Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Blackhouse by Carole Johnstone

4 reviews

thisandthatwithkaren's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

A richly atmospheric thriller set on an isolated Scottish island where nothing is as it seems and shocking twists lie around every corner.

A remote village. A deadly secret. An outsider who knows the truth.

Told in two timelines, 1994 and the present, Maggie and Robert piece together the real story of what happened to Andrew MacNeil.

I found it atmospheric, suspenseful and I just had to know the answers and what happens.  I read almost in one sitting. I absolutely loved Maggie's character development throughout the story. I liked all of the shocking points and twists in the story. The ending... I totally did not expect it. 

I highly recommend it to anyone who loves mysteries, thrillers or gothic spooky reads. I immediately went out and bought Mirrorland and can’t wait to read it. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, and Mental illness

tamara_joy's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Sexual content, and Suicide

Moderate: Dementia, Grief, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, and Child death

Minor: Alcohol, Medical content, Terminal illness, Fire/Fire injury, and Infidelity

collinsd's review

challenging dark mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Murder, Death of parent, and Child death

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Stalking, Mental illness, Grief, Gaslighting, and Blood

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Dementia, and Car accident

Is lying a content warning? because by golly this book is filled with lies, people pretending to be other people, lying for no reason and people lying and saying this is a good book. The book is well written and the setting is great but jesus christ there's so many descriptions of fishing and farming and mythology and a fuck ton of characters that quite frankly weren't needed. All I can say is poor Robert, yes you did some questionable things, yes you didn't get along with anyone but that's not a crime. Also fuck Charlie with my whole heart, bro just kept lying and gaslighting and gatekeeping and just being an all around menace and for what, he doesn't deserve peace he deserves to suffer. This was such a slog to read.

I can't believe someone thought hmm you know what's a good idea have this character be reincarnated and have them fuck another character that was their son in another life and then let that son not know that every single person he's grown up around has not only lied to him but let his father die because of his mental illness instead of getting him actual help. Like the whole community hated his father from the start and gaslit and terrorised someone else just for wanting to get answers and justified it by saying they tried to be nice to him like no you didnt you fucking stole his sheep and werent fucking watching your kids

morethanmylupus's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The Scottish Highlands are my happy place so I'm always predisposed to enjoy any book set in Scotland. This one is set in the Hebridean islands not the highlands but it has all the atmosphere to make for a good thriller. Lots of lies, questions, and things that go bump in the night. There are some mythological elements to this books - or perhaps magical realism elements depending on your beliefs. The mystery was compelling and while I guessed parts of the answers, I certainly didn't guess them all. So it's got dark mysteries, deaths, small town dynamics, atmospheric landscapes, and a sexy Scotsman - all around a winner for me. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for this ARC!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Chronic illness, Mental illness, and Death of parent