The Reaping by Bernard Taylor

When Tom Rigby is commissioned to paint a young woman’s portrait at Woolvercombe House, the offer is too lucrative to refuse. But from the moment of his arrival at the secluded country mansion, strange and inexplicable events begin to transpire. Soon he is drawn into an impenetrable maze of horror, and by the time he discovers the role he is intended to play in a diabolical design, it will already be too late. For the seeds of evil have been sown, and the time to reap their wicked harvest is nigh!

The classic third novel by ’70s and ’80s horror master Bernard Taylor, The Reaping (1980) returns to print at last in this edition featuring a new introduction by Will Errickson and the original cover painting by Oliver Frey.

Tom Rigby, widowed father, and struggling artist, dreams of selling his work and settling down with his mostly missing girlfriend, who is always galivanting off to exotic locals for her work. 

When he is offered a large sum of money to stay at a mansion and paint a portrait it seems that his talent is finally getting the recognition he has hoped for. The people at the mansion are strange and so is the group of nuns who are staying at the property.

I loved Sweetheart, Sweetheart by Bernard Taylor and after giving it 5 stars I rushed to buy several more of his books including The Reaping. I've been wanting to read it for years but am always behind in ARCs. So it was with great anticipation that I finally sat down to read this over Mother's Day weekend when I felt that my time belonged to me, to do as I please. If I were to describe it in one word it would be boring. It is 220 pages and gets interesting around page 200 in time for the ending, which was not all that original. I'm disappointed and wish I had my weekend back. This book has loads of good reviews, so you may enjoy it more than I did, but personally, it is not a book I would recommend. Someday I will read his other books since I have already purchased them and I will hope that this is the only clunker in the bunch.

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