I liked the fact that you are dropped right into the action without any real build up or back story to get in the way. As a reader you are just as desperate as the main character Grace to find out what happened to her husband Adam, just a few weeks after they arrived to live in the isolated village of Roseby.
The story moves at a good pace, gradually teasing you with further information about the residents of the sleepy town. Why is Ben so mysterious? And what is with Meredith, so outwardly polite but also lacking any real warmth. You can really feel Grace's desperation to solve the mystery of Adam's disappearance and her frustration at how little the people around her want to help. Like any good psychological thriller, you are genuinely kept wondering throughout. It seems everybody has secrets and just as Grace feels like she is getting close to an answer, another possibility crops up.
The pace really picks up towards the end, heightened by the town being cut off from civilization by a huge snowfall. You know Grace is almost there, grasping for the answer that is just out of reach.
Wonderfully written with tight, precise prose that transports you to a mysterious, eerie winter wonderland, Beneath The Shadows will keep you guessing right until the end.
Hi Helen
ReplyDeleteThanks for your review and for participating in the AWW challenge.
You're right. The moors are a great place for a psychological suspense story, and Foster makes the most of the setting. She did a great job of rendering the different accents, too.
I wonder if her new release is also going to be set in the UK?
Thanks Elizabeth. I am enjoying the AWW challenge so much - without it I would never have discovered so many Australian authors. Yes, I wonder if Sara will set a book entirely in Australia? I can think of a few creepy places here to she could set it in :-)
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