Prior to the publication of Book 2 in the Annie Jackson series, I am delighted to repost my review of Michael J Malone's gothic thriller, The Murmurs .
In the beginning there was fear.
White-hot, nerve-shredding fear.
Terrifying premonitions of deaths.
And then they started…
The Murmurs…
On
the first morning of her new job at Heartfield House, a care home for
the elderly, Annie Jackson wakens from a terrifying dream. And when she
arrives at the home, she knows that the first old man she meets is going
to die.
How she knows this is a terrifying mystery,
but it is the start of horrifying premonitions … a rekindling of the
curse that has trickled through generations of women in her family – a
wicked gift known only as 'the murmurs'…
With its reappearance comes an old, forgotten fear that is about to grip Annie Jackson.
And this time, it will never let go…
A
compulsive gothic thriller and a spellbinding supernatural mystery
about secrets and small communities, about faith, courage and
self-preservation, The Murmurs is a startling and compulsive read from one of Scotland's finest authors…
My Thoughts
Written
with such an effortless style, this thriller flows from start to
finish. A dual timeline, you follow Annie's story in the present and
some years back, as well as discovering more about the curse which has
haunted her family from centuries ago, told through a journal. This make
for a story which is rich in atmosphere, with credible characters who
find themselves in a web of intrigue, secrets and subterfuge. Annie has
to try to make sense of what appears to be inner voices which warn of
death and danger. Her family dynamics are difficult to decipher, both by
her and the reader, for much at the book but there is a satisfying
explanation by the end.
You cannot escape the sense of foreboding throughout the story with
nothing quite what it seems. At the centre, Annie's relationship with
Lewis, her twin brother, is a steadying influence. With death, murder,
disappearance and deceit, overlaid with a supernatural flavour, I found
this to be an intriguing read. With devout evangelism and hints of
witchcraft side by side, the story plays out largely against an isolated
backdrop where no questions are asked. Just as Annie avoids looking at
people's faces for fear of what she will see there, there is a sense of
fear niggling away on the sidelines, throughout.
In short: a gothic thriller full of twists and turns
About the Author
Michael Malone is
a prize-winning poet
and author who
was born and
brought up in
the heart of
Burns’ country. He
has published over
200 poems in
literary magazines throughout
the UK, including
New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. Blood
Tears, his bestselling debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish
Association of Writers. His psychological thriller, A Suitable Lie, was a
number-one bestseller, and the critically
acclaimed House of
Spines, After He Died
and In the Absence
of Miracles soon
followed suit. A
former Regional Sales
Manager (Faber &
Faber) he has also worked as an IFA and a bookseller. Michael lives in
Ayr.
You can read my review of House of Spines here and After He Died here and In the Absence of Miracles here. and A Song of Isolation here and Quicksand of Memory here.
Thanks to Michael Malone, and Karen Sullivan and Anne Cater of Orenda Books for a copy of the book.
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