Fresh Take on a Familiar Story
I couldn’t give this book five stars as there were too many similarities to several other books I’ve read, mostly back in the 60’s. However, this author has crafted together an excellent blend of suspense, mystery and true creepiness that will keep you turning the pages far into the night. It really gave me chills and far too often books of this nature fail to do that for me. I think I’ve read so many books of a similar vein that I’m immune to being scared anymore. But this one did get to me in a few spots so kudos to the author for that! He knows how to set the atmosphere in a scene and the character building was excellent. I cared about these people and what happened to them.
I also enjoyed the author’s use of letters written by family members back in the 1770’s. They added nicely to the eerie mood of the book.
The author uses beautiful language throughout this book, especially in describing the forest and nature around them. The relationships between the family members rang true and their efforts to hold onto that relationship through the stress they were dealing with were emotionally touching. He definitely has a way with words and I’ll be keeping an eye out for his next book. Hopefully, he’ll venture into a territory that hasn’t been done so often before.
I won an ARC of this book for review.
