Welcome to my stop on the Blog Tour for Grace, via Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources.
Blurb
A haunting, atmospheric modern Gothic horror tale based on traditional Irish mythology, from the author of smash hit The Watchers. Ancient evil is awakened on a lonely isle off the coast of Ireland.
To learn the truth would you descend into hell?
Off the west coast of Ireland lies a lonely island, isolated and wilfully forgotten. Some say there hasn’t been a child born on the island for thirty years. Others speak of strange deaths there, decades ago. But no one really knows what happened. Locals believe that the dark times are behind them.
They are mistaken.
Grace, adopted at four years old, has never known where she came from. A mysterious phone call leads her back to the island where she was born – and where a terrible evil has been disturbed.
As the evil starts to spread, Grace finds herself dragged back into a living nightmare that threatens to engulf anyone who steps into its path.
Grace is perfect for fans of horror classics, Paul Tremblay, and Kealan Patrick Burke.
My Review (4 stars out of 5)
This is the first book I’ve read by this author, and it gets off to a great start. Finding she’s been left a house in her birth-mother’s will, bookshop owner Grace sets off for a mysterious island. Before she even arrives, the creepiness sets in, establishing a sinister atmosphere that never lets up. On the island, Grace looks forward to meeting the community’s religious leader, Father O’Malley, who appears to be the only one who doesn’t know the community’s dark secret.
I have mixed feelings about this book – on one hand, it is at times beautifully written and delightfully disturbing, with creepy characters and a forbidding landscape that plays its own part in the story. At the same time, there are aspects to the author’s writing style that really irritated me. (I won’t go into them, as I’m aware that most people aren’t as finnicky as I am.)
All in all, a spooky tale that will scare the pants off anyone who loves the supernatural.
Author Bio
A.M. Shine writes in the Gothic horror tradition. Born in Galway, Ireland, he received his Master’s Degree in History there before sharpening his quill and pursuing all things literary and macabre. He is a member of the Irish Writers Centre. His debut novel, The Watchers, has been made into a major motion picture produced by M. Night Shyamalan.
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Colin Garrow 