My Rating: 4 stars
When I first picked up this book after reading the
summary, I wasn’t sure what to expect going into it, as I saw that it would be
yet another dual timeline narrative, plus not being familiar with this author,
I thought it would follow the typical mystery / suspense / thriller pattern
similar to all the other books in this genre that I had read over the
years. Well, after having finished this book now, I would say that
the experience reading this was nothing like what I expected. For me, what
set this book apart from others in the same genre was the fact that there was
actually a legitimate ghost story woven seamlessly into both the past and
present narrative, as well as a few elements of historical fiction included as
part of one of the back stories – taken together, all of these elements
combined made this a fascinating read. I don’t typically read ghost
stories or books with paranormal / supernatural element to them, but this one
was done in a light-handed enough manner that I found it within the bounds of
what I was able to accept. With that said, the author did such a good job
establishing a mysterious, creepy atmosphere with the backstory of Mary Hand
and her connection to both narratives that there were moments when I was
reading where I actually did feel a little spooked out, though not to the
extent where I had to stop reading or set the book aside.
The narrative in the past (1950s) was told from the
alternating perspectives of Katie, Roberta, Cece, and Sonia – 4 teenagers who
roomed together at Idlewild Hall, which was a boarding school for “wayward”
girls. With each chapter, each of the girl’s stories slowly unfolded and
we would learn their backgrounds, how they ended up at Idlewild, and most of
all, the secrets that each girl wanted to keep hidden – secrets that, when dredged
up, drove overwhelming fear into their hearts. The present narrative, set
in 2014, revolved around journalist Fiona Sheridan, whose beloved sister Deb
was murdered 20 years prior, her body dumped in the fields near the ruins of
Idlewild, which had closed down in 1979. Even though Deb’s murderer was
already in jail, Fiona could not stop the relentless urge she felt to revisit
the case, which she finds the perfect opportunity to do so when she discovers
that the abandoned boarding school was bought and being restored by a rich
benefactor. The two narratives intertwine when a discovery is made during
the renovations that links Deb’s death with long-buried secrets about Idlewild
and the girls who once attended school there.
One of the things that really drew me into this book was
the writing, which was exceptionally good. The way the story was told –
the prose descriptive without going overboard, the writing smooth and seemingly
effortless – it was difficult not to feel fully immersed in the narrative from
the getgo. In fact, once I started reading, I was so engrossed in the
story that I just wanted to keep going.
This is one of those books where the writing pulled me in and set the
tone, the story captivated me enough to hold my attention for an extended
period of time, and the characters were endearing to the point that I enjoyed
spending time with them. The dual
timeline actually worked extremely well with this particular story, though I do
have to say that I enjoyed the 1950s narrative more, as I really liked the 4
girls and the special sisterhood that they shared and also found their
backstories much more interesting than Fiona’s story in the present time. With Fiona’s narrative, I felt that the
author tried to cram way too much “drama” into her story, especially in the
second half of the book – I would’ve preferred for some of the unnecessary
elements to Fiona’s story be taken out and instead, more time be given to the
Idlewild girls’ stories. Also, there were
a few parts of the book that did drag a little and caused the momentum to slow
at times, however in the overall scheme of things, this was a relatively minor
issue.
This was a book that I enjoyed immensely, even with the ghost
story aspect that usually would make me hesitant to read. The story is definitely intriguing and the
overall setup is unique enough where I didn’t feel like I was reading “yet
another thriller.” I would definitely
recommend this one, though with the warning about the ghost story element in
case that may be an issue for anyone deciding whether to read this or not.
Received ARC from
Berkley via Edelweiss
No comments:
Post a Comment