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Le Refuge (2012)

by Niki Valentine(Favorite Author)

2.69 of 5 Votes: 5

languge

English

genre

Horror

publisher

Ma Editions

review 1: I somehow knew this book would be awful when I picked it up in the library, but as a horror junkie, and a particular fan of ghost stories, I'll give anything a go once. Sadly I was right. Long story short, the least sympathetic protagonist in history agrees to go to go on a rural hike to a secluded bothy (still not sure what a bothy is, by the way.) with her blatantly abusive husband. Cue extremely mild spook activity, bizarre ghost sex, repetitive arguments, predictable psychological twists, complete lack of originality and finally it ends. Quite honestly , if I were married to the main character, I'd want to kill her too.
review 2: If you wonder about the dark peaty side of the Scottish Highlands then this book is for you. If you like happy romances in mounta... moreinous settings then stay away. This literary psychological thriller earns its place as a page turner through its intelligent writing and detailed main characters. Niki almost pulls off the laid back husband Martin who suggests a couple of days in a crofter's hut as an adventure. Niki's literery persona takes a bleak view of human nature so trouble inevitably looms. We watch through Susie's eyes as events become increasingly uncanny fuelled by isolation, hunger and lack of sleep. Martin and Susie's deep traumas constantly threaten to be disastrously acted out. Niki achieves a claustrophobic mood reminiscent of films made entirely in a phone box. Blair Witch, Hamlet, and possibly Macbeth and Frankenstein are drawn in as cultural references. A thoroughly well written novel. I withold one star because the setting feels a tiny bit like a film set [is there an element of parody in the lightning strikes?] because Martin's personality shift stretches my credulity and because the male characters don't exactly endear themselves to me. less

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