Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - Hare House

I think this book did the things it did well very well. It had an interesting premise & it was atmospheric. If the main character is meant to repulse the reader intentionally, then that was also something done well, because she is an absolute creep. She made my skin crawl when her inner monologue turned to her thoughts and recollections of interacting with her teenaged students.

As others have mentioned, it doesn’t conclude well. You progress thinking several characters will develop into an interesting part of the plot, only to never hear about them again. A lot of wasted opportunity.

Odd book. Really can’t tell if the dated attitudes to women, mental health & food were intentional to be reflective of the setting, or if the author didn’t feel the need to be thoughtful about these themes. I even double checked to see if Sally Hinchcliffe wasn’t a pen name for a man, that’s how off the vibes in this book are.

Content Warnings

piareadss's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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five_rats_in_a_trenchcoat's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

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samsearle's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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ohlisaline's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A mysterious read that kept me guessing until the end. Very nicely written and immersive. Still has be thinking about what had actually happened.

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carolined's review against another edition

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emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

The author had a good idea and didn't really take it anywhere. Beautifully written but dull and pointless.

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livlostinstereo's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I found this book in my local library and the premise piqued my interest. Hinchcliffe’s writing is beautiful. Honestly, this woman can turn a phrase with the best of them. Her descriptions of the Scottish countryside and her metaphoric style are all lovely. She creates tension like a pro.
However, the reason I’m giving this a 3 star rating: the resolution of the supernatural/mysterious causes of all the strangeness going on is lacking. The characters aren’t particularly lovable(though I must admit, we all know a Janet), which isn’t an issue, but the resolution doesn’t quite answer any of the questions. I have my theories but I would have loved a more thorough answer to some of the questions presented.

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