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A review by obsidian_blue
Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce
2.0
Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.
I really wish I could have gotten into this one more, but it was such a slow book and it just kept taking me out of it that nowhere was anything mentioned about the time period we were in. I of course noted it had to be the late 80s or early 90s due to the mention of walk-mans and the Ninja freaking Turtles, but it was driving me batty that it was never said. The characters in the book were loosely developed. The main lead we follow, Mina, was not that interesting to me. I was hoping we were going for a type of Midsomer book and we sort of get there towards the end, but again, it was a slow book that took me almost a month to get through.
"Something in the Walls" follows newly minted child psychologist, Mina. Mina though we find, is not quite okay. Something from her past with her late brother is troubling her, and she now wonders if she should even marry her fiancée Oscar (mentioned, but rarely seen). Mina attends a grief counseling session and there meets a journalist named Sam. Sam is working on a story about a 13 year old girl named Alice who many believe is possessed by a witch. Sam asks Mina to go with him to the village of Banathel where Alice and her family lives so Mina can assess Alice to determine if she is having some type of mental breakdown.
Honestly, most of the book does not do a great job with developing anyone. We have Mina, who we know is hiding something. Alice and her family seem to be caught up in some sort of violence due to her father's job at the local abattoir. The next door neighbors, Bert and Mary and Fern who seem to be holding onto secrets. Pearce jumps around a lot to the point I just kept going what story was she trying to tell. The story of Mina or what was really going on with Alice. On the last part, I think that the ending and reveal kind of undid all of that, but what do I know.
The flow of the book was pretty awful. I just felt as if I was reading and nothing was happening. Just Mina and Sam getting scared, Mina snooping, and Mina not actually doing anything I would assume a child psychologist should be doing.
The setting of Banathel was put to good use though. Taking place over a very hot summer, you could feel the heat and how oppressive the whole place felt. And you could see why a village like this would be taken over by hysterics regarding witches.
The ending didn't leave me with any sort of satisfaction, I think that there were too many plots to tie up. That said, I am glad I finally finished this one.
I really wish I could have gotten into this one more, but it was such a slow book and it just kept taking me out of it that nowhere was anything mentioned about the time period we were in. I of course noted it had to be the late 80s or early 90s due to the mention of walk-mans and the Ninja freaking Turtles, but it was driving me batty that it was never said. The characters in the book were loosely developed. The main lead we follow, Mina, was not that interesting to me. I was hoping we were going for a type of Midsomer book and we sort of get there towards the end, but again, it was a slow book that took me almost a month to get through.
"Something in the Walls" follows newly minted child psychologist, Mina. Mina though we find, is not quite okay. Something from her past with her late brother is troubling her, and she now wonders if she should even marry her fiancée Oscar (mentioned, but rarely seen). Mina attends a grief counseling session and there meets a journalist named Sam. Sam is working on a story about a 13 year old girl named Alice who many believe is possessed by a witch. Sam asks Mina to go with him to the village of Banathel where Alice and her family lives so Mina can assess Alice to determine if she is having some type of mental breakdown.
Honestly, most of the book does not do a great job with developing anyone. We have Mina, who we know is hiding something. Alice and her family seem to be caught up in some sort of violence due to her father's job at the local abattoir. The next door neighbors, Bert and Mary and Fern who seem to be holding onto secrets. Pearce jumps around a lot to the point I just kept going what story was she trying to tell. The story of Mina or what was really going on with Alice. On the last part, I think that the ending and reveal kind of undid all of that, but what do I know.
The flow of the book was pretty awful. I just felt as if I was reading and nothing was happening. Just Mina and Sam getting scared, Mina snooping, and Mina not actually doing anything I would assume a child psychologist should be doing.
The setting of Banathel was put to good use though. Taking place over a very hot summer, you could feel the heat and how oppressive the whole place felt. And you could see why a village like this would be taken over by hysterics regarding witches.
The ending didn't leave me with any sort of satisfaction, I think that there were too many plots to tie up. That said, I am glad I finally finished this one.