A review by saint_augustine15
The Dark Between The Trees by Fiona Barnett

4.0

The Dark Between the Trees is a gothic horror novel split between two perspectives - a group of English soldiers in the 17th century, who seek refuge in Moresby Forest after an ambush, and a modern-day team sent to the forest to find out what became of those soldiers so many years before. Locals do not go into Moresby Forest - they say that something dark lurks there, perhaps a monster, perhaps a witch, perhaps something even more sinister. Both parties encounter unexplainable events as they move through the woods, and find their attempts to leave thwarted at every turn. The longer they stay in the forest, the more dangerous their journeys become, and the parties begin to feel as if they are being stalked - by what, they do not know.

The gothic atmosphere of this book was so well done - it didn't flag for a minute. Creepy woods might be a bit overdone as far as horror goes, but this story was fresh and interesting and definitely kept up the tension. While the two groups are experiencing different things as they travel through the forest, they have parallel experiences. They find the same landmarks, and their groups experience the same terrors and hardships, although they react in different ways. I loved trying to guess what was going on, and I loved the little flashes of new information. In some places the writing lagged a little bit, as certain things were worded awkwardly, but that didn't take away from the overall atmosphere of the book. The characters aren't very deep or well-rounded, but I found I didn't really mind - the forest is really the main character of this book, and it's definitely interesting enough to keep the plot moving and the reader interested.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.