bronwyn's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
abbyd's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
sblackhall's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.25
abbitha1108's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
heartstrings's review against another edition
slow-paced
2.0
Overwrought and the mystery with Will was bland. Pretty boring tbh.
pandasbookshelf's review against another edition
4.0
The Blackhouse | Carole Johnstone
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
The Blackhouse is a standalone mystery novel by author, Carole Johnstone. I have previously read Carole Johnstone’s debut Mirrorland. On the strength of Mirrorland, I eager grabbed up this book when it became available.
The Blackhouse follows Maggie Mackay, who when she was 5 years old announced that she was a man called Andrew MacNeil and that someone had murdered him. This intriguing premise drew me into the book immediately. The atmospheric setting in the remote island community of Blairmore makes this book something different. The author delivers a dark layered mystery which touches on mental health, supernatural, parenting, murder and much more.
The only thing I struggle with was the pacing. The book started out so strong, I was hooked immediately, the story that the author set up was tense, foreboding and I just had to know more. The middle section of the book dragged for me a bit and I was tempted at times to DNF. I’m glad I didn’t and felt the set up and strength of the books start allowed me to hold in there and get to the end. I enjoyed the way the author wrapped things up and I wasn’t disappointed.
The book is told with dual POV between Maggie and a male character. I enjoyed the Maggie chapters a lot more than the other ones. Maggie was an interesting protagonist and I felt the author portrayed her mental health and grief in a realistic way.
Overall this was a dark, complex mystery with interesting characters and set in a unique location. While I didn’t enjoy this one as much as Mirrorland, I will definitely continue to read more by this author going forward.
Thank you to Carole Johnstone, the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
The Blackhouse is a standalone mystery novel by author, Carole Johnstone. I have previously read Carole Johnstone’s debut Mirrorland. On the strength of Mirrorland, I eager grabbed up this book when it became available.
The Blackhouse follows Maggie Mackay, who when she was 5 years old announced that she was a man called Andrew MacNeil and that someone had murdered him. This intriguing premise drew me into the book immediately. The atmospheric setting in the remote island community of Blairmore makes this book something different. The author delivers a dark layered mystery which touches on mental health, supernatural, parenting, murder and much more.
The only thing I struggle with was the pacing. The book started out so strong, I was hooked immediately, the story that the author set up was tense, foreboding and I just had to know more. The middle section of the book dragged for me a bit and I was tempted at times to DNF. I’m glad I didn’t and felt the set up and strength of the books start allowed me to hold in there and get to the end. I enjoyed the way the author wrapped things up and I wasn’t disappointed.
The book is told with dual POV between Maggie and a male character. I enjoyed the Maggie chapters a lot more than the other ones. Maggie was an interesting protagonist and I felt the author portrayed her mental health and grief in a realistic way.
Overall this was a dark, complex mystery with interesting characters and set in a unique location. While I didn’t enjoy this one as much as Mirrorland, I will definitely continue to read more by this author going forward.
Thank you to Carole Johnstone, the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.
lauren_michelle's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
jcarsrud's review against another edition
3.0
I did not care for this book and am glad it’s over! I liked the premise, but couldn’t keep all of the people straight and just didn’t care for the main character enough to feel empathy for what she was going through. I really didn’t understand what was happening for most of the story.
seeandieread's review against another edition
3.0
Carole Johnstone's The Blackhouse is a tense mystery-thriller with supernatural elements set on an insular Scottish island with a dark history. I went into this expecting a run-of-the-mill thriller and was pleasantly surprised to find it more of a gothic novel with a somewhat unreliable narrator. I recommend this to anyone who wants their thriller with a side of ghost stories.
candiecane333's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
3.0
Maybe because it was an audiobook but this had me so confused with all the lies & twists. The story itself was predictable & the denouement was lacking but I enjoyed the actual writing & the ending