A review by escape_through_pages
Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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A run-down derelict country estate provides the setting for this suspense novel, an earlier publication from Unsettled Ground author, Claire Fuller. 

There are shades of similarities between the two books; our protagonist and narrator, Frances is a 39 year old woman who has newly acquired freedom following the death of her mother, with whom she lived with, shared a bed with and cared for. Frances arrives at the estate for the job opportunity of surveying its external architecture. 

There, she meets Peter, who is tasked with examining the interior of the house, and his wife Cara, an enigmatic and troubled soul. 

Frances being somewhat socially awkward and easily influenced, is soon drawn into Peter and Cara’s way of life. The story is told through Frances’s reflections from her death bed and it is apparent that her summer at the property has defined her whole life. From the outset, we are aware that the summer ends with sᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴛᴇʀʀɪʙʟᴇ happening. 

Fuller succeeds in laying the darkness down and creating a discomfiting atmosphere. I also really enjoy her writing style, it is very readable and full of description. The mansion itself is an omniscient character (more than one shade of du Maurier here). 

The twists and the reveals were clever and this certainly reads as a story that was well planned. I did, however, feel it was too slow paced in the lead up to the unravellings, such that I found about 50% of the book a little dull. Perhaps I am conditioned to the faster pace of psychological thrillers. Be prepared for a slow burn and you’ll likely find Bitter Orange a rewarding novel that quietly builds the tension to a climax that is at once foreseen but not predicted.