A review by beckyyreadss
The Whistling by Rebecca Netley

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Thank you, Michael Joseph Penguin Publishing, for sending this book in exchange for an honest review. 

This book is based on Elspeth. She arrives on a remote Scottish island to become a nanny to a young child named Mary. Elspeth hopes she can bond with her. Until she learns that for reasons no one will explain, Mary has not spoken for months. And the girl’s silence is not the only mystery. What happened to Mary’s twin William? Why did their previous nanny disappear so suddenly? And is the whistling Elspeth hears at night just the storm outside? Or is something else happening out there? 

I wanted this book to scare the ghosts out of me and from the context of the book, I thought it could. The setting of this book and the build up to it was brilliant. You could picture both Skelthsea and the house and all the nooks and cranny that could go on in an old house. It was perfect for a dark night’s read. However, the events of this book just didn’t scare me, I wanted more of a mysterious, build up tension and then the big boo and I hoped it would freak me out. But it was just a bit bland. The main character seemed to assume something supernatural had happened quite quickly within the book and it was just case closed. I was hoping it was some evil ghost that was doing it, but it wasn’t. I thought the villain wasn’t very scary and was a bit of a stereotype that it just my soul. I would have loved to be shocked at who was actually causing all the trouble.  

I would recommend this mystery if you are into gothic thriller of it, or you are just starting out in the thriller category and want to start with a light mystery.  
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