The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

The Couple Next Door
by Shari Lapena
Hardcover, 320 pages
23 August 2016, Pamela Dorman Books
4.5 stars

"Everyone is faking it, all of them pretending to be something they're not. The whole world is built on lies and deceit."

When their babysitter cancels, Anne and Marco decide to go ahead next door to a dinner party with the neighbors anyway. After all, they share a wall, they'll have the baby monitor with them, and they'll take turns checking every half hour. When they return their baby Cora is gone without a trace.

From that point the book takes off like a freight train and never applies the breaks. This was a book I read over the course of one two-hour sitting and I couldn't have put it down if I wanted to (and I did...I finished around 1:30am!). Around the half-way point you start to get a handle on what's going on but the pace doesn't slow down at all. This is a novel that maintains the suspense all the way to the last line.

The book is a touch melodramatic but I didn't find that to detract from the story in the least.(I watch a lot of Law & Order: SVU so maybe that's why?) The narration happens in an emotionally distant present tense making for some unsettling storytelling. Everyone around Cora seemed to have both a motive for the crime while simultaneously seeming innocent. Even though you know what everyone is thinking you can't tell who is telling the truth at any point. It all combines to create a pulse-pounding read.

Though it had some flaws this was a great debut and I can't wait to see what Ms. Lapena will come up with next.

(Thank you to NetGalley and Pamela Dorman Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Gone with the Wind
by Margaret Mitchell
Hardcover, 1037 pages
1 September 1936, Scribner
5 stars

This book has become a classic - but the twist that I love is that Scarlett is something of an anti-hero, and the book is set in the American South before, during and after the Civil War, so there are strikes against it being such an amazing, moving book, but it won the 1937 Pulizer Prize, inspired a movie that utterly swept the Academy Awards in the same year that The Wizard of Oz was released.  

Cheers,
- Karli

Try Not to Breathe by Holly Seddon

Try Not to Breathe
by Holly Seddon
Hardcover, 368 pages
23 February 2016, Ballantine Books
3.5 stars

"Some secrets never die. They're just locked away."

In this debut novel Alex Dale is a young journalist trying to hold her life together. Consumed by her alcoholism she has destroyed her family and career and is drifting from day to day in a haze, freelancing here and there, trying to remain functional and barely holding on. While writing an article about a doctor who is using brain scans to detect consciousness in coma patients she comes across a young woman who was brutally attacked as a teen decades ago and has shown signs of being somewhat aware of her surroundings. Alex remembers this girl, Amy Stevenson, and the case, being the same age as Amy when the attack occurred, and feels a connection to her. She decides to look deeper into Amy's case to tell her story and, at the same time, face down the addiction that threatens to end her life. 

Despite being told from multiple points of view and moving around in time from 1995 (the date of Amy's attack) through to the present day, this book wasn't in the least bit hard to follow. I generally enjoy books that are able to successfully show the motivations of multiple characters and Seddon pulled it off here quite nicely. The glimpses into the neurological ward and patients seemed well-researched despite Seddon's admission that she took some creative liberties with Amy's condition and treatment. 

I thought I had guessed Amy's attacker and, while close, didn't quite hit the mark. I always find that a nice surprise, though in this case I was a bit put-off when the attacker was revealed. The actual perpetrator and the motivation behind the attack wasn't really touched on until almost the end, creating a frustrating inability for the reader to follow along with the mystery. As a result, the book would have to be classified more as a "suspense/thriller" than a mystery. The character development was so good, however, that I would have been okay with whatever ending Seddon settled upon.  The plot was paced well, descriptive, and while the motivations were a bit unclear for the behavior of some characters, it was overall so believable that I was fully immersed in this story. I can't wait to see what Seddon does next.
What to Drink: Red wine - Alex's favorite.

(Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)

Sirius by Jonathan Crown

Sirius
by Jonathan Crown
Hardcover, 247 pages
16 August 2015, Head of Zeus
4 stars

This book is a must for dog-lovers.  I have a few people who will receive this book as a gift, as I know they will be unable to resist Levi/Sirius/Hercules/Hansi....in all his roles, he is certainly the star that his second name implied.  It is as light-hearted a romp as possible when the subject is a Jewish family in the toxic Germany of the Hitler era.  But, as any true dog lover will tell you, the joy that a dog can bring his or her people is impossible to measure.

The novel is set from the early days of Hitler through the end of WWII and the setting goes primarily between Berlin and Hollywood.  Those interested in the Hollywood of the 30's and 40's will appreciate the stars that people Sirius's life in Hollywood, and those interested in WWII Germany will likewise find the German villains who Sirius encounters fascinating and more human than the history books can portray.  This perspective of those years through the eyes of an amazing dog who was privy to glamour, riches, poverty and war is one that the reader will remember.  

Cheers,
Karli

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

 Sharp Objects
by Gillian Flynn
Hardcover, 254 pages
26 September 2006, Shaye Areheart Books
5 stars

Gillian FLynn is the undisputed master of dark and twisty - and I think I liked this one even better than I did Gone Girl.

Camille is a cutter.  She’s spent some time in some psych wards to deal with her self mutilation, and is now working at a paper in Chicago as an entry-level journalist.  Her boss assigns her a case that sends her home to Wind Gap, Missouri to investigate and report on the murder of one young girl, and now the disappearance of another.

Camille doesn’t want to go - because clearly if you have a history of self-abuse and an ugly childhood, who wants to re-visit that?  But of course, news is news, and having a reporter with such an unquestionable in is too much for a paper to resist, so Camille has little choice in the matter.  She returns to her home town and gets re-acquainted with her younger half-sister Amma, who is 13 (town mean girl, mama’s baby) and her mother Adora, who holds the cash and the keys to much of the town’s inner workings.

Camille helps unwind the mysteries of the current case, and is also forced to learn the truth of her own past in order to move forward and write her story.

This is a fascinating, dark and twisty book, and is perfect for fans of Law & Order SVU - after all, isn’t that where most of us get all our vocabulary for the worst criminals?

Cheers,
- Karli

Jennifer McMahon-a-Thon

The Winter People
by Jennifer McMahon
Hardcover, 317 pages
11 February 2014, Doubleday
4 stars

I love supernatural mysteries - and this book by Jennifer McMahon was the fantastic kind that makes you wonder the whole time if there is a supernatural answer, or just an evil human behind the horror.

Ruthie is 19, feels trapped in her tiny rural home outside a small town in Vermont.  Her dad has died fairly recently, and her mother Alice doesn’t want her leaving for college yet, claiming she needs help with Ruthie’s little sister Fawn, and that they just can’t afford it - both totally plausible answers, but Ruthie is resentful and wants to leave - but then she comes home too late one night and finds her mother is missing, and while looking for clues to her mothers disappearance she finds out that their old farmhouse has a dark history.  She then becomes immersed in learning what happened to her mother - and could it have anything to do with the horrible things that have happened in this house in the past.

The pacing on this book was perfect, keeping me turning pages as fast as I could to learn the answers as Ruthie did.  The book bounces between the past where the dark history begins, and into present day, where that history still resonates.  This is one of those books that you’ll want to devour in one sitting - it’s too good to stop.

AND - as it was too good to stop, I continued on to...

Dismantled

by Jennifer McMahon

Hardcover, 432 pages

16 June 2009

4 stars

In this supernatural or not story we are set in the summer rather than the winter.

The backstory is set only 10 years ago, while four friends at an art college create an art movement they name Dismantlement, where true art is found in the destruction of the thing.  Henry, Tess, Winnie and Suz do a little damage and then drop off the grid to art and destroy from a remote lake cabin.  At the end of the summer Tess is pregnant, Suz is dead and Winnie leaves while Henry and Tess marry.

