Reviewed by chymerra on
I was truly surprised at how much I liked this book. I couldn’t get enough of it and found myself reading it while waiting for my kids bus, while cooking supper, eating supper and at night in bed. It was literally book crack for me. I couldn’t get enough of Mahony’s story and of all the other secondary plotlines going on.
I really liked Mahony and definitely felt for him while he was searching for answers for what happened to Orla and who his father was. He had so much opposition but also had so much help, if that makes sense.
The mystery of who killed Orla was a true mystery to the end. The author did a great job at hiding his identity. It was only when the dog was killed and then showed up by the killer’s side was I clued in. Well that and the other two murders in the village.
I loved the supernatural elements of the book. The ghosts, the storm, the pagan stream in the priest’s house (which was ironic and funny to me), just added more depth to the book. I like that the ghosts were not who they were in real life and they kept their secrets as well as they did when they were alive.
What I really liked about this book was that not all the storylines were resolved in a way that was satisfactory or not at all. One storyline, I do think I figured out who it was ( read the book if you want to know what I am talking about….haha).
How many stars will I give Himself: 5
Why: A great book that had so many layers to it, it resembled an onion in my mind. Once I peeled one layer back, another one appeared. The characters were multi dimensional (hence the layers) and the storylines were not all happily resolved.
Will I reread: Yes
Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes
Age range: Older teen (16+)
Why: Violence
**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 3 February, 2017: Finished reading
- 3 February, 2017: Reviewed