There’s a
stranger in your house…
When her
stepmother dies unexpectedly, Caro returns to her childhood home in Derbyshire.
She hadn’t seen Elizabeth in years, but the remote farmhouse offers refuge from
a bad relationship, and a chance to start again.
But going
through Elizabeth’s belongings unearths memories Caro would rather stay buried.
In particular, the story her stepmother would tell her, about two little girls
and the terrible thing they do.
As heavy
snow traps Caro in the village, where her neighbours stare and whisper, Caro is
forced to question why Elizabeth hated her so much, and what she was hiding.
But does she really want to uncover the truth?
A haunting
and twisty story about the lies we tell those closest to us, perfect for fans
of Ruth Ware and Cass Green.
What did I think?
You can’t help but be
intrigued by the creepy prologue of somebody lying in a hospital bed
seemingly all but dead, but alive with thoughts and feelings. As we
launch into a stepmother’s funeral in chapter one, we know we’re not about to
encounter an ordinary family but just how twisted can they be? The answer
is VERY!
When their stepmother
dies, Steph and Caro inherit the estate their father left in trust for
them. Steph strangely decides that she doesn’t want anything and agrees
to give Caro her share, including the house they grew up in. A struggling
artist, Caro moves into the house where she is reminded of her youth…and finds
the pear drum that her stepmother scared her with all those years ago.
Even more bizarre is the commission that Caro receives to illustrate a
childrens’ book called The Pear Drum and Other Dark Tales from the
Nursery. There’s no such thing as coincidence surely? As Caro
starts drawing, her memories start to come back…gradually revealing a dark
secret that has been buried for many years.
The stepmother storyline
gives quite a fairytale feeling to the story and Caro’s upbringing was
reminiscent of Cinderella tormented by not only her stepmother but her older
sister, Steph. Caro is such a flawed and damaged main character and, as
we read snippets of her past, I couldn’t help but feel that she was heading
towards another storm as I remembered the hospital bed from the prologue.
With shocks and
surprises around every corner, Cuckoo is a riveting and thrilling psychological thriller that has the feel of
a spooky adult fairytale.
I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
My rating:
Buy it from Amazon
Follow the tour:
No comments:
Post a Comment