A haunting story!
Ailsa Carter is a 30 something journalist, who inherits the Scottish manor where she was born after her mother dies. She is always wondering what happened to her father. The kicker is she only gets half the house and the other half is left to her father, so she must find out what happened to her father 27 years ago.
"My father is happily living in Australia with a lady called Sarah or Susan. They have a handful of charming children with the exception of the last, who even in his early twenties is something of a handful (they call him their "late bloomer") though of course, my father struggles endlessly with thoughts of the child he left behind. But he's come too far to be able to see a way back to her."
Statements like the one above are at the beginning of every chapter, I realized after I finished the book that these were just things that Ailsa was imagining happened to her father. She moves into the manse temporarily, the locals are not very friendly to her, her family has been the 'talk' of the towns since her father disappeared. Threatening notes and dead animals appear on her doorstep and live animals won't come onto the grounds past the gate.
This book has some interesting and sinister characters, undertones of supernatural make this a story worth reading. I love the writing style, including the statements at the beginning of each chapter, it made her father seem like a real person and had me curious. So what did happen to Ailsa's father and what is going on with the 'Manse"? Will Ailsa be able to overcome her issues both personally and with her father? I encourage you to pick up a copy of this amazing book! Now I have to read The French Girl!
