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.