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The Hill in the Dark Grove by Liam Higginson

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The Hill in the Dark Grove

Author
Liam Higginson
Narrator
Richard Elfyn
Publisher
Pan Macmillan
Publish Date
8 January 2026
Run Time
10 hours 1 minute
Format
Audiobook
Genre
Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Contemporary horror, ghost stories and supernatural fiction, Myths and Legends / Mythic fiction, Family life fiction / Stories about family, Narrative theme: environmental issues / the natural world, Narrative theme: death, grief, loss, Narrative theme: interior life / psychological fiction, Narrative theme: sense of place, Narrative theme: love / relationships
Rating
4.7 (3 reviews)

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What to expect

This audiobook includes exclusive vocal performances of the Mari Llwyd, an old midwinter tradition in Wales.

Moving and chilling, The Hill in the Dark Grove is a story about a lost way of life and the terrifying lengths we go to to protect what we know.

'Richard Elfyn reads exceptionally well . . . he blends the novel’s deep commitment to its setting - both material reality and the rhythms and changes experienced throughout the calendar year that forms its timeframe - with a lively, intriguing interest in the folklore and fantasy underpinning the characters’ lives' - Financial Times

Carwyn and Rhian – the last in a long line of sheep farmers – are living out a brutal year on their hillside farm, deep in the mountains of North Wales.

When Carwyn discovers a buried prehistoric ruin in one of the fields on their land, his curiosity quickly descends into obsession. His wife, Rhian, meanwhile, is confronted with the growing realization that the man with whom she shares her life and home is becoming a frightening stranger.

As the harsh winter closes in, Rhian finds herself alone with her increasingly unrecognizable husband, and the mountains, and the looming megalithic stones.

'Eerie. Dangerous. I loved it' - Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground
'Evocative, tender, terrifying . . . Superb' - Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies
'A not-to-be-missed novel' - Sunday Times
'Do not read this creepy tale in an isolated cottage' - The Times
'Powerful, inventive and gripping to the very end' - Ian McGuire, author of The North Water
'A hypnotic tale of twisted folklore that won’t let go' - Scott Preston, author of The Borrowed Hills
'Vibrates with unease' - Anthony Shapland, author of A Room Above a Shop

Critics Review

  • Witty, tender, ultimately terrifying. Evocative and deftly done; The Hill in the Dark Grove is a book of echoes, haunted by the sheer vastness of time and landscape, and how they enact upon us and the stories we tell. A celebration of love’s persistence, a summoning of ancient lore, a superb debut

    Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies

  • Gracefully and lovingly rendered with the heft of folklore, land and history, The Hill in the Dark Grove evokes, in dazzling detail, the tribulations of everyday life and the grandeur of ancestry. Higginson takes us on a soul-stirring quest to unearth the past in order to anchor the present before it flitters away. A truly bewitching experience!

    Gerardo Sámano Córdova, author of Monstrilio

  • Richard Elfyn reads exceptionally well . . . he blends the novel’s deep commitment to its setting - both material reality and the rhythms and changes experienced throughout the calendar year that forms its timeframe - with a lively, intriguing interest in the folklore and fantasy underpinning the characters’ lives

    Financial Times

  • 'Liam Higginson is a new talent in Welsh storytelling; atmospheric, chilling and incredibly touching, The Hill in the Dark Grove holds the reader in its arms, and shows us how our stories, our objects and memories, are shaped and held by the land'

    Joshua Jones, author of Local Fires

See more reviews
  • The Hill in the Dark Grove is a sumptuously written, dark meditation on aging, obsolescence, and the brutalizing march of time and progress, as well as a chilling folk horror novel. There’s something long buried in the mountains of North Wales and within the sheep herders, Carwyn and Rhian, who are economically pushed beyond their limits; Liam Higginson expertly brings it all to the surface

    Paul Tremblay, New York Times bestselling author of Horror Movie and A Head Full of Ghosts

  • A slow-burning reeking creep of a novel about eerie ancient places and dangerous interlopers. I loved it

    Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground

  • The Hill in the Dark Grove adopts familiar Welsh myths and tales - retold to build the scaffolding for Higginson's unnerving saga, his compelling writing vibrates with unease through the intimacy of Carwyn and Rhian

