Thirteen Days by Sunset Beach by Ramsey Campbell

5*

It’s Ray’s and Sandra’s first family holiday in Greece, on the island of Vasilema. The skies are cloudier than anywhere else in Greece, and they’re intrigued by local eccentricities—the lack of mirrors, the outsize beach umbrellas, the saint’s day celebrated with an odd nocturnal ritual. Why are there islanders who seem to follow the family wherever they go? Why do Sandra and the teenage grandchildren have strangely similar dreams? Has Sandra been granted a wish she didn’t know she made? Before their holiday is over, some of the family may learn too much about the secret that keeps the island alive.

I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to those who like a more subtle approach to horror.
The setting itself is eerie and atmospheric, but gloriously Greek, I could really picture the scene.
The pace of the plot was quite slow to start with but  once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down, I had an inkling of what the islanders were hinting at and the creeping horror was subtle and threatening.
I liked the character of Ray, really felt for him throughout it all, I liked little William too and his innocent understanding of what was actually going on.
I hated Julian, he was so picky with all the children and life itself even, but for me, it only added to the stories authenticity.
I’d love to read more about the characters and what happened after Sunset Beach and if I could’ve changed anything about the actual novel, I would’ve added more detail about the events which were ongoing in Vasilema but this is one of the best subtle horrors I’ve read for some time.