THE BLURB
Marion Zetland lives with her domineering older brother, John in a decaying Georgian townhouse on the edge of a northern seaside resort. A timid spinster in her fifties who still sleeps with teddy bears, Marion does her best to shut out the shocking secret that John keeps in the cellar.
Until, suddenly, John has a heart attack and Marion is forced to go down to the cellar herself and face the gruesome truth that her brother has kept hidden.
As questions are asked and secrets unravel, maybe John isn’t the only one with a dark side
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MY REVIEW
My obsession for reading all things dark and twisted continues, and this ‘experience’ was one of the twisted , unnverving and creepiest I’ve ever had the pleasure (!) to embark on!! If you’re looking for a book full of fluffy, heart melting moments then this is NOT the book for you! But if you’re looking for a book to give you chills, repulse you and be completely disturbing then BUY THIS BOOK!!
The story focuses on Marion who is one of those characters you don’t know whether to feel outright sympathy for, or just lose patience with! Her life has been a hard one living amongst a completely dysfunctional family who treated her like dirt, and there was no escape from her lousy upbringing at school, where she was teased by pupils and teachers alike. But Marion seemed to accept her fate, and found her refuge in her attic bedroom amongst her cuddly toys who were her friends and always there for her.
Since the death of her mother, she has lived in the 6 bedroom home with her domineering, freak of a brother who she is in complete fear of due to his strange and violent behaviour – and is under strict control never to go in the cellar where John keeps ‘the visitors’. This is the start of the chilling side of the story as Marion often hears cries from the cellar but ignores them!! As you do!! I’m so glad I don’t have a cellar
As the story develops, Marion starts to slowly come out of her shell, even with just walking around the town she lives, revisiting an Aunts’ house that she finds up for sale which brings back worrying memories and constructing fantasy lives for herself based on people she meets. But things begin to change more when John has a heart attack and she has to confront her fears in the cellar – it is fascinating how she reacts when she has been so put upon her whole life and now she has an insight into her brothers’ hidden life..
I find it a little disturbing that I enjoyed this book so much!! The characters were strange creatures, and as you looked into their past you could begin to understand how they turned out the way they did!! The Visitors don’t really feature in the book until well past halfway, so that means you get more time delving into Marion and Johns’ upbringing and their outlook on life and people. There are also some fascinating email messages in between certain chapters, which don’t begin to make any sense until towards the end!
A fabulously dark and twisted debut from an author who I will definitely be following for future releases!!
thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the advanced readers copy in return for a fair and honest review.
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