Book Review: Wakenhyrst; Michelle Paver.

The last book I read by Michelle Paver was her ghost story, 'Thin Air' and I really enjoyed it! I was super excited to receive this NetGalley copy of her latest book, 'Wakenhyrst' and read it for Halloween!

SOURCE: NetGalley
TYPE: E-Read

TITLE: Wakenhyrst
AUTHOR: Michelle Paver
SERIES: --
PUBLISHER: Head Of Zeus
PAGES: 368
GENRE: Horror, Historical, Gothic, Mystery

RATING: 4/5 Stars

Blurb:
In Edwardian Suffolk, a manor house stands alone in a lost corner of the Fens: a glinting wilderness of water whose whispering reeds guard ancient secrets. Maud is a lonely child growing up without a mother, ruled by her repressive father.

When he finds a painted medieval devil in a graveyard, unhallowed forces are awakened.

Maud's battle has begun. She must survive a world haunted by witchcraft, the age-old legends of her beloved fen – and the even more nightmarish demons of her father's past.

What I Liked:

• The setting was so spooky and atmospheric, which is the first part of getting any horror right. I loved the creepy old house that backed onto an even creepier marsh, and watching the wild forces of nature from the fens collide with 'civilised' society was very interesting.
• I also loved the pacing of this book. Paver switched between Maud's account and the diary entries of her father, whose slow descent into madness was fascinating.

What I Disliked:

• I have to say it took me a while to get into the actual plot. There's an epistolary-style back and forth surrounding Maud as an elderly woman before we get into the main story and it didn't immediately grab me.

Overall Conclusion:

The first few chapters of this book were confusing and a little hard to progress through, but once I got to the meat of the story I was totally hooked and see how they played a part in building up the mystery. I definitely want to read more of Paver's work in the future, I've loved it so far!