John Connolly has a cult following for his crime novels and can clearly plot twists and turns. He has applied that talent to his own life by producing a very different book – one that his fans might find perplexing. The Book of Lost Things is a reworking of the best fairy stories known in one form or another around the world. It is an interesting idea, but could easily fail. After all, we read Goldilocks and the Three Bears as children and then move on.

The book is about David, a boy struggling to cope with the death of his mother and the fact that England is at war. He discovers a strange world at the bottom of his garden. It is full the characters he has read about – but much more frightening. You might remember Rumpelstiltskin as an angry dwarf – Connolly turns him into the Crooked Man, a far more evil adversary. The tortures he inflicts are some of the most disturbing images I have read. Do not make the mistake of thinking that this will be comfort reading.

Connolly is capable of humour, too, and I enjoyed his version of Snow Whiteas an ignorant, belching slob, surrounded by Marxist dwarves. He has produced a highly original novel using stories that we all know. But think twice before reading his version of Hansel and Gretel to your kids. My seven-year-old was not happy at all.

Hodder, £6.99, 502pp

Thanks to Hodder, we have six signed copies of The Book of Lost Things to give to the first four book groups to e-mail their details to books@thetimes.co.uk. Buy The Book of Lost Things for £5.59 (free p&p) hardback or paperback or call 0870 1608080

Explore Books

• Book Extracts

• Book Reviews

• Books Group

Times Recommends

• The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway
• Burning is too good for them
• Strange Fruit: Why Both Sides Are Wrong in the Race Debate by Kenan Malik