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As Callum continued to dig in the current mystery, his mind is also slowly clearing up his murky memory of the past. Hand in hand along with secrets the townspeople carried and hid, Veronica Lando wove an intricate mystery replete with smokescreens and suspense. A powerful and thrilling read! There's just too many holes in this book! Why wouldn't Emma had told Frank she was pregnant? Why is this book written like it's from the 40's and these two can't be together? It was the 80's! Why wouldn't the police have found Emma's family after she was murdered? The police couldn't find them?? They were just so impossible to find when they weren't even hiding. Frank loved Emma so much he'd kill himself over her death but didn't go after her when she left and try to find her? Also these two were like 26 when this happened. Writing style would have you believe they were teenagers but they were almost 30! How would they link the baby to Emma? Dna wasn't really a thing in the 80's. Okay look, Darcy Coates tried to do something somewhat different than normal. I can see that. I recognize it. She’s done it a few times. But in this case, I didn’t really like it. I do think she writes tried and true haunted house stories best.
If you like horror, especially a good ghost story, then this book is for you. It seems to be definitely meant for an adult audience. But there isn't a whole lot of swearing, some violence. I would say, older teen and up for this book. With a vividly portrayed atmosphere, that pervades every moment of the book, The Whispering is a deeply situational text. I’m not very familiar with the tropical rainforest area depicted in this book, but thanks to the author’s descriptive prose, I could imagine this setting incredibly well. As my mind and imagination went into overdrive, so did my sense of unease. The location base of The Whispering is steeped in suspicion, tension, fretfulness, turmoil and anxiety. The setting seems to go hand in hand with the narrative, making The Whispering a top notch read. I certainly enjoyed the stirring tension that pervades this novel. This review is based on a complimentary copy from HarperCollins Publishers Australia via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.These guidelines and standards aim to keep the content on Booking.com relevant and family-friendly without limiting expression of strong opinions. They are also applicable regardless of the sentiment of the comment.
The Whispering by Veronica Lando is an absolutely amazing debut novel! It is so atmospheric, creepy and mysterious. It definitely has the WOW factor! The way it was written took some of the pleasure out of this read for me. There was a lot of telling, telling me each and every little detail sometimes. I nearly quit it a few times. I kept going anyway, I found enough to have hope that the story would develop beyond that level. The telling got better towards the end enough that I'll give book two a try. There where holes in the story, big ones, perhaps they'll be filled later in the series. First books in a series are always tough.
Zoe's stupid ridiculous reasoning for Keira to watch out for Mason is hilarious. She tells her that he went through years of schooling to become a doctor and dropped out his last year. That's it! Ohhhhh scandalous!! Zoe made a noise that was somewhere between derision and annoyance. “Look, I’m not telling you to shun him or anything, but…just be cautious. He’s hiding something. And in my calculated opinion, there’s an extremely high chance that he’s a serial killer who had to flee the campus in fear of being caught.” Why does that mean he's hiding something?? Maybe he couldn't afford school anymore. Maybe someone was going through an illness. Callum Haffenden returned to Granite Creek after thirty years of avoiding it. He had a major life-altering accident at the Far North Queensland boulders; the same place where two girls, seventeen years apart, and now a local grown man went missing without a trace. All the locals had been warned about the whispering, and knew better than to step out of the rainforest trail to follow it. She also deftly reminds us of Australia’s violent history with the massacre of Australia’s Indigenous people, its owners, when the country was invaded in the late 1700s and early 1800s. The ‘whispering’ is said to be the children who lost their lives, calling or singing for playmates to join them… luring them off the boulders into the afterlife. I did feel like the aforementioned supernatural elements weren't explored enough, however. I had hoped to learn more about the origins of the "Muse", and how the watch and Eugene Grieves fit into all of it. This was explained to a certain extent but was only done so very briefly, and it would've made the story just slightly more satisfying. I love that the story is so immersive, which is down to a clever plot but more importantly believable characters that evolve over the course of the novel. None of the characters are sugary sweet, they all have an agenda which is tested in different ways as the cost of loyalty is tested.
