Reviews

The Whistling by Rebecca Netley

sunshower12's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A good old fashioned ghost story. I felt like it could have been a bit shorter, but still an enjoyable read. The prose is good and you can tell a lot of thought and care was put into the plot. I was not able to guess the twist at the end and was surprised when everything was revealed. There is a bit of reality and a bit of paranormal so if you're not into that this is not the book for you. A great effort on behalf of the author. 

edanar's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

jessica_reading_writing's review

3.0

At first I really enjoyed this. It was super creepy and I enjoyed the writing style and the story itself. But as the book progressed, it became very repetitive and not a lot happened other than some creepy noises. I finished this a week ago and I'm afraid I don't even remember how it ended!
I would recommend for readers who enjoy Gothic horrors but this one didn't hit the mark for me I'm afraid. But there were elements I enjoyed so I gave it a 3 star for that.

raisin2402's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

packers24's review against another edition

emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

kingfan1993's review

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

samies_book_nook's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

konvineo's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 stars

I've been unfortunate enough to have picked up a couple of horrible books lately, so I'm really grateful for this one. The story was interesting, but the language wasn't as atmospheric as I'd have hoped, and some phrases were repeated a bit more than I'd like. But honestly I don't mind since it was so easy, and quick to read despite me being a bit sick while reading most of the book.

mintymagenta's review

3.0

In The Whistling, Rebecca Netley succeeds in creating the sense of dread typical of Gothic novels. Elspeth, dealing with grief over the loss of her family, moves to a fairly remote Scottish island to take a post as a nanny. Her charge, Mary, is also struggling with the recent death of her twin brother, William, and refuses to utter a word. 

Through the novel, we see Elspeth's love for Mary develop, which was truly one highlight of my reading experience. I also went into this book believing it to be a ghost story, so I was pleasantly surprised at the witchcraft angle.

Nevertheless, I was disappointed with the villain's reveal.

It's really the trite story of a wife whose husband cheated on her with a pretty woman. Instead of blaming her husband [the minister of the island's church, no less], she exacts revenge on the mistress.

I also think that Elspeth's conflicting thoughts about believing in otherworldly forces takes up a disproportionate amount of book time. The novel could've been more succinct if she didn't oscillate between believing and thinking herself a fool for believing.

laurajadeslibrary's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5