Evil runs through this cursed island
And these wicked sisters are about to make it burn...
When sisters Lily and Della Pedley are persecuted for the shocking murder of their parents, they flee from their home in Cornwall to a remote and unnamed island in Scotland – an island known for its strange happenings, but far away from the whispers and prying eyes of strangers.
Lily is terrified of what her sister will might do next, and she soon realises that they have arrived at a place where nothing is as it seems. A bitterness runs through the land like poison, and the stories told by the islanders seem to be far more than folklore.
Della settles in too easily, the island folk drawn to her strangeness, but Lily is plagued by odd and unsettling dreams, and as an annual festival draws nigh, she discovers that she has far more to fear than she could ever have imagined. Or does she…?
Chilling, atmospheric and utterly hypnotic, Small Fires is a contemporary gothic novel that examines possession, generational trauma, female rage, and the perilous bonds of family – an unsettling reminder that the stories we tell can be deadly…
Midsommar meets Midnight Mass in a folk horror, modern gothic masterpiece.
Small Fires is the first book by Ronnie Turner that I have read so I didn't know what to expect but this disturbing gothic tale had me enthralled from the start. It's like a Grimm's fairy tale for adults that is very dark but completely mesmerising.
The Pedley sisters were never proven to have killed their parents but there was something not quite right in that family. The flashbacks to the girls' past are very unsettling with a definite undertone of evil. When they move to Scotland, this evil follows them but the Scottish island has its own dark secrets so the girls may have met their match.
Oh my goodness this goosebump-inducing novel chilled me to the bone and it probably wasn't the best idea to read it in bed each night as I had some rather strange dreams after putting the book down. Ronnie Turner's beautiful and hypnotic writing combines mystery, myth and folklore to give the novel the feel of an adult fairy tale with a hint of a gothic horror.
Clever, creepy and compelling, Small Fires is a haunting and atmospheric novel that sent shivers down my spine. Highly recommended if you're looking for something unique and unusual to read.
I received a digital ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
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