A review by karteabooks
The Marsh House by Zoë Somerville

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

 

I was so lucky to meet this author at Tasting Notes Live in April 2022 and after hearing her talk about this book, and after reading her first novel, The Night of the Flood, I brought this book from a Norfolk bookshop. I expected it to be good, but I was unprepared for the chilling gothic masterpiece that lurked between these pages which I devoured in a day! 

 

December, 1962: Desperate to salvage something from a disastrous year, Malorie rents a remote house on the Norfolk coast for Christmas. But once there, the strained silence between her and her daughter Franny feels louder than ever. Digging for decorations in the attic, she comes across the notebooks of the teenaged Rosemary, who lived in the house years before. Though she knows she needs to focus on the present, Malorie finds herself inexorably drawn into the past...
 
 July, 1930: Rosemary lives in the Marsh House with her austere father, surrounded by unspoken truths and rumours. So when the glamorous Lafferty family move to the village, she succumbs easily to their charm. Dazzled by the beautiful Hilda and her dashing brother, Franklin, Rosemary fails to see the danger that lurks beneath their bright façades...
 
 As Malorie reads on, the boundaries between past and present begin to blur, in this haunting novel about family, obligation and deeply buried secrets.

 

The Marsh House is described as ‘part ghost story, part novel of suspense’ and it certainly delivers both those elements. It’s full of atmosphere and an absorbing read.

For me, this was an immersive plot, but also mesmerising and chilling. I loved the historical fiction too, as this was a real event, and I liked the way that the author interspersed that narrative with the trials and tribulations of families in the 1930s and the 1960s in a small coastal town.

 The North Norfolk coast, where this book is set, holds fond memories for me, so this made this book that bit more special too, and as the story unfolded, I really felt like I was there alongside Malorie, Franny, Rosemary, Hilda and Franklin and as I read, at times I felt that I could actually feel the cold Winter wind blowing in from the sea, even now a couple of days after finishing the book, I am sure that I can still feel that cold easterly breeze, with the tang of the sea air and fish and chips wafting by too.
 
 

 I can’t recommend it highly enough, this is a clear your diary and have plenty of snacks and drinks to hand, read it in one sitting kind of book

Lots of twists and turns and a real page turner for me. As I mentioned above, I can’t wait for this talented author’s next book.