Reviews

This book was not my jam and I had a hard time getting into it. I didn't hate it but I wasn't super thrilled with it either. I will give Mike McCormack another try to see if it's a me problem or a writing problem.

#ThisPlagueofSouls
#NetGalley

mfrown's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

judithdcollins's review against another edition

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4.0

The author of the award-winning novel (2016)[b:Solar Bones|122146637|Solar Bones (Modern Plays)|Mike McCormack|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1681654283l/122146637._SY75_.jpg|143470598], Mike McCormack, returns with THIS PLAGUE OF SOULS, a haunting literary/noirish metaphysical suspense novel of a man whose past comes back to haunt him when he returns to his rural Ireland home.

This Plague of Souls is also set in County Mayo, Ireland, in an isolated cottage in the shadow of Mweelrea Mountain.

Nealson (an artist) is returning to his home after being away in prison. His wife and son are gone. The house he grew up in with his father and never knew his mother. We do not know exactly at first what Nealon has done, but it was crime-related and possible insurance fraud, skimming insurance policies to fund altruistic works.

It is dark and empty. His wife, Olwyn, and son, Cuan, are missing. We get flashbacks from their earlier life. Memories...What has gone on, and what is happening?

But now the only voice he hears is a mystery man. He has been incarcerated for some time but was released following the collapse of his trial. He was not found innocent, and now, there was a strange phone call.

The anonymous caller knows who Nealon is and where the main switch is in his house. He wants to meet. He is drawn into a sinister game of cat and mouse with the mysterious cryptic caller.

The stranger on the phone claims to know where Olwyn and Cuan are but will only reveal their whereabouts if Nealon meets him in person.

Why meet, and what is this about? But the person seems to know things. Then begins sort of a pre-apocalyptic or supernatural flow.

Even though THIS PLAGUE OF SOULS is a standalone , it connects with his previous book. Both books reference corruption, mortality, disease, plagues, terrorist events, wars, power, coercion, activism, and signs of what will come— from heartbreak, terror, and menace to the possible world collapse.

The novel is difficult to describe without giving too much away, but it crosses genres from literary suspense and thriller to dystopian as the book progresses. Things are beyond the MC's control as he considers fatherhood and family.

The prose and writing are evocative, beautiful, and spellbinding, as is the audiobook narrator's performance by Dan Murphy, which draws you into the vivid landscape of the Irish countryside.

Divided into three parts, the last third part gives you the creeps. The novel's third part features the other version of the world, which is in crisis—a descent into darkness. Do not expect to tie up all loose ends, but a fitting ending.

A talented author, THIS PLAGUE OF SOULS is haunting, eerie, and sinister —an unsettling noir, philosophical, and thought-provoking as much as lyrical and mesmerizing. I look forward to reading more of this author's work.

Thanks to Recorded Books and NetGalley for the pleasure of a gifted ALC in exchange for an honest opinion. I recommend the audiobook, which transports you!

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Jan 2, 2024
My Rating: 4 Stars
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