Ten years later Tess and Henry have a marriage on the rocks, and an imaginative daughter named Emma who wants her parents to get back together, so she and her friend create a plan to get their old friends together so that Tess and Henry will remember what brought them together in the first place.

McMahon again weaves together a story where there are plausible explanations for the weird happenings, but said happenings are awfully creepy and also really point to ghosts and demons.  The twists and turns in this one keep you turning pages, guessing and ultimately surprised me in the end.  

Then, on to...

The Night Sister

by Jennifer McMahon

Hardcover, 322 pages

4 August 2015, Doubleday

3 stars

This tale bounces between three periods in time, two families and two sets of sisters.  In the 1950’s Sylvie and Rose live in a hotel in London, Vermont with their parents.  Their father has built his own Tower of London for his British bride Charlotte, and the two sisters have a rather idyllic life, performing a circus for guests, playing together and meeting the people who stay at their family’s hotel.  Sylvie wants to be a Hollywood star and writes letters to Alfred Hitchcock, telling him as the years go by of an amazing story that he would be very interested in.  She disappears after her 18th birthday, and everyone believes she’s gone to Hollywood to follow her dreams, but no one hears from her again…

In 1989 Rose’s daughter Amy being raised by her Grandma Charlotte and is friends with another set of sisters, Margot and Piper.  While playing in the now decrepit tower, they discover a suitcase that they believe to be Sylvie’s and open their own investigation into her disappearance, discovering way more than they anticipated.

In present day, Margot is 8 months into a high risk pregnancy, and her policeman husband Jason has to investigate the grisly murder of Amy and her family…and the only clue is a picture that Amy wrote “29th Room” upon.

This story bounces between  the times and characters very well, holding its mystery close and revealing the truth in a measured fashion.  Another great story by McMahon, who created quite a reading monster in me.  

Cheers,
- Karli

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

Fates and Furies
by Lauren Groff
Hardcover, 390 pages
15 September 2015, Riverhead Books
3 stars

This book was one of the hottest in 2015, and it is certainly a well-written book.  I can understand the buzz based on the fact that it was well-written, and fairly original.  However, I found this one something of a slog, and kept waiting for it to grab me and have that a-ha moment.  For me, that never happened.

Lotto and Mathilde are a young newlywed couple who have just graduated from college, he comes from a wealthy family and has been the biggest fish in his small college town, acting as the lead in all the school plays.  They are off to NYC to find their futures.  But…Lotto’s mom is not happy that her precious boy got married and cuts him off financially.  So, they have to find their way without the money that he’s always had access to.  Added to this, is the fact that he’s not that great an actor, and spends years trying to find the place his genius lies (because for some reason he’s just a genius and can’t possible get a job that’s beneath him to help pay bills and wallows instead).

Eventually Lotto becomes an amazing playwright, the couple continues their lives in wealth and art…and Groff writes the story in two parts, from Lotto’s perspective and then from Mathilde’s.  I found the first half tighter, easier to follow and the second half, from Mathilde’s perspective much looser, more difficult to follow but far more interesting.  The book really has no likable characters.  I found myself not really caring about any of them, which makes it much harder for me to get through a story with any excitement, which even with fantastic writing, makes it fall a little flat for me.  

Cheers,
- Karli

Listen to Me by Hannah Pittard

Listen To Me
by Hannah Pittard
Hardcover, 191 pages
5 July 2016, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4 stars

Mark and Maggie are driving across the country with their dog Gerome.  This is a trip they've made many times, but in the past year so much has changed, and both Mark and Maggie are wondering if they are going to survive the transition.

The suspenseful pacing of the novel, the creepy foreshadowing, and the always looming storm (actual and metaphorical) kept me turning pages, wondering what would come next.  The twisty ending was a shocker for me, and I finished the book, but know the story will continue in my head for a while to come.  