The mystery element in The Whispering is a slow burn which worked well in my eyes. The pace is set to a constant beat with some great acceleration towards the end of the novel as the book winds to its highly anticipated conclusion. Tying into some underlying themes around rumour, gossip, reporting, folklore, policing, regret and disability makes Veronica Lando’s debut a liberal slice of Australian crime fiction. The Whispering will ensure you keep your eyes open for the duration, it’s an all consuming read! This was just the most hard to read Coates I’ve come across. You have to suspend your disbelief with all of her books…. But for this one I just kind of couldn’t. Set in Far North Queensland the book has such an atmospheric setting that you feel like you are right there experiencing the tropical weather with the humidity and the constant rain with a cyclone fast approaching. Anyone else who spots something suspicious can always report it to our Customer Service team, so our Fraud team can investigate. Set at the Mercury Theatre in Victorian London, Miss Jennifer Wilcox accepts a job offer from Mrs Dyer, the wife of the Mercury's owner. Fallen on hard times - the cause of which is revealed later - Jennifer must provide for her family and despite being brought low by her circumstances, eagerly accepts the position of dresser. Jennifer will need to make and mend all of the costumes, style hair and organise the accessories for the leading actress at the Mercury.General strategies on how to take down foes large and small, monstrous and humanoid, boss or mundane. A tremor shook Lilith's frame. Her eyes flew open, fixed and staring at the gallery. The audience looked over their shoulders. Did she see something we couldn't?” Suspicious of Lilith, the jealous wife of the theatre owner sends dresser Jenny to spy on her, and desperate for the money to help her family, Jenny agrees. What Jenny finds is a woman as astonishing in her performance as she is provocative in nature. Discover wonderful wildlife tours to book and experience in Scotland, including bird watching safaris, whale watching, farm tours and much more!
Dynamic and highly-detailed environments are for you to explore. We created a full-scale village that holds many mysteries. Each door can be opened, each building can be entered. Using the 360° panoramic viewing and the zoom in functionality, you can even examine every little detail that catches your eye. Is it too dark to see? Hold up your lantern to light your surroundings and uncover the horrors that darkness beholds. Deep down, I was every bit as sentimental and self-deceiving as Mrs Dyer herself. For I wanted her to be the kind benefactor from a story-book, my fairy godmother. I wanted my happy ending.” But the past is not as simple as it seems, and Keira's time is running out. Tangled in a dangerous web, she has to find a way to free the spirit... even if it means offering her own life in return.I’d like to thank NetGalley and Bloomsbury for approving me for an ARC of this book. I first came across Laura Purcell when I listened to the audio, The Shape of Darkness, since then I have been collecting her books and couldn’t resist reading this one. I read this with my lovely friend Bex via Storygraph. Really creepy gothic horror finds its perfect setting in a Victorian theatre, full of superstition, ambition and dramatic exits! Despite her unique gift, Soon-ae is an introverted and lonely girl who lives a secluded life with her grandmother. When In-chul comes to interview her about the murders, she confides in him about the ghost she has been talking to. Her story piques In-chul's interest, and he decides to investigate further. Lando’s lead is an excellent character and I gravitated towards this figure from the early moments of the novel, right through to the dramatic close. A man with an inherent drive to get to the truth, I greatly admired Callum’s tough resolve. I also found Callum’s past history in regards to his family and acquaintances interesting to uncover. The folk of Granite Creek are a fantastic conglomeration and I saw them as a very solid representation of a community feeling the impact of such long standing tragedy. Lando interrogates this aspect of her novel at all points, making the community tension aspect a true highlight of this novel. When it comes to accommodation in Scotland, there's a fantastic choice of amazing stays from luxury hotels to glamping getaways.
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