The Blackhouse - Carole Johnstone

I thought that Carole Johnstone's debut novel, Mirrorland, was brilliant. I was so excited when I saw she had a new book - The Blackhouse - coming out. I have to say, that for me, it's even better than her first book.

Take a second look at the cover. You'll see the sea and the waves at first glance. But what about that upside down house? It just oozes that Gothic feel doesn't it? I had goosebumps before even turning the first page. 

What adds to that Gothic feeling? Well, Johnstone has set this intriguing mystery on a sparsely populated island called Kilmeray, in the Outer Hebrides. What about the inhabitants? There aren't many, less than twenty. And not overly welcoming to outsiders. 

"For her entire life, Maggie MacKay has sensed something was wrong with her. When Maggie was five years old, she announced that a man on Kilmeray - a place she’d never visited - had been murdered." She returns to Kilmeray twenty years on to try and expunge the ghosts of her past and present. More goosebumps. There's another voice - that of Robert who also made his home on Kilmeray.

Get to know who's who as the book opens, as they all play a part in this imaginative, multilayered plot. Add the sea itself as a character. Johnstone's descriptions of the water, the waves, the sand, the cliffs and  evoke clear mental images. I could imagine standing on the shore, but afraid to step out further  as it feels like the sea has a life of it's own. 

The secrecy of each character will keep the reader guessing if what's presented is the truth. Everyone has their own agendas, secrets and lies. There are many twists and turns as the narrative takes another path with every unveiled revelation.

Johnstone's plotting is dark, gritty, tangled. unexpected and oh so addictive. The mystery is the lead element, but love, loss, guilt, mental illness, redemption, a hint of the mystical and more is woven throughout. It's all just so very, very good. See for yourself - read an excerpt of The Blackhouse. 

Best enjoyed on a dark and stormy night with the door locked.....

I will be eagerly awaiting a third book from Johnston, who is firmly on my 'must read' list. 

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore - Matthew Sullivan

Debut novels are such fun to read - there's no preconceived notion of what the author's work is like and the contents are a surprise just waiting to be discovered. That's how I felt about Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore - Matthew Sullivan's debut novel. I loved it - and it's one you're going to want to get your hands on.

Lydia Smith lives a quiet life, working as a bookseller at The Bright Ideas Bookstore. She is quite happy with her quiet life. As a child she was the lone survivor of a horrendous event - and she keeps those memories locked away. But tragedy comes to the bookstore when a young man hangs himself. Joey was one of Lydia's favourite BookFrogs - one of the 'lost men' of the neighbourhood who make the bookstore their 'home'. (I'll leave it to you to discover the why of this name - it's the perfect book reference.) But how and why would Joey have a picture of ten year old Lydia in his pocket when he died? Lydia is also the beneficiary of Joey's eclectic book collection. Joey seems to have left a message in the pages of those books. Lydia needs to decipher what it is and what the connection to her could be.......

Sullivan has worked in bookstores, as have I. I identified so much with the settings he had created, the behind the scenes areas, the love of books and the eclectic staff. The book titles referenced are great fun - both real and imagined. Anyone who loves books would want to work or visit Bright Ideas. The supporting cast of quirky characters is just as wonderfully drawn - BookFrogs included. But it is Lydia who will capture your heart.

"Lydia's skills as a bookseller came mainly, she believed, from her ability to listen. A raging case of bibliophilia certainly helped, as did limited financial needs, but it was her capacity to be politely trapped by others that really sealed her professional fate."

Oh my goodness, Sullivan is a clever, clever writer. The plot went places I couldn't imagine - but when I got there, I couldn't imagine it unfolding any other way. "The act was impulsive and had only taken seconds, yet it had rippled through the decades like a shockwave." Curious now, aren't you?

Yes, it's a mystery, But romance, family, life and more populate the pages of Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore. Absolutely recommended - this is hands down one of my favourite reads for 2017.