Diane Setterfield

Killing a bird with his slingshot as a boy, William Bellman grows up a wealthy family man unaware of how his act of childhood cruelty will have terrible consequences until a wrenching tragedy compels him to enter into a macabre bargain with a stranger in black. By the best-selling author of The Thirteenth Tale.

A Novel

Bellman & Black

Killing a bird with his slingshot as a boy, William Bellman grows up a wealthy family man unaware of how his act of childhood cruelty will have terrible consequences until a wrenching tragedy compels him to enter into a macabre bargain with a stranger in black. Desperate to save the one precious thing he has left, he enters into a bargain. A rather strange bargain, with an even stranger partner, to found a decidedly macabre business. And Bellman & Black is born.

Bellman and Black

Charles Siboto

Diane Setterfield's beautiful writing's pretty much the only thing that could possibly haunt you in this story. If you're looking for a ghost story, this is not the place to do so. This is a ghost story in a sense that might have you re-evaluate your life but it's forgettable. There is some magic to it in the form of the ubiquitous rooks but even that's not enough to up its appeal by much.

Renee K Hopper

Poe-esque but not as riveting. It's not a ghost story, but more of a psychological haunting.

Katrina White

I'm only giving this 2 stars because the first half read like a fairy tale. I thought there was going to be a supernatural mystery. The synopsis really fooled me and the cover is gorgeous. But no.The book ended in a very ordinary, boring, and anticlimactic way.

Destini Baylis Adams

When I read the first five chapters of Bellman & Black, I was blown away by Setterfield's hauntingly lyrical yet apparent writing style. I do not typically like lyrical writing because it is often annoyingly flowery and used to add details to a weak tensionless plot! Unfortunately, any excitement I got from this book ended after chapter five. 
 Bellman & Black starts with young William Bellman who kills a shiny black rook with a catapult - now does this lead him down an unlucky life?- NO. Actually, Bellman becomes an unstoppable businessman (albeit workaholics), marries a beautiful woman, and has kids-however, people around him are dropping like 'flies'. It begins with his mother all the way until his wife dies- to save his last (favorite) child Dora, he makes a deal with a man "Black" -who for some reason just pops up at all the funerals. 
 My biggest problems with these 'dropping like flies' characters are that I do not care about them and kind of forget about them after they kick the bucket. This novel did not provide long for me to get to know any of them and because of Bellman's workaholicness and his semi-sociopathic tendencies, I never feel as if he lost anyone. This book is supposed to be a haunting ghost story- but there is no suspense or worry for Bellman's sanity or well being.
Also, Bellman becomes almost like a Mary Sue - the worst that happens is all the deaths that he is incapable of grieving- but the fact that he is rich, handsome, good at charming people despite being office-bound every hour and women still want him makes him less sympathetic to me. Oh, let's not forget that we are beat over the head with how hard Bellman works followed by long needless descriptions about the industry- the equivalent of a movie montage that won't end! Also-why did we never get an explanation for 'Black'- he pops in every now and then- specifically funerals-and when Bellman dies.

Dennis Jacob Rosenfeld

Aubrey Hicks

Catherine

Katie Ravenwood

As a boy, William Bellman commits one small cruel act that appears to have unforeseen and terrible consequences. The killing of a rook with his catapult is soon forgotten amidst the riot of boyhood games. And by the time he is grown, with a wife and children of his own, he seems indeed, to be a man blessed by fortune. Until tragedy strikes, and the stranger in black comes, and William Bellman starts to wonder if all his happiness is about to be eclipsed. Desperate to save the one precious thing he has left, he enters into a bargain. A rather strange bargain, with an even stranger partner, to found a decidedly macabre business. And Bellman & Black is born.

Sara Holman

Kathy Rodger 

Jade DeArmond

Killing a bird with his slingshot as a boy, William Bellman grows up a wealthy family man unaware of how his act of childhood cruelty will have terrible consequences until a wrenching tragedy compels him to enter into a macabre bargain with a stranger in black. Reprint.

Carina Marshall

Christian Huss

Leah

Vera Sokolyanskaya

Rachel Peterson

Lea de Sousa

#1 New York Times bestselling author “An astonishing work of genius.” —Bookreporter “Magically transformative.” —Bookpage Can one moment in time haunt you forever? From the instant #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Thirteenth Tale comes a “poetic and mysterious” (Booklist) story that will haunt you to your very core. Caught up in a moment of boyhood competition, William Bellman recklessly aims his slingshot at a rook resting on a branch, killing the bird instantly. It is a small but cruel act, and is soon forgotten. By the time he is grown, with a wife and children of his own, William seems to have put the whole incident behind him. It was as if he never killed the thing at all. But rooks don’t forget… Years later, when a stranger mysteriously enters William’s life, his fortunes begin to turn—and the terrible and unforeseen consequences of his past indiscretion take root. In a desperate bid to save the only precious thing he has left, he enters into a rather strange bargain, with an even stranger partner. Together, they found a decidedly macabre business. And Bellman & Black is born.

Bellman & Black A Novel

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