This isn't something I would typically read but I enjoyed it. Alisa inherits her family home in Scotland following her mothers death, which she half owns alongside her missing father. She invites her much younger half-sister to stay with her while she tries to sort it out. There is something not quite right about the house, hinting at the the mystical, which includes a woman in the neighbourhood who seems drawn to the home and has an otherworldly quality about her too.
There is a running theme of the her dad, who disappeared many years previous when she had lived with her parents in the home as a child. His disappearance has entered local folklore so she needs to grapple with this as part of the process. Each chapter starts with a short fantasy chapter about what has happened to her missing father which keeps him present throughout the novel and her hope he is alive very central throughout the story.
I appreciated the depth and complexity of the main characters, they were written with realism and it was enjoyable for the story to unfold. I liked that it was told from the point of view of only Alisa, as you, the reader begin to realise it is entirely from her viewpoint to maybe all is not as she perceives it to be.
Initially I was put off by the mystical element of the storyline but it is never overwritten and as the story unfolded it seemed to be more wrapped up in the main characters psyche and how she was processing the new situation...or is it? This makes the twist at the end a little harder to anticipate.
I liked the setting being Scotland, the beauty of the land transpired well and the chill of Scotland permeated through to the house and into the storyline well. I enjoyed the local accent and dialect it brought.
Overall a interesting and engaging read and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys mysteries with depth.
There is a running theme of the her dad, who disappeared many years previous when she had lived with her parents in the home as a child. His disappearance has entered local folklore so she needs to grapple with this as part of the process. Each chapter starts with a short fantasy chapter about what has happened to her missing father which keeps him present throughout the novel and her hope he is alive very central throughout the story.
I appreciated the depth and complexity of the main characters, they were written with realism and it was enjoyable for the story to unfold. I liked that it was told from the point of view of only Alisa, as you, the reader begin to realise it is entirely from her viewpoint to maybe all is not as she perceives it to be.
Initially I was put off by the mystical element of the storyline but it is never overwritten and as the story unfolded it seemed to be more wrapped up in the main characters psyche and how she was processing the new situation...or is it? This makes the twist at the end a little harder to anticipate.
I liked the setting being Scotland, the beauty of the land transpired well and the chill of Scotland permeated through to the house and into the storyline well. I enjoyed the local accent and dialect it brought.
Overall a interesting and engaging read and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys mysteries with depth.