Cheers,
Karli

Poison, Planners, and the PTA by Laurie Tom

Planners, Poison, and the PTA
by Laurie Tom
ebook
July 13, 2016, Smashwords
3 stars

Sydney Yoshida is a mom of two who spends her days organizing her family – planning carpool, dinner, and work as vice president of the PTA around her husband's work schedule and her daughter's soccer, cheer, and basketball schedules, all while trying to squeeze in a bit of time for herself.  Her gated community is usually quiet so when sirens break the silence one morning she finds herself out on the street with the rest of her neighbors, horrified when news of the death of fellow cheer mom and PTA president Trisha becomes apparent. In between helping the widower plan the funeral and helping take care of  Trisha's children, Sydney also struggles with the police investigation that has targeted her neighbor and best friend Beth. Sydney is forced to take a closer look at people she considered friends to get to the bottom of Trisha's death while trying not to get herself killed in the meantime.

I had a blast with this book. I'm a sucker for a fun cozy mystery and this was right up my alley. I’m addicted to my planner (I'd be lost without it) and hoard office supplies like it's the end of the world, so the little mentions of pens, washi tape, and stickers made me laugh. Also, being a mom myself I could relate with the frustrations of the main character – trying to balance a home life with volunteer commitments, connecting to other moms through their children's school and extracurricular activities, and even maintaining a healthy relationship with her husband while being pulled in a dozen different directions.

This book had the typical bumps that come with first-in-a-series books and especially from a first-time novelist. Some of the character and place descriptions felt forced rather than being introduced more organically, and the book could have benefited from a more "show, not tell" approach. There were also references to name brands that were a humorous nod toward the "planner girl" community that might be lost on readers who aren't familiar with it. After about half-way through the book, however, the bumps had passed and the story itself was engrossing and the ending was entirely believable. Like any good mystery it was full of red herrings and had me guessing the murderer's identity and then changing my guess as I realized I was wrong.

This was a fun book that I would recommend to any cozy mystery lover, especially if you love crafting or depend on a series of lists to keep your life together. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.  

What to Drink: Coffee, iced if possible, caffeinated required. When you're running multiple lives AND a carpool you can't let up on the coffee. Ever. 

Backlist Bump: Since this is the first in a series there's no backlist, per se, but if you like cozies, the Goldy Bear series is full of tasty catering recipes and the Blackbird Sisters are a riot.

Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner

Missing, Presumed
by Susie Steiner
Hardcover, 400 pages
June 28, 2016, Random House
4 stars

I'm always excited at the prospect of a character-driven police procedural (especially if it's British) and Missing, Presumed did not disappoint. The plot centers around a young woman who has gone missing after a night of carousing at her local university pub. Not an out-of-the-ordinary case, except that the missing woman is Edith Hind, only daughter of Sir Ian Hind, physician to the royal family. There were signs of a struggle at her home – broken glasses, blood, and tipped over furniture – but no ransom demands and no contact from Edith herself.  The story itself plays fairly close to the traditional missing person mystery with lots of suspects, false leads, and juicy family secrets, but what really made it stand out were the wonderful characters.

The book is told from multiple perspectives, allowing the reader to get to know each character intimately. You hear all of their thoughts about the case, their boss, their significant others (including some particularly painful blind dates), and each other.  Manon, the main character, is portrayed as both a tough and capable detective. At the same time, however, we get to see peeks at her private life, like her disastrous attempts at online dating. Davy, her partner, is an eternally optimistic man who worries about the plight of at-risk youth in the system and hides the miserable relationship he's in with his long-time girlfriend.  Even more minor characters are fully fleshed out and you get a good sense of what the squad room is like.

Despite being a rather traditional mystery, this book touched on some social issues like at-risk youth and how they're shuttled through the system, the self-absorption and "cause hopping" of the idle rich, and the reasons some people turn to crime as a way of life. One thing I found particularly interesting was the reflection on how high profile cases are handled differently and whether that has an effect on the outcome of the case.  

I enjoyed this book tremendously and I'm hopeful that this is the first book in a coming series.  

What to Drink: Gin, neat, preferably Hendricks. You can add tonic but if the Queen can drink it straight, you probably should as well. 

