I thought that the handling of Bergitta was going to be done well, and overall I do think it was. Bergitta is a middle aged woman with some undefined (due to lack of doctor availability and also the times) developmental disability. At one point the main characters clarify that they are not going to attempt to diagnose her since she isn't there (died decades previously), which was good to read. And the book takes a very very clear statement that the people who were afraid of Bergitta were in the wrong and horrible people for what they did, which was also good to see. However, the handling of Tone's psychosis sort of ruined the entire thing. Because Tone had once had a psychotic episode, the entire group of people decides she is "deranged" and dangerous and violent and can't be trusted. The main character, Alice, tries to defend her at first, but eventually gives in to the idea that she must be - directly going against the way the narrative defended Bergitta. Basically, the story defended Bergitta but persecuted Tone - and also sort of made it seem like her psychosis was supposed to be Bergitta possessing her? Maybe? Unclear, but in the end a really poor handling of mental health.

Content Warnings

b_lownds127's review

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dark emotional mysterious slow-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

2.25

Okay so I have a lot of religious trauma and I'm sure that made me dislike this more than perhaps I would have but frankly? This is abelist AF. The way so many mental health issues are handled? Nope. One part of the ending felt predictable and the other completely unrealistic. Also the main character felt really flat and beyond irritating. The pacing was really odd to, so slow and then way too fast and without explaining why things went the way they did.

Spoiler

If you are going to give me a cult you better give me a believable one, they don't just magically happen because the pastor is charming. That needed explaining far more, more fleshing out.

Content Warnings

secanno's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Content Warnings

bookedbymadeline's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book grabbed me from the beginning and didn’t let me go! I liked the premise and found the book unsettling. The writing was atmospheric and eerie, with suspense slowly building throughout the book. I’m always a fan of stories about unsolved mysteries and abandoned towns!

As always, I love switching POVs and timelines. The alternating timelines added to the suspense of the story. We see the present day as filmmakers go to the old mining town to make a documentary about the murder of a woman and disappearance of nearly 900 residents from the 1950s. The other timeline takes place during 1959, revealing the events that led up to the murder and disappearance.

I also liked the characters. They were complex and well developed, even the supporting characters! The plot twists usually caught me off guard and a couple I was able to guess. But the ones I guessed were the only logical solution as things became revealed so I wouldn’t call them predictable or cliche.

There are one or two things that were left open ended and wish would’ve been addressed more. But I can’t say more without spoiling it 😅

The only other thing I didn’t like was the way mental illness is handled; it wasn’t great and was fairly problematic. The author uses the character’s misunderstanding of mental illness as a plot device. I don’t want to go more into it and give away any spoilers but there were several statements that just didn’t sit well for me. This made me drop a star from the overall rating.

It’s a perfect spooky season read given the concept and suspense. I’d recommend if you enjoy ghost stories or unsolved mysteries! If you choose to pick this one up, be aware of the use of mental illness and the other trigger warnings (there’s a lot).

Content Warnings

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