GOODREADS
An unconventional vicar moves to a remote corner of the English countryside, only to discover a community haunted by death and disappearances both past and present--and intent on keeping its dark secrets--in this explosive, unsettling thriller from acclaimed author C. J. Tudor.
Welcome to Chapel Croft. Five hundred years ago, eight protestant martyrs were burned at the stake here. Thirty years ago, two teenage girls disappeared without a trace. And two months ago, the vicar of the local parish killed himself.
Reverend Jack Brooks, a single parent with a fourteen-year-old daughter and a heavy conscience, arrives in the village hoping to make a fresh start and find some peace. Instead, Jack finds a town mired in secrecy and a strange welcome package: an old exorcism kit and a note quoting scripture. "But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be known."
The more Jack and her daughter Flo get acquainted with the town and its strange denizens, the deeper they are drawn into their rifts, mysteries, and suspicions. And when Flo is troubled by strange sightings in the old chapel, it becomes apparent that there are ghosts here that refuse to be laid to rest.
But uncovering the truth can be deadly in a village where everyone has something to protect, everyone has links with the village's bloody past, and no one trusts an outsider.
WATERSTONES
FICTIONOPHILE.COM
A compelling though intricate plot. Maybe too intricate. The ‘mystery’ about Rev Jack was very predictable early on, the details relating to dystonia were unconvincing, and several of the ghosts were unexplained, But overall, a fantastic read
Liked by 1 person
I agree. We must forgive the author a modicum of artistic license.
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Some favorite quotes from this novel:
“I remind myself that old age is not a disease but a destination.”
“Guilt is a little like grief. A cancer of the soul. They both hollow you out from the inside.”
“We all have our hiding places. Not just physical ones. Places deep inside where we put away the things we don’t want others to see.”
“Bad memories are like splinters. Sometimes painful, but you learn to live with them. The problem is, they always work their way up to the surface eventually.”
“We think of love as being unconditional, but very few of us ever want to put that to the test.”
“I think again how unprepared we are for illness and old age. How we trundle toward it unthinkingly, like lemmings toward the edge of a cliff. The tiny humans we coo over at the start of their lives, we shudder to look upon at the end.”