Oh I absolutely loved this. The format was a bit clunky - sending emails like text messages doesn't consistently work and I'm not sure why there couldn't be more text correspondence rather than email. Parts of it were a bit Pamela-esque in timing and format issue.

But the plot was great. I did guess some of it, but not all, which is rare for me! A good little brain twister.

I just bloody love these books.

The quotes on the back of this book must be about a different book. 'Delightfully naughty.' 'A pure joy' ?

I'm sorry, that's not the book I just read. Yeah it was addictive - I read it in a few hours. But that's more the format rather than anything else.

All the characters are miserable. Horrible. This is not a novel that depicts any redeeming characters.

I don't know. I get the themes feel important but as a novel to enjoy? No. Not really. There was nothing hopeful about it. No one to root for. No one I liked.

I was worried I wasn't going to like this one as it looked like it went off track. Never fear! Peter Grant doing his usual best.

So this isn't my usual kind of book and I started reading it thinking it was pretty much trash. And everyone kept banging on about incest. And as I got further in, it's quite clear that incest isn't the bloody point. I really enjoyed this. A great gothic novel. It deals with some big stuff - child abuse, maternal violence and neglect. Religion. Revenge. The psychological aspects of long term captivity. Child development. Love, money. Gender. And how all those things interact. I could go on. And yeah it's tawdry in parts and a bit salacious but there is a lot of pearl clutching going on and I've seen worse in game of thrones. Its a great gothic novel with all the tropes you'd expect.

I enjoyed this. Its so different to Evelyn Hardcastle. It's got more than a thread of Watson and Sherlock in it but it wasn't a problem. I got properly invested in some of the characters which is always a tricky ask for me as I'm a bit dead inside (so I'm told) and often don't really care!

I got some of the plot pretty quickly but the details of the twist were a good surprise, I'm rarely surprised, and I when I am it's not usually a surprise worth the effort.

Its not got 5 because I didn't enjoy it as much as Hardcastle and it wasn't as inventive.