he soon starts to run deliveries of the witch bottles on his rounds. What is happening to all of the "villagers" and who is sending the threatening messages to stop the witch bottle deliveries? Something is not quite right.
The Witch Bottle leaves you feeling uneasy . You can feel the deep sense of loneliness in Daniel as he comes to terms with his ghosts. This story leaves you thinking about it, long after the last page is read. I'm thinking I may need a Witch Bottle of my own.