Backlist Bump: Anything by Tana French. Start with Into The Woods. You don't be disappointed.  

Fast Friday Review: When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

When Breath Becomes Air
by Paul Kalanithi
Hardcover, 230 pages
January 12, 2016, Random House
4 stars

"...even if I'm dying, until I die, I'm still living." 

Paul Kalanithi was 36, nearing his graduation as a neurosurgeon from Stanford University, when he was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. In this memoir, Kalanithi chronicles his journey from a student "obsessed" with understanding what gives life meaning, to a talented neurosurgeon and neuroscientist at Stanford, researching and performing surgery, and finally to a patient himself, coming to terms with the end of his career and his life. There's a bit of a feeling that Kalanithi was writing this as it came to him, as it jumps around a bit, but it's never confusing. Rather, you feel as though you're being told the story of his life as he sits and tells it to you. The book is, obviously, tremendously sad. This book broke me, turning me into a sobbing mess over and over again. It's not self-pitying, however. The sadness comes from the feeling that Kalanthi was an empathetic and talented doctor, destined to do great things that he will never now get a chance to do. This is a hard book to read but is an important examination of mortality and what makes a life worth living, especially as that life draws to a close.

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust
by Alan Bradley
Hardcover, 392 pages
January 6, 2015, Delacorte Press
4 stars

Twelve-year-old Flavia de Luce is out of her element in this, the seventh installment, of Alan Bradley's series. The start of the novel has Flavia on a ship, mid-way across the Atlantic, bound for Canada, where she will be starting her education at Miss Bodycote's Female Academy. She barely has time to settle into her new home when a body comes tumbling down from the chimney, wrapped in the Union Jack, with an animal skull replacing its head. Her homesickness is gone at the prospect of a mystery to solve and she gets right to work. Her investigations reveals students gone mysteriously missing from Miss Bodycote's, a secret society, and a teacher with a murderous past. 

********************

"The more I deal with adults, the less I wanted to be one." 

I enjoyed this book immensely. Flavia's personality was just what we've come to know and love - she's precocious, quick on her feet, and not afraid of anything. The development of the other characters - her classmates, her teachers, and even the headmistress - were all wonderful and it was easy to distinguish one from another. Miss Bodycote's school and the surrounding city are described in delightful detail, right down to the general store run by the woman who is entertained by Flavia's "charming" accent.

I was a bit disappointed, however, in how disjointed the book felt from the rest of the series. Without access to her attic library, Flavia finds herself without the solace of chemistry for most of the book.  The mystery itself sometimes seemed weaker than past plots, and I'll also freely admit that I missed Buckshaw!  The characters, the setting, the dependable Dogger and Gertrude...the story arcs that had been built up over the series were seemingly abandoned, and this new setting didn't feel quite like home. Things were touched upon briefly during this novel that I wish had been expanded upon, namely Harriet's time at the school and her participation in the Nides, the secret society that Flavia is there to become a part of as well. Secrets were not elaborated on and I hope that Bradley plans on returning to those story lines later to explain in more detail.

In the end, I love this series and so I enjoyed the book. I can't wait, however, for Flavia to be back at Buckshaw, where she belongs.

What to Drink: Reading an English cozy that takes place in Canada almost cries for a warm cuppa while wrapped in wollens.

Backlist Bump: Read the rest of this series. Really. It's fantastic.

 (I received an advanced copy from Bantam via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.) 

Fates and Furies

This book by Lauren Groff was one of the hottest in 2015, and it is certainly a well-written book.  I can understand the buzz based on the fact that it was well-written, and fairly original.  However, I found this one something of a slog, and kept waiting for it to grab me and have that a-ha moment.  For me, that never happened.

