Syndrie
This was one of those books that took me a little bit to get into, but once I hit chapter 7, around 20% in, I was hooked!
I'm not sure I'd really consider this one to be much of a horror story — although that could just be due to the fact that I'm used to reading much darker novels. I'd say the horror elements are mild, the thriller elements are a bit stronger, and mystery is the strongest of them all here.
That said, Jacquie Walters did a great job weaving the two different timelines in this story together using a rather unique connection between them. I definitely wasn't able to guess ahead of time what was really going on here and it was satisfying seeing how the whole mystery unfolded throughout the story. I found the pacing to be really well done as well. It's a bit of a slow build but that just gives us plenty of time to set the scene and let tension build up naturally throughout the novel. I'd say the ending does ramp up pretty quickly, but it manages not to feel overly rushed or anything like that. The ending felt well-rounded and I'm satisfied with how it all wrapped up.
The main reason I'm knocking a star off of my rating is simply because I found the present day timeline to be noticeably weaker — and maybe a tad too dramatic — compared to the historical timeline. I also found Edith's character to be the most fascinating, so that's probably influencing my opinion a bit as well. As a woman healer back in the 1600s — a time when intelligent women were regarded with great suspicion — she proves herself to be a rather strong character. But, as I said earlier, the connection between the two timelines was so well done that I can't complain too much about the present day plot at all. Without it, this would be a completely different story and wouldn't have quite the same charm overall!
So overall, I would definitely recommend this story to readers who are interested in mysteries with some ghostly/thriller aspects weaved in!
(I received an advance review copy of this book from the publisher, Mulholland Books, via NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.)
This was one of those books that took me a little bit to get into, but once I hit chapter 7, around 20% in, I was hooked!
I'm not sure I'd really consider this one to be much of a horror story — although that could just be due to the fact that I'm used to reading much darker novels. I'd say the horror elements are mild, the thriller elements are a bit stronger, and mystery is the strongest of them all here.
That said, Jacquie Walters did a great job weaving the two different timelines in this story together using a rather unique connection between them. I definitely wasn't able to guess ahead of time what was really going on here and it was satisfying seeing how the whole mystery unfolded throughout the story. I found the pacing to be really well done as well. It's a bit of a slow build but that just gives us plenty of time to set the scene and let tension build up naturally throughout the novel. I'd say the ending does ramp up pretty quickly, but it manages not to feel overly rushed or anything like that. The ending felt well-rounded and I'm satisfied with how it all wrapped up.
The main reason I'm knocking a star off of my rating is simply because I found the present day timeline to be noticeably weaker — and maybe a tad too dramatic — compared to the historical timeline. I also found Edith's character to be the most fascinating, so that's probably influencing my opinion a bit as well. As a woman healer back in the 1600s — a time when intelligent women were regarded with great suspicion — she proves herself to be a rather strong character. But, as I said earlier, the connection between the two timelines was so well done that I can't complain too much about the present day plot at all. Without it, this would be a completely different story and wouldn't have quite the same charm overall!
So overall, I would definitely recommend this story to readers who are interested in mysteries with some ghostly/thriller aspects weaved in!
(I received an advance review copy of this book from the publisher, Mulholland Books, via NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.)