Subtle horror to sicken you to your very core.
A Helping Hand follows middle-aged Maisie and Josh Evans after they lose their sickly Auntie Flo and meet Lena Kemp and her aging Aunt, Cynthia Fingal, on holiday in sunny Italy. The two pairs build a connection and soon it is revealed Lena is tired of being judged by her needy Aunt and Mrs Fingal by her selfish niece. What better solution to their struggle than for Mrs Fingal to move in with the Evans’, after all Maisie Evans is a retired nurse, used to patiently taking care of the infirm, and Josh is only too happy to make cheerful conversation with Mrs Fingal just as he used to with Auntie Flo. Perhaps, when Mrs Fingal passes on, the couple’s generosity will be gratefully acknowledged in her will. This terrifying tale of exploitation will keep you hooked until the final page and awake in the middle of the night.
The Times found Celia Dale to be “the queen of suburban horror” and I have to agree. The Evans’ plain, unremarkable, 60s house is the perfect setting for anyone’s descent into a lonely sickness. Dale shows an outstanding ability to construct painfully familiar scenes only to manipulate them into the stuff of nightmares. She makes clear the intentions of the Evans’ to neglect and thus slowly murder Mrs Fingal practically before they meet and yet expertly manages to maintain the reader’s engagement throughout this horrifying process.
Dale’s characters are skillfully crafted to neither become inhuman nor seem anything but monstrous. Mrs Fingal and Lena’s experiences of each other are equally represented; to the extent that when Mrs Fingal is given away to the Evans’ we sympathise with Lena’s decision despite her habit of subtly humiliating her aunt whenever they are in public. The Evans’ themselves are full of contradictions within their relationship. There is an upsetting power dynamic between the two where Josh is knowingly controlled by an abusive Maisie and yet yearns to stay her “boy”.
The only release from this disturbing household of manipulation is Graziella, a young waitress whom the Evans’ met in Italy who comes to live with them mid-way through the novel, and her unwavering determination, desperation, to care for Mrs Fingal. However, this is known to be futile and all the reader can do is beg for the ordeal to be over as they unwillingly turn the page. Through her complex character building and realistic settings, Dale makes the reader complicit in the Evans’ distressing routine making for a perfectly gauged twist in the final chapter.
Overall, A Helping Hand is unlike any other read in terms of its chilling dedication to prolonged unease and is sure to reveal a different side of horror for fans of the genre. Dale’s unique interpretation of fear is quiet, tasteful and brilliant.
