Rebecca Netley
Michael Joseph Ltd
2023
369
Paperback
Historical Gothic
Bought Copy
When Annie marries widower Edward Stonehouse and arrives at Guardbridge, his estate on the Yorkshire moors, she thinks she has finally put darkness behind her.
She is mistaken.
Edward's sister, Iris, still lives in the family home. A taxidermist and medium, she urges Annie to watch out for black feathers - claiming that they mark the spot where a spirit has visited.
At first, Annie dismisses her warnings. But, before long, she begins to feel haunted.
What exactly happened to Edward's first wife? Why is Iris so disturbed?
And should Annie really be watching for signs from the dead - or is she the one being watched?
The Black Feathers was an atmospheric Gothic tale with supernatural elements. Annie was a well-drawn character I was immediately ready to get behind from the first chapter. Her POV alternated with that of her new sister-in-law, Iris, and that worked fairly well as it gave us different insight into events, especially in the latter half of the story. We definitely saw growth for all the main characters, and the plot was interesting with some twists along the way. There were a few supernatural elements woven in, but it was by now means a fully fledged fantasy tale, and on the whole I think they worked well to add an extra layer of spookiness. I am giving this book 4 stars and would recommend it to fans of Gothic fiction.
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