Willow Walk

In British author Holliday’s scary if banal second Banktoun novel (after 2015’s Black Wood), Graeme, a disturbed young man, escapes from the mental institution where he has been confined for decades. Graeme writes letters to Marie, with whom he once had a close relationship. Marie is terrified as well as a bit conflicted, because part of her still loves Graeme despite what he has done to her in the past. Among other things, she pushes away Sgt. Davie Gray, the sympathetic policeman she has been dating in the town of Banktoun. Unfortunately, Graeme is not a particularly interesting psychological case. The only question is how many bodies it will take until he is caught and/or killed. So when yet another letter from Graeme appears, even though it’s both gross and creepy, it’s also just more of the same. Maybe there’s a limit to how high you can ratchet up terror. A subplot about a 16-year-old girl who works in the same café as Marie and her burgeoning sexuality doesn’t add much. (June)