Bookseller synopsis:
In Edwardian Suffolk, a manor house stands alone in a lost corner of the Fens: a glinting wilderness of water whose whispering reeds guard ancient secrets. Maud is a lonely child growing up without a mother, ruled by her repressive father.
When he finds a painted medieval devil in a graveyard, unhallowed forces are awakened.
Maud’s battle has begun. She must survive a world haunted by witchcraft, the age-old legends of her beloved fen – and the even more nightmarish demons of her father’s past.
Spanning five centuries, Wakenhyrst is a darkly gothic thriller about murderous obsession and one girl’s longing to fly free by the bestselling author of Dark Matter and Thin Air. Wakenhyrst is an outstanding new piece of story-telling, a tale of mystery and imagination laced with terror.
My reading experience:
From the beginning of this book, the reader is awash with imagery and mystery and the desire to unravel it makes this book a page turner.
Maud is a young girl growing up in a household fraught with duty, obsession and death. The mystery of marriage and of babies forms her curious faith in folklore until one sharply grim day, she propels herself into truth.
This gothic tale is atmospheric and haunting, the author bringing the madness of the fen to life. The gradual emergence of the psychological demise of Mauds father is a kaleidoscope of events and horrors. My feelings towards characters swung like a pendulum throughout this book and I was definitely in a different place by the end of the book.
I highly recommend this page turner and look forward to more by this author.
Appletree Books 