The Rune House — L.J. Hutton

In 1574 a strange house is built on the Welsh borders, its shape an ancient rune, one of whose ambiguous meanings is an invitation to play - but an invitation to who or what? Right from the start the local villagers are suspicious of the strange doctor who has appeared in their midst. Yet no-one, least of all the local squire and father of the doctor's new bride, have the power to gainsay the orders for the perculiar design. And with the house complete, a succession of abnormal events overtake the neighbourhood, even after the doctor's death. But who has taken their revenge upon him and how long will the peace last? For the families who come to live in the house over the centuries, the house exerts a preternatural hold on them, drawing to it those who are weak and of evil intent. However, at certain times the balance between good and evil is seemingly righted, but by whom? And why can these fey people not prevent events, only react to them? For how much longer can they continue their resistance? The bizarre happenings seem, to each following generation who live there, mere fantasies in the minds of old folk until they in turn face their own crises, and are forced to acknowledge their need for help from the most unlikely and unexpected of quarters. In the present day, Robbie thinks that the only thing he has to worry about is the unwanted new detective joining him on the cold case unit. He couldn't be more wrong. When a case of a missing child from Ric Drake's past leads them out to Weord Manor School, they find themselves being drawn ever deeper into the mystery of the old house and its link to some very modern day crimes. As they struggle to make sense of a growing list of disappearances and murders, Robbie and Drake find themselves forced to look at their own lives too, and the decisions they come to make are ones they could never have dreamed of before they encountered the rune house.