The Secret Season by Tim Jeffreys (2006)

The latest audio book by Tim Jeffreys is another fine home-brewed collection of macabre short stories – compiled together with almost concept album-like care. At first glance this might seem like more of the same; however – this time – there is an almost summery feel to the proceedings, as Tim Jeffreys drops the more melancholy tales that have been increasingly present on his last few releases, for stories with a quirkier and more lively attitude. As usual Tim Jeffreys’ tales are told by Mia Jaye and Josh Cass, who as usual are both in fine form. In sheer quality ‘The Secret Season’ marks a quantum leap in terms of writing and production standards.

• The Secret Season’s opener: ‘Bones in the Meadow,’ is so good that it pretty much makes this collection worth it’s price by its presence alone. Tim Jeffreys’ is certainly playing to his strengths with this one: it is a distinctively English ghost story, full of heady summertime delight, childish teasing and adolescent sexual awakening, all overshadowed by an ancient evil and an almost Freudian fear of the female - slightly reminiscent of Arthur Machen’s seelie stories and Graham Joyce’s horror parables. The main difference between Tim Jeffreys past fairy tale horror and this, is the sheer quality of the prose and his understated delivery of the story’s ‘money shot.’ Mia Jaye casts her usual vocal spell over the events: adding a bitter-sweet after-taste to an already quite sinister tale.

• ‘The Caged Sea’ is perhaps the least successful story here, being more of an enjoyable unhinged rant than anything else. Like many rants against society, there is a lot that strikes a chord with me here, yet the problem with other people’s rants is that they can soon grow tiring for the listener, and ‘The Caged Sea’ certainly goes on far too long for my liking. More importantly its angry presence is entirely out of place with the rest of this collection. However Josh Cass, the narrator, obviously enjoyed the opportunity to let rip, which he does with some gusto, and although out of place ‘The Caged Sea’ will certainly entertain your ears – for a while at least.

The other tales are an eclectic mix of summertime strangeness:

• ‘The Monkey and the Munequita’ is a bizarre and highly enjoyable little tale – perfect for a dreamland siesta escape from the harsh realities of our cold-grey world – all told with flamboyant charm by Mia Jaye – this story is guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

• ‘Two Cards on the Table’ is the most complex and ambiguous offering on The Secret Season: a quirky Neil Gaiman-esque story about a sleepless night and some symbolic dream-like almost mythological musings about destiny or chance or the decisions we make or… life, I guess? Well, you get the idea. Here Tim Jeffreys shows a timeless sophistication and subtlety, allowing the reader to draw his own conclusions. Josh Cass abilities to narrate and deliver dialogue has come on a long way since Black Flowers (Tim Jeffreys’ previous audio book) and he is quite excellent throughout this collection, although it is just about noticeable that his voice has been pitched up a notch or two for main squeaky female character in ‘Two Cards on the Table,’ yet – never fear – it does not get too far into The Chipmunks territory.

• ‘After Closing’ is a somewhat stilted ghost story, lacking any real sense of dread or otherness, and feeling -sadly – quite mundane. Even the normally superb Mia Jaye seems less than enthused about this story and her usual gift for accents seeming a little less than convincing to my ears. Still, ‘After Closing’ is a passable if unremarkable ghost story.

• The collection’s title track: ‘The Secret Season’ is a poetic, fragmentary and demented celebration of summer, death and sex, all told with ye oldie theatrical vigour by an over the top Josh Cass. A suitable and brief finale to a generally fine collection of short stories.

The production of ‘The Secret Season’ is simply outstanding, with little to separate it from more so-called professional productions. If I was being picky perhaps the relative volumes between stories could have been further normalized; however – as I have said – that is being highly picky.

The Secret Season comes entirely recommended to any fans of spooky tales, literary short stories or for anybody fancying something a little different. If you are tempted by any of Tim Jeffreys audio books then it is certainly the one to get. Quite excellent.

If you are interested in finding out more about Tim Jeffreys and his audio books then check out his website or you can listen before you buy on his new MySpace writer’s profile. The Secret Season (for £3.99) and other audio books are available via his Ebay shop. Also further reviews of his earlier work can be read here in the audio book section of this very blog or via the A-Z page.