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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Misogyny
Moderate: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Torture, Blood
Minor: Child abuse, Child death
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A gothic supernatural mystery set in the shadow of the Great War…in a secluded Scottish castle
Little Eve by Catriona Ward is another in a line of weird psychological horror stories, though an earlier by this author…
There’s an odd family that lives in the castle on the hill…with uncles and aunts and children…and rumors of cults and magic powers among some of them…
There shouldn’t be a surprise when most of them die under mysterious circumstances and the mystery seems to perplex those who lived in the town nearby…
The story is told in two ways…both prior to the murders by the perpetrator of the incident…and after by the only survivor…
But when you are dealing with crazy folks…can you really trust anything that’s going on?
This clearly set the standard for “unreliable narrator” and people with mental issues that are elements I really enjoy about Ward’s work.
Sometimes you can never be sure what is going on until the end…and even when you reach the conclusion…can you really be sure?
I also liked the concept of the Adder as some quasi-mystical Scottish snake demon or possibly an avatar for the world serpent…or maybe just the co no used imaginings of confused children…
As always with Ward’s work, it’s up to the reader to decide that their truth is…
Little Eve by Catriona Ward is another in a line of weird psychological horror stories, though an earlier by this author…
There’s an odd family that lives in the castle on the hill…with uncles and aunts and children…and rumors of cults and magic powers among some of them…
There shouldn’t be a surprise when most of them die under mysterious circumstances and the mystery seems to perplex those who lived in the town nearby…
The story is told in two ways…both prior to the murders by the perpetrator of the incident…and after by the only survivor…
But when you are dealing with crazy folks…can you really trust anything that’s going on?
This clearly set the standard for “unreliable narrator” and people with mental issues that are elements I really enjoy about Ward’s work.
Sometimes you can never be sure what is going on until the end…and even when you reach the conclusion…can you really be sure?
I also liked the concept of the Adder as some quasi-mystical Scottish snake demon or possibly an avatar for the world serpent…or maybe just the co no used imaginings of confused children…
As always with Ward’s work, it’s up to the reader to decide that their truth is…
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Catriona Ward is slowly climbing higher and higher on the list of my favourite authors, although I need to be careful when I pick up her stuff because they are always, in one way or another, utterly heart-wrenching.
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced