March 2018 Book of the Month
Take an old house on the edge of a remote Scottish island, place an American artist running away from her marriage in it. She finds an old journal from 1869 written by Ailsa whose husband dabbled in the occult and used her as an ‘instrument’ in his experiments. He was drowned at sea and she gave birth to a child thirteen months after she last saw him. Scandal, rumour and gossip abound when both mother and child die in mysterious circumstances. So now our present day tale unfolds and what a tale it is. This is Dennis Wheatley/Wicker Man/Stephen King territory, wonderful stuff, not for the feint-hearted. Our American woman blames jet lag, then alcohol, then hormones for her strange, erotic ‘dreams’. Slowly we are drawn into an ancient mystery, locals resenting infiltrators, or real horror … we know not and we turn the pages compulsively to discover all we can. Highly recommended. Lovers of historical fiction will know the author as S J Parris, a creator of Bruno the sixteenth century spy, this is her first book under this name.
| Primary Genre | Thriller and Suspense |
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I love a story set on an island, add in a woman on her own, a big creepy old house far away from any neighbours with no easy way to get help and this has all the ingredients for the perfect ghost story. This was so good! I recommend this to anyone who liked The Woman In Black
This is a deeply unsettling story about a woman called Zoe. Zoe is an artist who has decided to come to the island to get away from everything, she is renting the McBride house and is intending to do some painting while she is there, but the lonely McBride house has deep rooted horrors still lingering there.
I love a story set on an island, add in a woman on her own, a big creepy old house far away from any neighbours with no easy way to get help and this has all the ingredients for the perfect ghost story. This was so good!
Zoe is a great character, not easily spooked and with far more gumption then most. I liked the information we get on her past and how it makes you question present day events.... Read Full Review
I used to think I didn’t believe in supernatural phenomena. After reading this, I’m not so sure!
This book kept me awake through the night - even when I wasn’t reading it! It’s a truly terrifying thriller, and any reader who states that they don’t believe in ghosts before reading it will find themselves questioning that stance. Even at the end, the line between natural and supernatural - or unnatural, perhaps?! - remains blurred.... Read Full Review
This is one unputdownable thriller. Totally captivated from start to end. Brilliant writing.
Zoe has left her husband and son behind in the US to spend a month in McBride house on a remote Scottish island. The reason for her need of time alone is revealed in parallel to learning of the history of her temporary home and those locals living under the strain of McBride’s past.
Mick is owner of McBride and has invested much time and expense doing up the home his family has owned for centuries in the hope he could banish the demons that it has become to be associated with local folklore. This much to the anger of those he lives amongst believing he has disturbed the spirits which had laid dormant as the house itself fell into ruin.
But it is not lonely folklore that has created the distrust, bodies have gone missing – a 7 year old boy... Read Full Review
