Day: December 3, 2020

This is going to be a tough review to write. Not because the book was bad (those are easy reviews, actually), but because in some ways I feel like it was a couple of different books rolled into one.

Let me try to explain.

First, it was very gothic. The crumbling mansion with odd creaks and locked rooms was very atmospheric. Add in the talk of a possible werewolf dog, the suspicion of a character having many lives, and a frankly creepy dummy/child ventriloquist, and you have the makings of a gothic horror novel.

And those parts worked. I enjoyed Isobel’s fears and Julie’s use of the dummy as her “voice.” In some ways, the girls were the most likeable characters.

But there’s another side to the book, and that’s family drama. Sophy has taken the job at Hyland House because her marriage imploded due to her husband’s addiction (not going to tell you what kind).

In taking care of the “The Recluse,” however, things start to get personal, which makes everything weird. Secrets are revealed – some of which are unexpected to the characters.

There’s also a (sort of) romantic triangle for Sophy between Victor and her husband. That wasn’t a major point to me though; it almost seemed more aimed at moving other points along rather than a line of its own.

All of it is put together into an epic story that sometimes drags but ultimately did keep me engaged up to the end. I did guess one of the major secrets, but as I have mentioned before, I often try to think of the most “out there” theory and see if I match the author.

I wasn’t sure what to expect going into the book, but what I got (in spite of the different genres it seems to fit) was an interesting read with good characters (some better than others), and a twisty plot that took me out of real-life for a while.

And that’s almost always a good thing in a book.   

Author Bio:

Laura Elliot is an Irish novelist who writes psychological thrillers and lives in Dublin, Ireland. Her novels are: The Thorn Girl, The Wife Before Me, Guilty, Sleep Sister, The Betrayal, Fragile Lies, Stolen Child and The Prodigal Sister. Her latest novel,
The Tinderbox is due for release in December 2020. AKA June Considine, she had written twelve books for children and young adults. She has worked as a journalist and magazine editor.