Review: Paranormal Page Turner!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 21, 2013
Loved the premise of this book so it shot to the top of my TBR! Also loved the setting - Whitehaven, Cumbria - I'm a sucker for locations and this sounded like a good one! It's really the story of Beth - the produce of an incestuous union and the sufferer of an illness not fully understood or understood at all in those days (rather she is thought to be possessed by demons!). Beth and her mother are from a wealthy background but they end up in Ginns Workhouse - this part of the story I loved the best - the writer captured the grimness of such an establishment really well, I found myself shuddering at their plight on many occasions. Luckily, in amongst the fearsome inmates is Patrick - a Scotsman with a tragic past. I LOVED Patrick, he's a great character and in many ways I'd like the writer to conjure up his story separately, it sounds fascinating. I won't reveal any more of the story, you'll just have to read it to see if they all make it out of the workhouse but one thing I'll say, it's a page-turner. I raced through it and looked forward to returning to the story each day. I would have liked more dialogue in places but perhaps that's just a personal preference, otherwise it was perfect. In fact, it reminded me a bit of Catherine Cookson's writing and, as Catherine Cookson is a hero of mine, that's a very good thing indeed!