yvo_about_books's review
4.0
Finished reading: July 27th 2020
"Stories are like puzzles, charity shop jigsaws with half the pieces missing. It's up to you to fill in the blanks, let your mind form a version of the true picture."
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
Spoiler
I admit that I was fully intrigued as soon as I read the blurb of Sight Unseen. The promise of the 1648 flashbacks and a world of witches, scorcery and folklore to contrast the contemporary sounded absolutely fantastic and frankly simply irresistible. I had a feeling that I would enjoy my time with this first book of a new series, and my instincts most definitely turned out to be right. My first meeting with Sarah Sutherland was without doubt a success!
The first thing that stands out is the setting. Sight Unseen takes place in the fictional Kilgour, a small Scottish town with a fascinating history. The many descriptions really made the setting come alive for me and kind of made me wish the town was real so I could visit it someday... The flavor of Scotland is well represented and turns the setting into a real treat. We got to learn more about both the surroundings and the history of Kilgour through the tourist walk the main character Sarah hosts, and it was without doubt an unique way of getting to know the Scottish town.
I loved everything related to the 1648 flashbacks to Alie Gowdie and Rev. William Wilkie's time. Alie is known as the Kilgour witch and has an intriguing history, and I loved her connection with Sarah as she is currently living in the same house as Alie once inhabited. Sarah has investigated Alie's life for a long time, and it has been interesting to see more of the true story around Alie slowly come to light. The 1648 scenes without doubt took the story to the next level, and added more dept to the plot as well. The way the new information is comporated into the plot in different ways is a nice touch, and Sarah basically plays historical detective as she tries to unravel the truth of 300 years ago.
I also loved the hint of the paranormal and supernatural in Sight Unseen. We have the story of the witches and the witch hunt of the 17th century, the talk of the devil, the folklore elements, the sightings by Sarah's father John... All these elements definitely have the story a hint of the haunted and they were a nice contrast with the daily life and other elements in play in the plot. Oh yes, the contemporary storyline is also packed with 'ordinary' elements: Sarah's background, her relationship with her backpacking daughter, Sarah caring for her father, her work in the supermarket, her second job storytelling... All doused with a dose of mystery, romance and a hint of action to spice things up. It was especially fascinating to read more about the so-called Charles Bonnet Syndrome as part of the explanation, as I hadn't heard of it before and I liked how this element was developed in the story.
It is true that this story could have done without the romance, as it felt forced and not naturally developed. I didn't think the romance added anything substantial to the plot either, and only distracted from the whole situation with John as well as Alie's story. Sight Unseen uses a dual POV structure by switching between Rachel and her father John. On top of this, we get 1648 diary fragments written by Rev. William Wilkie as well as different POV fragments which identity is revealed later. The writing is easy on the eye and engaging, and while the pace is slow in points overall Sight Unseen is without doubt a solid and very entertaining read.
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.
lynsey1889's review
3.0
This was OK but a bit disappointed. I really love the author's style of writing and have read her other books. I think this one was maybe disappointing in comparison- the characters weren't so interesting and I found the plot a bit muddled in places. Will still pick up any more by her since I have enjoyed her others so much.
trudy26's review
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
shelfofunread's review
4.0
I love a book that draws parallels between the past and the modern day and Sandra Ireland’s Sight Unseen does not disappoint!
Set in the small Scottish town of Kilgour, the novel follows Sarah Sutherland. Long-suffering supermarket manager by day, Sarah indulges in her passion for history at night by running storytelling walks for Kilgour’s tourists, telling them tales of Alie Gowdie, the Kilgour Witch. With her marriage long ended, her daughter off travelling the world, and her aging father becoming increasingly dependant on her, Sarah worries that it might be too late to turn her passion into anything more than a side-hustle.
But when she gets asked to help transcribe the newly unearthed diaries of the Rev. Wilkie, Alie’s principle accuser, Sarah uncovers some dark secrets hiding behind the story of the Kilgour Witch. Could these long-buried truths provide Sarah with a way out of her humdrum existence? And might they be related to the ‘figures’ her father keeps seeing out of the corner of his eye? In both the past and the present, it seems Kilgour has more than a few things that some people might prefer stayed hidden.
Whilst I’m not entirely sure that ‘thriller’ is the best categorisation for Sight Unseen, I really enjoyed the pacy mystery at the heart of the book and the way the various plot strands interconnected. Without giving any of the plot away, there are some really interesting and unexpected connections between the story of Alie Gowdie and the plight of several women in Kilgour in the present day, as well as between Sarah’s investigations and her father’s ‘figures’.
Sandra Ireland has done such a good job of weaving all of the seemingly disperate strands of the plot together, and drawing parallels between the past and present. I was fascinated by the history around which the novel is based and the novel really captures the magic of archival research – that tenative hope that you might discover long-buried secrets hidden away amidst the crabbed scrawl of country parson, or the official records of a workhouse.
