I picked up Family Business by Jonathan Sims over the weekend. Full disclosure here; I am a The Magnus Archives fan-girl, so I might be a tad biased! Funny thing is though, I didn’t connect Jonathan Sims the author with Jonathan Sims the writer and voice of The Archivist when I picked the book up. Never let it be said that I am anything but oblivious.
Synopsis
Family Business by Jonathan Sims follows Diya Burman, who life spirals out of control after the death of her best friend Angie. Looking for a fresh start she joins Slough & Sons, a company that specialises in cleaning up after the recently deceased. It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it.
When Diya starts seeing things whilst cleaning away the remnants and personal belongings of those lost souls, she isn’t sure if grief is playing tricks on her mind. Or is there something seriously wrong going on behind the scenes in the Slough family, who have suffered a loss of their own? And who is the unsettling figure she keeps seeing?
Review
Family Business is a slow burn horror that drags you in. Before you know it you are wondering how it’s suddenly 2am when you only meant to read one chapter before bed. There’s a sense of creeping dread; you aren’t quite sure at first if everything is in Diyas head as she struggles with the loss of the one person in the world she felt truly connected to or if what she keeps seeing is ‘real’.
There is only a small cast of characters, but for me that helped me feel connected to them. Diya is a well written, entirely believable character that I really felt for. Frank Slough is believably gruff and a man of few words as her boss and reminds me of contractors I’ve worked with in the past. His daughters, Mary and Xen are both interesting in totally different ways, and I have to say I would love to have someone like Xen as a friend!
Family Business is really well written, and perfectly binge-worthy. The characters are diverse and well written, and I actually cared about them. I’d recommend it.
And before you go…
The Magnus Archives wrapped up in 2021 (I am a latecomer who is only on Season 3). However Jonathan Sims and Alexander J Newall have a Kickstarter to fund The Magnus Protocol, the next installment in The Magnus Archives universe. I’ve backed it myself, and would strongly encourage anyone who enjoys horror podcasts to do the same.
Now please excuse me whilst I go buy Jonathan’s other book, Thirteen Storeys.