Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...
 I've been more scared getting lost in lakeside October 10, 2008
I was very disappointed with this book, it started off really well but just seemed to evaporate into nothing, the story was ok but nothing was really explained and it wasn't scary either! the story wasn't in anyway spine tingling, infact it feel flat on it's face, very disappointing and even more so for the fact that it's a very thin paperback (I read it in a day) and it cost me 6.99 !!! not worth it at all !!!
Great start but then... September 2, 2008
Not as good as the "Woman in Black". It starts (very) well but the plot loses direction at the middle and the becomes downright silly in the end. A good ghost story requires suspension of disbelief. It is an indictement of the plot that the disbelief occurs at the final actions of the protagonists rather than the manifestation of the supernatural.
 A spooky little novella August 9, 2008
I agree with other reviewers that this book was not up to the standard of The Woman in Black but it is still well worth a read.
It is well written and atmospheric; set in the ancient college rooms of Cambridge, Venice on a dark night and a crumbling Victorian mansion.
The characters are well formed for such a brief novella and the art work that the story revolves around is suitably chilling.
And there is a clever twist at the end of the tale.
I admire this genre of appropriately short stories, not padded out with unnecessary detail.
Elegant but not her best June 13, 2008
I am a great admirer of Susan Hill's work, and this short novella is as stylishly written as her other work; sadly, though, it doesn't fully measure up to her great chiller "The Woman in Black", or indeed its splendid companion "The Mist in the Mirror". This new story has many elements in common with the earlier works, but its creepy atmosphere isn't sustained so expertly. To be honest, "Man in the Picture" feels a little re-heated, notwithstanding the author's characteristically excellent writing.
no woman in black June 5, 2008
I have always seen Hill as a fantastic writer her prose are beautifully written, the ambience of her novels is fantastic. One of her fortais is ghost stories. I used woman in black for my GCSEs and it has made me become a real fan of her work. The man in the picture starts off well, and, she uses her wonderful skills in building up a great premise for the story, unfortunatly, the reverance of the woman in black appears to be overlooking this story a great deal and it does have tones of it embedded in this novel. I wont reveal the ending but it is simmilar to the woman in black. Not that its a bad thing as it is a great ghost story, but what could have been a great idea has not fully been taken with this project. I would say give it a go though as it is well written, the characters are well formed and if your a Hill fan you will enjoy it.
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