I found main character Sarah to be a compelling and likeable lead. Juggling the stresses of the day job with the pains of an empty nest, the regrets for roads not taken, and the strain of looking after an aging father, Sarah is fantastically relatable. Whether it’s fretting over the morality of her budding romance with a much younger man, or sinking a double gin and tonic at the end of a long day dealing with customer complaints about missing chicken legs, Sarah comes across as gloriously flawed and human. As Sight Unseen promises to be part of a series, I’m looking forward to seeing what Sarah does next given how much she develops over the course of the novel.
Sarah’s father John, the other character whose point of view we get to see, provides an interesting alternate perspective and a sympathetic portrayal of aging that is so rarely seen in books. Whilst deterioriating physically and increasingly dependant on Sarah, John is sharp, knowledgeable and determined, and I enjoyed seeing his perspective on events also described by Sarah, as well as his insights into her life and character.
As I said earlier, I’m not entirely sure I’d class the novel as a ‘thriller’. Whilst the plot is richly layered and there are plenty of secrets to be uncovered, for me the book is more of a mystery, albeit one with a page-turning pace, a compelling female protagonist, and some very contemporary themes. This suited me down to the ground but contemporary or domestic thriller fans seeking high-octane twists and turns might be disappointed if they go in expecting that from Sight Unseen, which instead offers a blend of carefully uncovered historical secrets, present-day problem-solving, and gradual character development. Fans of mystery-thrillers are, however, sure to find much to enjoy and I for one am looking forward to seeing what’s in store for Sarah in the next book!
NB: This review first appeared on my blog https://theshelfofunreadbooks.wordpress.com/ as part of the blog tour for Sight Unseen. My thanks go to the publisher for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest and unbiased review.
Set in the small Scottish town of Kilgour, the novel follows Sarah Sutherland. Long-suffering supermarket manager by day, Sarah indulges in her passion for history at night by running storytelling walks for Kilgour’s tourists, telling them tales of Alie Gowdie, the Kilgour Witch. With her marriage long ended, her daughter off travelling the world, and her aging father becoming increasingly dependant on her, Sarah worries that it might be too late to turn her passion into anything more than a side-hustle.
But when she gets asked to help transcribe the newly unearthed diaries of the Rev. Wilkie, Alie’s principle accuser, Sarah uncovers some dark secrets hiding behind the story of the Kilgour Witch. Could these long-buried truths provide Sarah with a way out of her humdrum existence? And might they be related to the ‘figures’ her father keeps seeing out of the corner of his eye? In both the past and the present, it seems Kilgour has more than a few things that some people might prefer stayed hidden.
Whilst I’m not entirely sure that ‘thriller’ is the best categorisation for Sight Unseen, I really enjoyed the pacy mystery at the heart of the book and the way the various plot strands interconnected. Without giving any of the plot away, there are some really interesting and unexpected connections between the story of Alie Gowdie and the plight of several women in Kilgour in the present day, as well as between Sarah’s investigations and her father’s ‘figures’.
Sandra Ireland has done such a good job of weaving all of the seemingly disperate strands of the plot together, and drawing parallels between the past and present. I was fascinated by the history around which the novel is based and the novel really captures the magic of archival research – that tenative hope that you might discover long-buried secrets hidden away amidst the crabbed scrawl of country parson, or the official records of a workhouse.
I found main character Sarah to be a compelling and likeable lead. Juggling the stresses of the day job with the pains of an empty nest, the regrets for roads not taken, and the strain of looking after an aging father, Sarah is fantastically relatable. Whether it’s fretting over the morality of her budding romance with a much younger man, or sinking a double gin and tonic at the end of a long day dealing with customer complaints about missing chicken legs, Sarah comes across as gloriously flawed and human. As Sight Unseen promises to be part of a series, I’m looking forward to seeing what Sarah does next given how much she develops over the course of the novel.
Sarah’s father John, the other character whose point of view we get to see, provides an interesting alternate perspective and a sympathetic portrayal of aging that is so rarely seen in books. Whilst deterioriating physically and increasingly dependant on Sarah, John is sharp, knowledgeable and determined, and I enjoyed seeing his perspective on events also described by Sarah, as well as his insights into her life and character.
As I said earlier, I’m not entirely sure I’d class the novel as a ‘thriller’. Whilst the plot is richly layered and there are plenty of secrets to be uncovered, for me the book is more of a mystery, albeit one with a page-turning pace, a compelling female protagonist, and some very contemporary themes. This suited me down to the ground but contemporary or domestic thriller fans seeking high-octane twists and turns might be disappointed if they go in expecting that from Sight Unseen, which instead offers a blend of carefully uncovered historical secrets, present-day problem-solving, and gradual character development. Fans of mystery-thrillers are, however, sure to find much to enjoy and I for one am looking forward to seeing what’s in store for Sarah in the next book!
NB: This review first appeared on my blog https://theshelfofunreadbooks.wordpress.com/ as part of the blog tour for Sight Unseen. My thanks go to the publisher for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest and unbiased review.
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