    Anthony Shapland, author of A Room Above a Shop

  • Liam Higginson skilfully creates a troubling and loaded atmosphere in The Hill in the Dark Grove: a sense of a landscape as ancient but nonetheless unsettled. The novel is eerie in a way that is rich and abides in the mind

    Garrett Carr, author of The Boy from the Sea

  • An intensely imagined and beautifully crafted novel about myth, memory, landscape and the extraordinary, unworldly power of the deep past. Powerful, inventive and gripping to the very end

    Ian McGuire, Booker-longlisted author of The North Water

  • A vivid exploration of struggle, obsession, mythmaking, and pastoral dread. With gritty and rhythmic prose, Higginson spins a hypnotic tale of twisted folklore that won’t let go

    Scott Preston, author of The Borrowed Hills

  • Irresistibly steeped in Welsh mystery and myth, this compelling folklore horror merges the nightmares of the living with long-dead terrors of the past

    Essie Fox, author of The Fascination

  • By turns sinister, unexpected and exquisite, this is storytelling at its finest, evoking landscape, legend, and a love story that held me spellbound for the hours it took me to devour it. Utterly brilliant

    Sarah Hilary, author of Black Thorn

  • A short tale steeped in history, anger and spirits. It successfully packs in a great deal. Higginson’s foreshadowing is subtle, his prose well constructed and his specificity exacting . . . [an] impressive debut

    The Times

  • 'This darkly atmospheric novel is infused with centuries of Welsh history, myth and legend . . . It’s a cracking, if creepy, read that left me hungry for more Welsh literature'

    Prospect magazine

User Reviews

Book 4.7

Narration 5.0

  • 5.0 5.0

    Eeery, spooky book but with such a strong story running through it. Adored the myth & folklore throughout and how it builds and begins to merge into the tale so it’s hard to separate from the main story. The narration is fantastic too!

    the real KSP 111 2026-03-03
  • 5.0 5.0

    Wonderful storytelling - you might want to leave the light on when you're listening to this! Folk horror with a bit of body horror thrown in, I loved this. A great sense of place - I live near North Wales, and it really captures the feel of the landscape.
    And as for the narrator - I would happily listen to him reading the phone book!

    ClareR 2026-02-10

Details
Author
Liam Higginson
Narrator
Richard Elfyn
Duration
10 hours 1 minute
Release Date
8 January 2026
ISBN
9781035069460
Format
Audiobook
Publisher
Pan Macmillan
Genre
Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Contemporary horror, ghost stories and supernatural fiction, Myths and Legends / Mythic fiction, Family life fiction / Stories about family, Narrative theme: environmental issues / the natural world, Narrative theme: death, grief, loss, Narrative theme: interior life / psychological fiction, Narrative theme: sense of place, Narrative theme: love / relationships
Rating
4.7(3 reviews)
Narration
5.0(3 reviews)

Synopsis

This audiobook includes exclusive vocal performances of the Mari Llwyd, an old midwinter tradition in Wales.Moving and chilling, The Hill in the Dark Grove is a story about a lost way of life and the terrifying lengths we go to to protect what we know.'Richard Elfyn reads exceptionally well . . . he blends the novel’s deep commitment to its setting - both material reality and the rhythms and changes experienced throughout the calendar year that forms its timeframe - with a lively, intriguing interest in the folklore and fantasy underpinning the characters’ lives' - Financial TimesCarwyn and Rhian – the last in a long line of sheep farmers – are living out a brutal year on their hillside farm, deep in the mountains of North Wales.When Carwyn discovers a buried prehistoric ruin in one of the fields on their land, his curiosity quickly descends into obsession. His wife, Rhian, meanwhile, is confronted with the growing realization that the man with whom she shares her life and home is becoming a frightening stranger.As the harsh winter closes in, Rhian finds herself alone with her increasingly unrecognizable husband, and the mountains, and the looming megalithic stones.'Eerie. Dangerous. I loved it' - Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground'Evocative, tender, terrifying . . . Superb' - Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies'A not-to-be-missed novel' - Sunday Times'Do not read this creepy tale in an isolated cottage' - The Times'Powerful, inventive and gripping to the very end' - Ian McGuire, author of The North Water'A hypnotic tale of twisted folklore that won’t let go' - Scott Preston, author of The Borrowed Hills'Vibrates with unease' - Anthony Shapland, author of A Room Above a Shop

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