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A review by lydiavsbooks
The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
A really solid gothic horror novel with a historical setting and brilliant spooky atmosphere. This follows a pregnant widow as she moves into the family estate of her late husband, where she discovers a set of painted wooden figures, the Silent Companions, and creepy things start happening.
I had loads of fun with this one. The switching between timelines worked really well for me and added to the intrigue in trying to piece together what was going on. The concept of the Silent Companions was brilliant and I loved the eery descriptions of the companions and the setting combined that greater that gothic atmosphere. It may have been that I finished this at 2am when I was home alone, but it also successfully creeped me out a little at times which was a nice surprise: I've been struggling to find horrors that actually scare me recently.
There were times it i was worried it was taking a turn towards an unreliable 'mentally ill' narrator plot twist , which are more often than not handled pretty insensitively, but I was relieved with the direction it did take and the way it handled the themes around that.
I do wish we got more of the main character's personality coming through. It took until very late in the book to feel I had some sort of understanding of the main character, and even when we did get a closer look it was more reveals about her trauma rather than who she was as a character.
I did also see a review that critiqued potential ableism in the way disfigurement is paired with evil. I'm not really sure where I sit with this: it is set in the 1600-1800s and at points it does acknowledge those attitudes to be an unfortunate product of the time, but it still does draw that link within the plot. I do just think its something to be aware of.
Overall it was a really great time, good amount of spookidge as well as some more emotional moments, definitely recommend.
I had loads of fun with this one. The switching between timelines worked really well for me and added to the intrigue in trying to piece together what was going on. The concept of the Silent Companions was brilliant and I loved the eery descriptions of the companions and the setting combined that greater that gothic atmosphere. It may have been that I finished this at 2am when I was home alone, but it also successfully creeped me out a little at times which was a nice surprise: I've been struggling to find horrors that actually scare me recently.
There were times it i was worried it was taking a turn towards an unreliable 'mentally ill' narrator plot twist , which are more often than not handled pretty insensitively, but I was relieved with the direction it did take and the way it handled the themes around that.
I do wish we got more of the main character's personality coming through. It took until very late in the book to feel I had some sort of understanding of the main character, and even when we did get a closer look it was more reveals about her trauma rather than who she was as a character.
I did also see a review that critiqued potential ableism in the way disfigurement is paired with evil. I'm not really sure where I sit with this: it is set in the 1600-1800s and at points it does acknowledge those attitudes to be an unfortunate product of the time, but it still does draw that link within the plot. I do just think its something to be aware of.
Overall it was a really great time, good amount of spookidge as well as some more emotional moments, definitely recommend.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, and Miscarriage
Minor: Racial slurs and Drug use