"A memory-less mum, a sinister school, ageing reflections, and a whole lot of lake ghouls — this compellingly creepy mystery is fearsomely suspenseful."
From its gloriously gothic setting, to its chilling cast of characters, Eibhlis Carcione’s Black Gables seeps seriously sinister vibes, much like the author’s kookily spooky Welcome to Dead Town Raven McKay.
A creepy closed-world mystery that closes in ever creepily, this is a story for readers who aren’t afraid of things that go bump in the night. Rather, this terrifying tale comes recommended for those who’d go looking for lake ghouls that rise from murky waters, such as those that haunt the pages of this uniquely suspenseful story.
“People have gone missing in Black Gables – but no one ever talked about that before I came here”. So shares Rosella, whose family have moved to her mother’s childhood home, Black Gables. After losing her memory, the doctors hope “being here will jog her memory and bring her back to me and Dad”. As things stand, Rosella is struggling with the fact that Mum “doesn’t even know who I am”.
On arrival, Rosella is struck by the eeriness of Black Gables and the school she’s to attend, which “lies at the edge of a dark lake in the village of Black Gables. It’s a place “where the hills are haunted by the curlew’s call”, with the waters of the Stygian Lake constantly shifting colours. Then there’s all the strange teachers, including the impossibly creepy headmaster Mr Edge, Ms Nightshade, who carries around a large doll in her likeness, and Ms Bugly with her nasty cat.
While Rosella keeps seeing a girl in an orange coat who claims to know her mother (why can’t anyone else see her?), she witnesses truly terrifying happenings at the lake: “The kids were screaming at their reflections. They were saying their reflections were old and wrinkled. The two of you were screaming too. There were green-skinned people in the water. I’ve never seen anything as scary”.
Un-put-down-able for fans of creepy fiction, Black Gables exudes something of a Demon Headmaster vibe, with added gothic atmosphere.
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