Lotto and Mathilde are a young newlywed couple who have just graduated from college, he comes from a wealthy family and has been the biggest fish in his small college town, acting as the lead in all the school plays.  They are off to NYC to find their futures.  But…Lotto’s mom is not happy that her precious boy got married and cuts him off financially.  So, they have to find their way without the money that he’s always had access to.  Added to this, is the fact that he’s not that great an actor, and spends years trying to find the place his genius lies (because for some reason he’s just a genius and can’t possible get a job that’s beneath him to help pay bills and wallows instead)

Eventually Lotto becomes an amazing playwright, the couple continues their lives in wealth and art…and Groff writes the story in two parts, from Lotto’s perspective and then from Mathilde’s.  I found the first half tighter, easier to follow and the second half, from Mathilde’s perspective much looser, more difficult to follow but far more interesting.  The book really has no likable characters.  I found myself not really caring about any of them, which makes it much harder for me to get through a story with any excitement, which even with fantastic writing, makes it fall a little flat for me.  

Beverage pairing is champagne - whether cheap or expensive, it's all about the celebrations with Lotto & Mathilde.

Borderline Insanity

Today Borderline Insanity by Jeff Miller is released - I really enjoyed this book, and give it a solid 4 stars.   I received a galley of this fantastic thriller through Net Galley, in exchange for an unbiased review.  

This is my first time reading Jeff Miller's work, and I instantly became a fan.  

This thriller pulls the reader in from the first chapter, and sets up the characters that will come together to discover and ultimately solve a mass murder of young Mexican immigrants.  The story has a unique pacing, giving a lot of detail in the discovery, detective work and forensics used to find a killer. 

Dagny Gray is the driven FBI agent who is struggling with anorexia and the forced therapy she attends as a condition of her employment.  The therapy sessions work well to give the reader insight, making Dagny a more multidimentional character than we would get with a typical thriller, where the personality of the detectives can seem rather flat unless you've read several books in the series.

The murders in this novel are set in a semi-rural town in Ohio, and Miller also gets the small town feel correct.  There are so many details in this book, and they are what push Borderline Insanity into the best kind of thriller - one where the reader is flipping pages to get to the end - but also ultimately cares for the characters and wants to read more to learn what happens in the next chapter.  

Drink pairing with this one...Vodka water - because then Dagny doesn't have to worry about the calories as she sips and ponders.

Security by Gina Wohlsdorf

Security
by Gina Wohlsdorf
Hardcover, 288 pages
June 14, 2016, Alegonquin
5 stars

"The best security is invisible security. The best safety is safety that one's object of protection doesn't know about."

Security is really best described as a slasher film in book form and it hits all the right notes in that regard. It follows Tessa, the hotel manager at Manderly Resort, the newest, flashiest, high-profile resort hotel on the Santa Barbara coast. As she oversees the staff in their preparations for Manderly's grand opening the next day a killer is stalking the halls, murdering everyone that crosses his path. All of this is narrated by a mysterious stranger who is watching the bloodbath over the hotel's closed-circuit security system.

Told in a third-person omniscient voice, Security has a different feel that other novels. Because the narrator is telling the reader what happens as they view it on the hotel's incredibly comprehensive security cameras, we not only get a play-by-play of the horror as it happens but also this unknown viewers opinions which are often laced with a bit of dark humor. For example, we get this scene in the kitchen.

"Brian attacked the grease on his hands with a kitchen towel. The towel has red stains on it, most likely cherry coulis. One could not rule out the possibility that it was not cherry coulis."

One of the things that makes this book unique is how the author chooses to show simultaneous action. The pages are split in half, thirds, or quarters with each "scene" playing out in those sections, giving the impression that they're being viewed on side-by-side television screens as they are being relayed to the reader by our mysterious narrator. In any other book this might feel gimmicky but here it's used perfectly (and sparingly) to remind you how the narrator is privy to the events as they unfold. I also have to add that when you slowly start to realize who the narrator is your jaw will drop. It was a stroke of genius I never saw coming.

