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bookishwelshie 's review for:
Pine
by Francine Toon
3.5 Stars. Pine is written well and has an intriguing premise. I kept getting this particular title recommended to me.
It is a slow burner to begin with, folk horror usually tends to be, as it follows a young girl Lauren and her father Niall. It is clouded in mystery, as they have been dealing with the disappearance of Lauren’s mother, Niall’s wife, Christine (she is presumed dead). It gives the reader the claustrophobic feel of this small Scottish village and it immerses you in mysteries that surround it.
One Halloween night, Niall is driving Lauren out for trick-or-treating, when they run into, and subsequently give a lift to, a young woman who appears to be lost and is clad only in a bath robe.
After this happens, Niall appears to have no recollection of the woman or that event where they picked her up even occurring. His focus appears to be more on drinking away the pain of losing Christine and wondering what happened to her than on Lauren. She often appears to be an afterthought to him.
Her mother was quite the mystical person, and Lauren takes an interest in that side of her, picking up her tarot cards. I think this is Lauren’s way of feeling closer to her.
As the story creeps on, it appears as though the whole village is talking about Lauren and Niall, as though they don’t have a very good reputation. People act peculiar and off with Niall at the pub, and Lauren is relentlessly bullied by some other girls at school. But why are they talking? And how is it whenever someone sees the aforementioned mysterious women, that they never seem to remember encountering her?
Overall, it was a fine story with little twist and turns but, I don’t know, I guess I expected just a *little* bit more out of it. However, it did keep the sense of mystery throughout.
It is a slow burner to begin with, folk horror usually tends to be, as it follows a young girl Lauren and her father Niall. It is clouded in mystery, as they have been dealing with the disappearance of Lauren’s mother, Niall’s wife, Christine (she is presumed dead). It gives the reader the claustrophobic feel of this small Scottish village and it immerses you in mysteries that surround it.
One Halloween night, Niall is driving Lauren out for trick-or-treating, when they run into, and subsequently give a lift to, a young woman who appears to be lost and is clad only in a bath robe.
After this happens, Niall appears to have no recollection of the woman or that event where they picked her up even occurring. His focus appears to be more on drinking away the pain of losing Christine and wondering what happened to her than on Lauren. She often appears to be an afterthought to him.
Her mother was quite the mystical person, and Lauren takes an interest in that side of her, picking up her tarot cards. I think this is Lauren’s way of feeling closer to her.
As the story creeps on, it appears as though the whole village is talking about Lauren and Niall, as though they don’t have a very good reputation. People act peculiar and off with Niall at the pub, and Lauren is relentlessly bullied by some other girls at school. But why are they talking? And how is it whenever someone sees the aforementioned mysterious women, that they never seem to remember encountering her?
Overall, it was a fine story with little twist and turns but, I don’t know, I guess I expected just a *little* bit more out of it. However, it did keep the sense of mystery throughout.