The Lighthouse Witches by C. J. Cooke

The Lighthouse Witches by C. J. Cooke tells three interconnected stories. In 1998 Liv, a single mother of three, takes an art commission to paint a mural inside a 100-year-old lighthouse on an island in Scotland. Since her husband died, life has been rough and she's barely been able to support her family. But, this job should keep her going for a while. 

The lighthouse has a hole that leads to a cave where people accused of witchcraft were tortured in the 17th century; and, superstition on the island runs deep. When a child knocks at her door, has Liv found a wildling? Wildlings are supernatural beings that take the place of children, allegedly due to a curse by the witches who were executed in 1662, and they have been accused of causing the deaths of entire families for centuries. 

In 2021, Luna receives a startling call. Back in 1998, her mother Liv and both of her sisters, Clover and Sapphire (Saffy), went missing. Now, Clover has reappeared and Luna is her only known relative. But, when Luna travels to Scotland from her home in Coventry, she is stunned to find that her little sister is the same age she was when she disappeared, rather than a 30-year-old woman. And, she has a mark on her leg that is known to be the mark of the wildling. Is Clover really her sister or a strange being that took her place? Is Luna in danger? 

There's also a third storyline that intertwines, but it's a lesser part of the story. In 1998, Saffy has found the grimoire (a book of magic spells, although it reads like a diary) of a man from 1662. Since there's little to do on the island and not a lot of reading material but Saffy is an avid reader, she reads the grimoire. It describes the accusations of witchcraft that took place on the island and the confessions and deaths of the women accused. 

Highly recommended - Creepy, atmospheric, fascinating, sometimes a little scary, well-written and very meaningful. I didn't find The Lighthouse Witches extremely scary but there were some violent and disturbing scenes so I was also a bit surprised not to have any nightmares at all while I was reading it. In the end, the really great thing about the book is that it has a very satisfying ending (in my humble opinion) and an exceptional theme, really an indictment of cruel misogyny, the author's point being that the world needs to stop persecuting women for simply existing. I loved the depth of meaning and will be watching for more by this author, for sure. 

I did have one issue with the book. The grimoire excerpts read like a contemporary diary to me. In fact, it took me a long time to figure out that that particular storyline took place in 1662 as it lacked a date label, although Saffy may have mentioned it being from that time period. I considered that a minor issue as she did a fantastic job of interconnecting the stories and eventually the time period does become clear, even if the language feels off. 

My thanks to Berkley Books for the review copy! 

As you can see, I was finally able to take an outdoor photo after a long, hot, wet summer. It's warmed back up but we cooled off for 3 or 4 whole days! Wow, was that fun. 

©2021 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Cold Granite by Stuart MacBride

Talk about an unusual read for this bookfool! I don't read true crime, anymore, and seldom read crime novels for the same reason. I used to read both all the time. I stopped reading true crime when my husband told me he was coming home to find me in tears a little too often and I needed to give it up. Crime novels and mysteries . . . burnout. I was addicted to a number of mystery series for several years and then just suddenly couldn't stand them. Now, I really no longer have the ability to freeze out the yuck from my brain (not that I was very good at it in the first place -- see: Husband Advice). But, after a slumpy month, I needed to shake up my reading and I've found the best way to knock myself out of a slump is to read something very different from my normal fare. So, there you go. 

Cold Granite does have a lot of gruesome scenes, incidentally. If you can't tolerate them (particularly if you're upset by crime against children) you might want to avoid this, although I think the writing is exceptional and it was because of that fact that I was able to overlook the most disgusting bits.

Detective Sergeant Logan McRae of Aberdeen, Scotland has just returned to work after nearly being killed in the line of duty. Now, Aberdeen seems to have a child killer on the loose. Within days, bodies are found and several children go missing. Logan is still occasionally having some trouble with his injury, so the new boss assigns a uniformed female Police Constable to work with him . . . or, maybe babysit him. He's not too happy about it, at first. 

There is so much that happens in this book that I don't think I can even unravel it enough to talk about the various threads but there's a man who has a mental problem and collects the dead animals he scoops up from the side of the road, a young man who has been caught in a crime of his own and has to testify about the abuse he suffered when he was in a hospital, and Logan dealing with a new boss who isn't sure he should be back at work and an old flame at work who wants to stay well away from him. There's also a reporter who keeps coming up with information he shouldn't have and publicizing it and he wants to weasel information out of Logan. Suffice it to say, Cold Granite is nicely complex and twisty. 

Meanwhile, it's very cold and snowy in Aberdeen, which feeds into the mood. There's mention of Christmas decorations, so there's a tiny bit of the season injected. It's way too grisly to call a Christmas read, though. 

Highly recommended but not for the faint of heart - I'm normally the faint of heart and I really had to work at shutting out the images of autopsies and decomposed bodies, but I thought Cold Granite was incredibly well-written with believable characters and dialogue and I liked Logan. Will I read on in the series? After closing the book, I felt tempted but I'm about to attempt a year-long book-buying ban and read only from my shelves (not even the library). So, it's very unlikely that I'll get to another MacBride book right away. However, I will definitely remember this author and series and I think someday I will try to read on. This particular book was originally published in 2005 so there are quite a few more books in the series. 

©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Endless Beach by Jenny Colgan

A note up front: The Endless Beach is apparently a follow-up book to The Café by the Sea (I couldn't tell if there was only one previous book or more from the author's intro, but I suspect that it's the second book that takes place with the same characters). While the author did a good job of catching up readers who missed the first book, I think it would have been more enjoyable to read The Café by the Sea, first.

Flora is the proprietor of the small Café by the Sea, a little shop that caters to the needs of islanders on the Scottish island of Mure. Flora has been in a relationship with her former boss, Joel, since he followed her to Mure and she gave up her London job. Now, Joel is working for a fabulously wealthy man who has fallen in love with Flora's brother and is planning to open a hotel on the island. The job is taking Joel away to New York City for long stretches and Flora is beginning to have doubts. Is he really the man for her?

Meanwhile, the café is beginning to struggle. After Flora caters a wedding, she has difficulty getting the bride to pay up. And, her low prices are starting to hit the bottom line hard. At the same time, whales have been seen off the coast of Mure. They're considered a bad omen and Flora is feeling uneasy.

What will become of Flora's relationship with Joel? What is his fabulously wealthy boss's crushing secret? And, will Flora be able to save the café?

There are other things going on in The Endless Beach. It has a bit of a soap opera feel (which I love), like you're a part of this little community and become invested in everyone's life. The local doctor, for example, left a wife and two children behind in Syria and a teacher and friend of Flora's has fallen for him. But, when he hears news about his family from a social worker, his world is turned upside-down and the teacher is left torn.

Highly recommended - I suggest reading The Café by the Sea, first, because I had a little difficulty understanding where the characters were coming from, in spite of the fact that the author catches you up nicely on events that occurred in the previous book. If you can't get your mitts on the first book you'll be fine; reading the first will just acquaint you with the characters and the background of the second book better. I love that feeling that you're swept into the happenings of the island and get a feel for the community, not just the main characters. And, I love Jenny Colgan's writing, in general. It leans "cheerful", even when the characters are facing challenges.

©2018 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.