bookmadlibrarian's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
3.0
TW Child Death, Fertility Issues & Miscarriage; Bullying; Suicide; Violence to Animals
After losing her son under tragic circumstances, Eve has struggled to come to terms with his loss. Her marriage to Richard is on very rocky ground and her relationship with their daughter Abbey is very strained. Secrets from Eve’s past threaten to be revealed five years after her son’s death. How far will Eve go to protect her daughter? There’s always a price for dark magic… and the Ragman wants his due..
Told from the perspective of Eve, Richard and Abbey, this story initially is quite slow-moving, emphasising and echoing the extremely tense atmosphere in the household. I’ve never met three more unreliable protagonists and I found it really hard to like any of them. You question everything that comes out of their mouths and as the story develops, you won’t know who to believe. The author excelled at throwing in plenty of red herrings to keep you constantly doubting the characters’ motives and actions.
I enjoyed the supernatural/occult elements but would have loved to seen more of this within the story as I think it would have given the extra “umph” needed to make the book even more exciting and tense.
My favourite character (even though I thoroughly despised her) is young Abbey. Her diary entries are truly disturbing and I would be terrified of her in real life! She’s a selfish, self-centred egotistical little madam but I will still shocked at some revelations about her!
With the biblical symbolism in the title, the emphasis on Eve and Abbey’s tumultuous mother/daughter relationship was definitely delivered in this book. This is a book about the consequences of dark magic, grief and the loss of not only a family member, but also the fracturing of the family unit when all communication breaks down.
3 stars ( I would have loved a bit more magic… the ending was pretty epic 🫣)
Thanks to NetGalley & Dundurn Press for the arc. Eve’s Rib is out 18th October
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Bullying, Miscarriage, and Suicide
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