Disappointing.

Although this book promises to be “an unrelentingly gripping mystery packed with twists and turns …. the perfect chilling read” I was neither gripped, nor chilled, by the story. I found the writing style rather too naïve, to the extent that I often found myself wondering whether the book was aimed at a young teenage readership. The twists and turns of the developing story were relatively predictable and the ghostly apparitions didn’t convince or engage me as a reader. In addition to being a story about the supernatural, this was also a story about espionage. However, I found that the latter theme was all too frequently diluted by the former and so I ended up feeling frustrated for much of the story because I didn’t feel engaged with the supernatural aspect and would have liked the espionage element to have been more convincingly developed. I thought that the characters were rather one-dimensional, almost stereotypical caricatures. Although the relationship between Kate and Donovan was, at times, engaging and amusing, and the ending certainly paved the way for further adventures for the duo, I felt that I hadn’t been able to get “under the skin” of either character! On a more positive note, I did feel that the author managed to create a convincingly atmospheric sense of being marooned on an island, totally cut off by a raging storm and fearing for your safety in such a hostile environment …. and I did love the dramatic cover of the book!
I think that some of the themes in the story, ghosts, spiritualism, faulty equipment being issued to frontline soldiers, resulting in even more needless deaths (plus ça change!) could provide good discussion points for reading groups but, as a personal read, this was a disappointment.