Scan barcode
sunny_bumblebee's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
reginamea's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
fct1969's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
nadiasfiction's review
5.0
A deliciously eerie mystery driven by Audrey's investigation of the disappearances of young girls in Kyleakin, a village on the Isle of Skye. Audrey is a researcher of folklore who realises as she listens to the tales she has come to collect that a number of strange goings on have been taking place among the community to which she has come to escape London, not least of which when she herself finds a dead girl.
Audrey is a young woman whose love of folktales comes from her mother. In 1857, writing as a job, for women, let alone collecting 'fairy tales' is laughable, and it looks like Audrey is fighting an impossible battle. But she hangs on and finds employment with Miss Buchanan to help her collect spoken tales, given partly in Gaelic in the book, such a strong and elegant tribute to Gaelic speaking communities.
For those who love the eerie, know that the eeriness here runs through all the layers of the story: it comes from Audrey's sense of dislocation and relocation - the geography and people are seen through her eyes as she herself tries to find her place. It is found within the stories of evil fairies (I know, evil ones!), said to snatch people. It also felt in the palpable reality of what impoverishment means when it is entirely created by landowners during the Clearances in Skye - a time in which land owners forced entire communities to move away so to that they could sell.
But for me, as a crime fiction super fan, it's Mazzola's construction of Audrey's investigation that I thoroughly enjoyed. For people around Audrey, the mystery is around young women being targeted by something, but for Audrey, the mystery soon becomes one of a specific type of girls targeted by someone.
Two currents push the story forward: the power of folklore, and the power of facts, both often seen as mutually exclusive, except to those who know how to listen and see them as complimentary, like Audrey.
The Story Keeper is easily one one of my top favourite reads of 2018.
Audrey is a young woman whose love of folktales comes from her mother. In 1857, writing as a job, for women, let alone collecting 'fairy tales' is laughable, and it looks like Audrey is fighting an impossible battle. But she hangs on and finds employment with Miss Buchanan to help her collect spoken tales, given partly in Gaelic in the book, such a strong and elegant tribute to Gaelic speaking communities.
For those who love the eerie, know that the eeriness here runs through all the layers of the story: it comes from Audrey's sense of dislocation and relocation - the geography and people are seen through her eyes as she herself tries to find her place. It is found within the stories of evil fairies (I know, evil ones!), said to snatch people. It also felt in the palpable reality of what impoverishment means when it is entirely created by landowners during the Clearances in Skye - a time in which land owners forced entire communities to move away so to that they could sell.
But for me, as a crime fiction super fan, it's Mazzola's construction of Audrey's investigation that I thoroughly enjoyed. For people around Audrey, the mystery is around young women being targeted by something, but for Audrey, the mystery soon becomes one of a specific type of girls targeted by someone.
Two currents push the story forward: the power of folklore, and the power of facts, both often seen as mutually exclusive, except to those who know how to listen and see them as complimentary, like Audrey.
The Story Keeper is easily one one of my top favourite reads of 2018.
wjcsydney's review
4.0
Audrey Hart has escaped an abusive situation at her workplace in London, and a cold hearted family to research folk tales on Skye in 1857 for Miss Buchanan. She encounters more than superstition and magic - a girl is found dead, another is missing... and what were the circumstances of her mother's death while walking in the Quiraing a decade or 2 before?
A really good read.
A really good read.
thegrimestreader's review
5.0
Once I made the time to read this I could hardly put it down. A great story that kept me guessing.
clair_82's review
4.0
I absolutely adored Anna Mazzola’s debut novel, The Unseeing so I was very excited about The Story Keeper. Keeping with the historical theme, The Story Keeper takes its reader into a world of folk tales, legends, superstition and mystery in the mid-1800’s.
Audrey has decided to leave her home in London and travel to the Isle of Skye to assist Miss Buchanan in collecting the stories of the crofters after she saw an advert in the newspaper for a folklorist’s assistant. Audrey is drawn to the advert as her mother shared folk tales with her when she was younger which she also collected in a journal that Audrey still has.
Shortly after Audrey’s arrival to the island, she finds the body of a young woman washed up on the beach. Audrey learns that this woman is not the first to have gone missing so she is intrigued as to what happened to this young woman and those before her.
I found the subject matter fascinating, how the stories of the people were openly shared until such time people became scared of the repercussions of sharing and therefore the stories started to die.
The setting is wonderfully complimentary to the plot as it helps build the gothic atmosphere of the community and those that still know the stories. Alongside the folklore, we also have the mystery of the death of the young woman and the probability that someone has committed this awful crime from within the small community.
Mazzola’s writing is absolutely beautiful from the setting and the descriptions of the landscape to the folklore itself, I felt that this book is extremely well researched and throughout the read I completely trusted what I was being shown and told – I know that this is fiction but there is an air of authenticity throughout the plot. What I really enjoyed was seeing Audrey build up a rapport with the crofters, initially they are dubious of her presence and her motives which is to be expected considering their small, close knit community and Audrey being an outsider. However, as she persists with them and shows that she is trustworthy, they begin to open up to her and invite her to be a part of the community.