The characters were both stereotypical in their make-up - the tightly wound girl-boss, the faithful maid, the temperamental French chef, etc. - but incredibly well developed at the same time. The book follows traditional slasher-film rules so much that each death is predictable in a way that doesn't decrease enjoyment of the book. (I actually had fun guessing who would die next!) Despite all of the blood and gore there's a certain playfulness in it's tone that makes it a fun read. It doesn't take itself too seriously and, because of the format, as a reader you're able to join in on that fun. You'll find yourself thinking "NO! Don't open that door!" as you read, just like you would watching it on a screen. It was a total success in that regard.

With nods to Stephen King, Alfred Hitchcock, and of course Daphne du Maurier, this debut - DEBUT! - novel is a gift to horror fans. Security is funny, clever, bloody and tremendously incentive. It certainly isn't going to be for everyone, but if you like slasher films and don't mind a little gore in your life, give this a try.

What to Drink: Pop a bowl of popcorn, grab a giant soda, and settle in to read this book from start to stop. You're not going to want to stop reading and this book almost requires movie theater butter.

Backlist Bump: This book is so unique there's no book I would recommend as similar, but if you want to be familiar with a handful of the many references found in the story, read Stephen King's The Shining, Rebecca du Maurier's Rebecca, and Cornell Woolrich's It Had to Be Murder.

The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley

The Loney
by Andrew Michael Hurley
Hardcover, 368 pages
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, May 10, 2016
5 stars

The Loney is a desolate stretch of English coastline that is home to the village of Coldbarrow and a house called The Moorings. This is the place that serves to house the pilgrims that come to worship at the local Gothic church and it's shrine. Led by the new parish priest, Father Bernard, our narrator, his mute brother, his parents and a handful of other church faithful arrive, expecting to witness miracles. Instead, they'll wrestle with faith and doubt and what some will witness will haunt them for a lifetime.

********************

"I often thought there was too much time there. That the place was sick with it. Haunted by it. Time didn't leak away as it should. There was nowhere for it to go and no modernity to hurry it along. It collected as the black water did on the marshes and remained and stagnated in the same way."

Not quite horror but more than just a mystery or historical fiction, The Loney is certainly a Gothic something. Filled with descriptions of grey skies and bleak seascapes, the Loney is more than a setting as it becomes almost a character itself. There are suspicions of a priest gone mad, rumors of a suicide, and hints and whispers of witchcraft. The story feels set in a much older time, with only a few cultural references placing it in the 1970s.

The narrative framing is brilliantly done - after the skeleton of an infant washes ashore, the protagonist, "Tonto" Smith, is sharing the memory of this childhood pilgrimage with his therapist thirty years later. Viewing the events through both the lens of childhood memories and the distance of time paints Smith as potentially unreliable. Smith is unsettled and unsure of himself and he passes that emotional unrest onto the reader. Interestingly, the most disturbing elements of the story aren't supernatural, but rather just brief peeks into disquieting aspects of Coldbarrow. Age-old village traditions, a young girl in an unsettling circumstance, and the brutality of nature are just a few things that help to construct an uncomfortable atmosphere.

Religion has weight in this story. The friendships between the pilgrims exist only because of their connection to one another through their faith, which is an old faith, heavy on ritual and resistant to change. The conflict between the Catholicism of the pilgrims and the paganism of the villagers mimics the conflict between the parishioners themselves. Faith is plays an integral role in the way this book is wrapped up - faith is awakened in a character and miracles are performed, but perhaps not in the way the characters would have expected.

I have difficulty believing that this book was a debut. The writing and plot are as near to perfect as I could expect from a novel like this, the pacing is spot on, and the creepiness factor sneaks up on you before you realize what's happening. I look forward to seeing what Hurley writes next.

Backlist Bump: For another Gothic period piece in which the fright comes from sources that are not necessarily supernatural, read The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters.


What to Drink: Despite the pilgrims not drinking themselves, Father Bernard made sure he had some scotch on hand to fortify himself against the cold and the week at The Moorings. I'd follow his example and pour yourself a stiff one.

(Thank you to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)