Scan barcode
A review by callum_mclaughlin
Whistle in the Dark by Emma Healey
2.0
This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year, so it's with a heavy heart that I give it this low rating. Perhaps my own self-inflicted hype even played a part in my eventual lukewarm feelings towards it.
Things in this novel started out really well, with a great concept and a good amount of intrigue. It was very readable, and I powered through the whole thing in a single weekend, which has to say something in and of itself. Though they are very different in content, it has a similar narrative structure to Healey's debut, Elizabeth is Missing, in that a mystery is used as the basis to explore the inner workings of her protagonist's mind. In Elizabeth is Missing, that's an elderly woman with dementia who is worried about her missing friend; in this, it's a mother struggling to understand her teenage daughter, who has just returned following an unexplained disappearance that lasted four days.
The problem I ended up having with Whistle in the Dark, however, was the exact same problem that I had with Healey's debut, which is that it simply tried to be too many things at once, and lost its impact as a result. It begins very well as a character study of the mother and daughter, exploring the ideas of motherhood as an identity, teenage mental health, and a family's attempts to recover after trauma. This was undoubtedly where the novel's strengths and potential were, but it's the mystery element that was ramped up as the story progressed, and I felt this was to the detriment of the character development.
The mystery element itself starts out with a crime-thriller vibe, before rather bizarrely delving into the ideas of the supernatural, and religious fanaticism. It felt to me, however, like there was a lot of going in circles, without much in the way of actual plot progression. And with so many ideas thrown into the mix as to what may have been behind Lana's disappearance, the eventual 'reveal' fell completely flat, feeling both obvious and underwhelming.
On a side note, I also wasn't always entirely comfortable with the way the author discussed physical appearance. Both an overweight character and a character with an apparent facial deformity are referred to in a cutting manner, with needless critique of the way they look. It wasn't anything too extreme, but it felt cold and jarred me out of the story, so I thought it was worth flagging up.
Ultimately, it's a book with lots of potential that is indeed intriguing enough to keep the pages turning, but despite taking on much, it sadly delivers little. The actual experience of reading it wasn't unenjoyable, but it left me with no lasting feelings of interest or excitement whatsoever. To put it bluntly, Elizabeth is Missing was a fantastic character study of someone with dementia that was hampered by a mediocre mystery; Whistle in the Dark is, what could have been, a fantastic character study of a mother in turmoil, once again hampered by a mediocre mystery.
Things in this novel started out really well, with a great concept and a good amount of intrigue. It was very readable, and I powered through the whole thing in a single weekend, which has to say something in and of itself. Though they are very different in content, it has a similar narrative structure to Healey's debut, Elizabeth is Missing, in that a mystery is used as the basis to explore the inner workings of her protagonist's mind. In Elizabeth is Missing, that's an elderly woman with dementia who is worried about her missing friend; in this, it's a mother struggling to understand her teenage daughter, who has just returned following an unexplained disappearance that lasted four days.
The problem I ended up having with Whistle in the Dark, however, was the exact same problem that I had with Healey's debut, which is that it simply tried to be too many things at once, and lost its impact as a result. It begins very well as a character study of the mother and daughter, exploring the ideas of motherhood as an identity, teenage mental health, and a family's attempts to recover after trauma. This was undoubtedly where the novel's strengths and potential were, but it's the mystery element that was ramped up as the story progressed, and I felt this was to the detriment of the character development.
The mystery element itself starts out with a crime-thriller vibe, before rather bizarrely delving into the ideas of the supernatural, and religious fanaticism. It felt to me, however, like there was a lot of going in circles, without much in the way of actual plot progression. And with so many ideas thrown into the mix as to what may have been behind Lana's disappearance, the eventual 'reveal' fell completely flat, feeling both obvious and underwhelming.
On a side note, I also wasn't always entirely comfortable with the way the author discussed physical appearance. Both an overweight character and a character with an apparent facial deformity are referred to in a cutting manner, with needless critique of the way they look. It wasn't anything too extreme, but it felt cold and jarred me out of the story, so I thought it was worth flagging up.
Ultimately, it's a book with lots of potential that is indeed intriguing enough to keep the pages turning, but despite taking on much, it sadly delivers little. The actual experience of reading it wasn't unenjoyable, but it left me with no lasting feelings of interest or excitement whatsoever. To put it bluntly, Elizabeth is Missing was a fantastic character study of someone with dementia that was hampered by a mediocre mystery; Whistle in the Dark is, what could have been, a fantastic character study of a mother in turmoil, once again hampered by a mediocre mystery.