Rhiannon

I don’t know what it is with Irish folk horror, or if I am now just simply obsessed with Sharpson's writing... I first discovered him just over a year ago with his second novel 𝙆𝙣𝙤𝙘𝙠 𝙆𝙣𝙤𝙘𝙠, 𝙊𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙒𝙞𝙙𝙚 a horror novel with Irish folk underpinnings that I really enjoyed (I have his first which I haven't read yet, and looks very different, more scifi dystopian, which I also love so I need to get to that one soon.)

With The Burial Tide, he draws you into a mystery filled with terrifying creatures, a tiny, remote island community filled with secrets and a horrifying past, and the strange woman named Mara, who breaks her way out of a coffin during a storm after waking up with no memory of who she is. She receives an oddly reticent welcome into the community, with suspicion and some rather culty behaviour on the part of the locals.

I had (rightly) suspected that the story would centre around one of my favourite myths (hint: look at the cover) but I was so curious to see where Sharpson would take the story after reading his previous book and I was not disappointed! He weaves a modern day tale of mystery, isolation, and absolute terror as Mara struggles to piece together who she is, where she came from and why she looks just like a woman in a 100 year old picture…

And oh yeah… there’s that whole thing about why can’t she go into water…

I was absolutely enthralled with this novel. I need more Sharpson in my life!