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bookwomble's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Murder, Ableism, Death, and Racism
billil1957's review
4.0
This is the second book I've read by Rohan O'Grady. The first, _Let's Kill Uncle_, was one of the oddest (in a good way) books I've ever read. This one, if not quite as bizarre, certainly pushes the boundaries of a conventional gothic. The novel opens with a story that seems pretty standard (emotionally isolated, Byronic hero moves to physically isolated, Byronic castle, complete with vaguely sinister but wacky nonagenarian caretaker and beautiful caretaker's niece). Then, about 50 pages in, that story is put aside for the bulk of the book, and replaced with one that takes place in the 17th Century. That story is violent, involves a 15 yr old girl's not-very-healthy relationship with a much older murderer, and has enough psycho-sexual tension amongst the three grown men and young girl to keep Freud happy for a lot of years. Again, toward the end, that story morphs into a third -- a trial transcript concerning the most minor of the four characters in the second story, and then the book concludes by bringing you back to the first set of characters. None of the stories has what I'd call a happy ending but you feel at the end that everyone pretty much gets what they deserved.
What impressed me the most about it all is the level of writing. It's definitely written in a gothic style, but there's something about O'Grady's writing that just draws you in, even into the most implausible of the plot lines. I don't think I've read a gothic suspense novel since I was thirteen and read _The Shuttered Room_ after seeing the movie (I was in love with the evil Oliver Reed character), but this really captured my attention. It looks like Ms O'Grady wrote a few more books that the library doesn't have; I'm on the hunt for them!
What impressed me the most about it all is the level of writing. It's definitely written in a gothic style, but there's something about O'Grady's writing that just draws you in, even into the most implausible of the plot lines. I don't think I've read a gothic suspense novel since I was thirteen and read _The Shuttered Room_ after seeing the movie (I was in love with the evil Oliver Reed character), but this really captured my attention. It looks like Ms O'Grady wrote a few more books that the library doesn't have; I'm on the hunt for them!
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