I gave this book 4 stars as it is well thought out and well written, but for various reasons I would rather have given 3 1/2 (too good for 3 but fell short of a 4). I decided to be generous and round up instead of down.
The telling of the story from the viewpoint of each character and interweaving their tales showed the unreliability of memory and how our personality and experience shape how we remember events. Each person has their own tale and somewhere in between lies the truth, as they say.
I did feel, however, that being bounced back and forward between so many characters was a little confusing at first until I got a handle on who they all were ( luckily there was a cast list at the beginning of the book to help out).
Given the first entry I had thought that there would be more of a supernatural element to the book and I was a little disappointed that the chance to weave Libby and her witchcraft through the plot didn't materialise. I thought it was a missed opportunity, making it more of a mundane,sex, betrayal and power, murder mystery. The underlying tale was of the fate of women at the hands of men. Patrick, in particular saw women as angels or whores, very much as they were viewed in Libby's time, and I would have liked to see her hand reaching through the centuries to leave its imprint on the lives of the modern day women.
I have to say I found all of the characters unlikable, except , perhaps Nickie, the fraudulent psychic who was used to move the plot along and drop clues. Again I felt this was a missed opportunity for a supernatural aspect. The river, the many deaths, the haunted house, the "troublesome women" all lent themselves to a different story entirely.
I would need to give too many spoilers to discuss other layers of the book but I will say that there was a sensitive handling of subjects such as suicide, domestic violence, PTSD and inappropriate relationships.
Overall, an enjoyable read, skillfully written, but for me it just lacked that little extra that would have made it a strong 4.
The telling of the story from the viewpoint of each character and interweaving their tales showed the unreliability of memory and how our personality and experience shape how we remember events. Each person has their own tale and somewhere in between lies the truth, as they say.
I did feel, however, that being bounced back and forward between so many characters was a little confusing at first until I got a handle on who they all were ( luckily there was a cast list at the beginning of the book to help out).
Given the first entry I had thought that there would be more of a supernatural element to the book and I was a little disappointed that the chance to weave Libby and her witchcraft through the plot didn't materialise. I thought it was a missed opportunity, making it more of a mundane,sex, betrayal and power, murder mystery. The underlying tale was of the fate of women at the hands of men. Patrick, in particular saw women as angels or whores, very much as they were viewed in Libby's time, and I would have liked to see her hand reaching through the centuries to leave its imprint on the lives of the modern day women.
I have to say I found all of the characters unlikable, except , perhaps Nickie, the fraudulent psychic who was used to move the plot along and drop clues. Again I felt this was a missed opportunity for a supernatural aspect. The river, the many deaths, the haunted house, the "troublesome women" all lent themselves to a different story entirely.
I would need to give too many spoilers to discuss other layers of the book but I will say that there was a sensitive handling of subjects such as suicide, domestic violence, PTSD and inappropriate relationships.
Overall, an enjoyable read, skillfully written, but for me it just lacked that little extra that would have made it a strong 4.