When a boy goes missing in a small town, his teacher is convinced there is a connection to the local woods. Chuck, an elderly resident is concerned over the shouting coming from next door and the effect it’s having on the children, Ryan and his twin Immy….who has her own secrets…
The author of Darkened Wings Flutter, Lou Yardley is not one I was familiar with before reading this. I found her writing style very easy to read, the varying lengths of chapters engaging, the characters well thought out, as was the story.
And yet, I wasn’t feeling it. There was something about the novel that wasn’t working for me…until a scene in a bath tub and then all bets were off!
The first part of the novel made it feel like there were no surprises, but after that moment, the surprises came think and fast. Character behaviour changed, secrets came pouring out, surprising (and gruesome) deaths happened as the novel raced to its climax.
That’s not to say the book doesn’t have some flaws. There’s a couple of story developments that perhaps, unless I misread something, didn’t work for me. The ending of the book doesn’t give all the answers, suggesting there may be a follow-up to it coming at some point.
I didn’t find the novel scary, but that said, it is one of the goriest novels I’ve read for some time. It’s well paced, well written and does have a good ending too.
It’s worth a read, but you may just have to be a little patient with it at first.
Rating: *** out of 5
