I really hate giving negative reviews of books but sadly this one missed the mark for me. The concept is a good one - woman returns to hometown after being away for a while, she stays in a spooky house and the neighbours are odd - but it just didn’t go anywhere. I thought it was because I was listening to the audio version and I’d missed something but I went back and read the physical book to check and the ending is so confused. In the last few chapters each paragraph comes from a different character’s point of view which makes it difficult to follow; short sharp chapters from each of them would’ve been better. And people kept changing location all the time, flitting from one place and conversation to another with little explanation. On top of that it’s the slowest slow burn I think I’ve ever read, I kept waiting for something to happen but apart from hearing footsteps nothing ever really did, and none of the characters are likeable. Nell is awful, Chris is awful, Maude is awful and Carolyn is awful. I felt sympathy for Evie and Kim but they weren’t developed enough for me to actually like them and everything going on was too confusing to properly understand either of them.
I would never normally write a negative review but I’m genuinely so perplexed by this book that I thought I would in the hope that someone else will come along and convince me that it’s actually great. I’m still so unsure about what actually happened, it was all so odd and confusing. I’m not sure whether the house was haunted or whether it was just a mad neighbour? I’ve no idea what went on with the shoe, and what happened with Maude and Carolyn/Nell, or what Evie was doing at the end outside. No clue, even after re-reading. I thought the fact that Nell is pretty much estranged from her family was going to be relevant but it wasn’t, I thought the husband going away was going to be important but it wasn’t? Not sure whether he was cheating, not sure what Maude bullying someone had to do with anything, not sure whether Evie lost her place in school for stealing or being gay? Not sure whether Carolyn had a hand in Nell losing her baby somehow during the dinner or if she made Maude cut her foot? Not sure how Maude hurt her hand or whether that was relevant? Not sure whether there was a ghost and if there was who it was, the doctor or the son or someone else? Not sure how Carolyn kept affecting the lights and how she managed to cause the death of Kim’s dad with the fuse box? Not sure what happened between Nell and Carolyn when they were younger really apart from Nell being a bit mean somehow? Not sure why Evie didn’t know they’d lived in the house before? Not sure what the significance of the drying ground was or whether the old monastery’s location was important. Not sure whether any of it matters? I’m just confused and unsure what it was all for really.
I feel like I must’ve missed something as I’ve seen a fair few positive reviews on the blog tour and usually books like this are exactly my type of thing. But I just spent the whole time reading/listening and re-reading trying to make it all come together into something worthwhile, and it just didn’t work for me. I really wish I’d read it as part of a readalong or book club as I’d have loved a back on forth on this for some potential clarity. If you’ve read it and loved it please give me a shout as I’d love to discuss it with others
- I’m always open to different interpretations!
I would never normally write a negative review but I’m genuinely so perplexed by this book that I thought I would in the hope that someone else will come along and convince me that it’s actually great. I’m still so unsure about what actually happened, it was all so odd and confusing. I’m not sure whether the house was haunted or whether it was just a mad neighbour? I’ve no idea what went on with the shoe, and what happened with Maude and Carolyn/Nell, or what Evie was doing at the end outside. No clue, even after re-reading. I thought the fact that Nell is pretty much estranged from her family was going to be relevant but it wasn’t, I thought the husband going away was going to be important but it wasn’t? Not sure whether he was cheating, not sure what Maude bullying someone had to do with anything, not sure whether Evie lost her place in school for stealing or being gay? Not sure whether Carolyn had a hand in Nell losing her baby somehow during the dinner or if she made Maude cut her foot? Not sure how Maude hurt her hand or whether that was relevant? Not sure whether there was a ghost and if there was who it was, the doctor or the son or someone else? Not sure how Carolyn kept affecting the lights and how she managed to cause the death of Kim’s dad with the fuse box? Not sure what happened between Nell and Carolyn when they were younger really apart from Nell being a bit mean somehow? Not sure why Evie didn’t know they’d lived in the house before? Not sure what the significance of the drying ground was or whether the old monastery’s location was important. Not sure whether any of it matters? I’m just confused and unsure what it was all for really.
I feel like I must’ve missed something as I’ve seen a fair few positive reviews on the blog tour and usually books like this are exactly my type of thing. But I just spent the whole time reading/listening and re-reading trying to make it all come together into something worthwhile, and it just didn’t work for me. I really wish I’d read it as part of a readalong or book club as I’d have loved a back on forth on this for some potential clarity. If you’ve read it and loved it please give me a shout as I’d love to discuss it with others
- I’m always open to different interpretations!