The Story Keeper is a fascinating and intriguing read that will appeal to both mystery and historical fiction fans, Also if you’ve not read The Unseeing give that a go too!
Audrey has decided to leave her home in London and travel to the Isle of Skye to assist Miss Buchanan in collecting the stories of the crofters after she saw an advert in the newspaper for a folklorist’s assistant. Audrey is drawn to the advert as her mother shared folk tales with her when she was younger which she also collected in a journal that Audrey still has.
Shortly after Audrey’s arrival to the island, she finds the body of a young woman washed up on the beach. Audrey learns that this woman is not the first to have gone missing so she is intrigued as to what happened to this young woman and those before her.
I found the subject matter fascinating, how the stories of the people were openly shared until such time people became scared of the repercussions of sharing and therefore the stories started to die.
The setting is wonderfully complimentary to the plot as it helps build the gothic atmosphere of the community and those that still know the stories. Alongside the folklore, we also have the mystery of the death of the young woman and the probability that someone has committed this awful crime from within the small community.
Mazzola’s writing is absolutely beautiful from the setting and the descriptions of the landscape to the folklore itself, I felt that this book is extremely well researched and throughout the read I completely trusted what I was being shown and told – I know that this is fiction but there is an air of authenticity throughout the plot. What I really enjoyed was seeing Audrey build up a rapport with the crofters, initially they are dubious of her presence and her motives which is to be expected considering their small, close knit community and Audrey being an outsider. However, as she persists with them and shows that she is trustworthy, they begin to open up to her and invite her to be a part of the community.
The Story Keeper is a fascinating and intriguing read that will appeal to both mystery and historical fiction fans, Also if you’ve not read The Unseeing give that a go too!
toofondofbooks's review
4.0
Audrey Hart is a young woman who has left London to travel to Skye to work collecting folk tales from the local area. Her late mother had also been interested in folklore and had traveled to areas nearby so she is also wanting to know more about her. She moves in with Mrs Buchanan, the lady who she’ll be collecting the tales for, and begins to settle in. Soon after her arrival she finds a body on the beach and from this point on real life begins to blur with the folklore for Audrey.
The Story Keeper is a fantastic novel. The writing is wonderful and so atmospheric. I felt the oppressive atmosphere in a small place where people are very insular and don’t want to share their lives and their stories with incomers.
Audrey is a great character. I was in awe of her travelling from London to Skye on her own in a time when this would have been a scary and courageous thing for a young woman to do alone. I felt for her at the lack of a mother in her life, I know what it’s like to lose your mum and could see how lost she was and how at the root of everything she was looking to find a sense of her mum somewhere. As Audrey began to get more and more drawn into the folklore and to see some of the happenings that the islanders spoke about I was really hoping that she was going to be okay. I was rooting for her to be able to make a home and a life, and to feel settled again.
There is so much mystery in this novel and I loved how it was possible to find yourself believing that there must be something in the folklore as the horrible things happening on the island were so similar to the stories, whilst at the same time the rational side of your brain is thinking that there must be another reason for the coincidences and odd happenings.
I got so absorbed in this novel and felt really jolted when real life brought me back to where I was. It’s not often that a novel captures me to that degree and it was wonderful to be so enthralled. The Story keeper is a brilliant, atmospheric and utterly gripping novel and I highly recommend it!
This review was originally posted on my blog https://rathertoofondofbooks.com
The Story Keeper is a fantastic novel. The writing is wonderful and so atmospheric. I felt the oppressive atmosphere in a small place where people are very insular and don’t want to share their lives and their stories with incomers.
Audrey is a great character. I was in awe of her travelling from London to Skye on her own in a time when this would have been a scary and courageous thing for a young woman to do alone. I felt for her at the lack of a mother in her life, I know what it’s like to lose your mum and could see how lost she was and how at the root of everything she was looking to find a sense of her mum somewhere. As Audrey began to get more and more drawn into the folklore and to see some of the happenings that the islanders spoke about I was really hoping that she was going to be okay. I was rooting for her to be able to make a home and a life, and to feel settled again.
There is so much mystery in this novel and I loved how it was possible to find yourself believing that there must be something in the folklore as the horrible things happening on the island were so similar to the stories, whilst at the same time the rational side of your brain is thinking that there must be another reason for the coincidences and odd happenings.
I got so absorbed in this novel and felt really jolted when real life brought me back to where I was. It’s not often that a novel captures me to that degree and it was wonderful to be so enthralled. The Story keeper is a brilliant, atmospheric and utterly gripping novel and I highly recommend it!
This review was originally posted on my blog https://rathertoofondofbooks.com
c1aire's review
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
vasi83177's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5