Feathered Fiends?

Earlier this week, I finished 'The Story Keeper', the second novel by Anna Mazzola. If you want moody Gothic with a heroine coming to terms with herself and her past, you've come to the right place!

September 1857: Audrey Hart escapes a miserable home life to the Isle of Skye, pursing her dream of becoming a folklorist.  As well as stories of fairies and magic, she comes to seek the truth about herself, as this is where her mother died in tragic circumstances.  Audrey enters the employ of the reclusive Miss Buchanan and struggles to earn the trust of the local people, scarred by the unkindnesses of the Buchanan family.  Everything changes when Audrey finds the body of a young, local girl washed up on the shore.  While she suddenly gains acceptance in the community, she also finds herself part of something more sinister.  Can the mythical Sluagh, the spirits of the dead in the form of flocks of black birds, really be abducting the young women of Skye, or is something more Earth-bound - and more terrible - at work?

Right, let's start with the positives.  This is a very atmospheric novel, rooted in both the elements and elementals.  It's true to traditional Gothic themes - innocent heroine, isolated location, the supernatural, madness and death all play their part in the plot.  Even though I had an inkling of what was going on, I was disoriented enough to be as uncertain as Audrey herself, which is what kept me reading to the end.

Unfortunately, as well as resurrecting (in the best possible way) the traditional elements of the Gothic novel, 'The Story Keeper' slipped into cliche a little too much for my liking by the end.  I can't be too specific because I don't want to ruin the outcome, but a number of little bug bears that I've mentioned before come out, which left me slightly disappointed.  Combined with uneven pacing, I was left with the nagging feeling that this author can do better.

Overall, this is a good little read for a dark and stormy night and demonstrates a skillful evocation of time, place and tempest, but it's not going to blow you away.  A holiday read for the emo amongst you, perhaps?

Now, what next..?

'The Story Keeper' will be published by Tinder Press on 26/07/2018.  This review is based on an uncorrected proof received free of charge from the publishers.