The Taxidermist's Daughter, book review. (Kate Mosse)

Atmosphere.

If you like a book with atmosphere, whether you're on the moors with Cathy and Heathcliff, crossing the causeway to Eel Marsh House, running from the ruins of Manderley, or walking the rain soaked alleyways of Carlos Ruiz Zafon's Barcelona, if you like your books with atmosphere look no further than Kate Mosse's, The Taxidermist's Daughter.

A hundred years ago in the small fishing village of Fishbourne on the south coast of England, there was a terrible storm, a storm that caused the tide to surge and breach the sea defences, a storm that brought death and destruction but also a cleansing, because before that storm there was rot in Fishbourne, unholy activity, secrets that Connie Gifford has long forgotten, and a killing of a different almost animalistic kind, a kind that exposed the depravity of man . . . before the storm.

Having finished the author's Langudock series last year I felt a little deflated (I loved Labyrinth and Sepulchre but really didn't get on with book three, Citadel) so I'd left this one on the shelf collecting dust, which was one hell of a mistake.

From page one, and I'm not embellishing here, from page one I was hooked, and who wouldn't be when it starts with a rain-soaked funeral attended by strangers with a certain familiarity and the murder of a young woman?

For Connie Gifford her past is a blank, her first ten years are missing. She lost her memory when she had a fall, or was it a shock, or was she . . . But why can't she remember? Did she really just trip and fall down the stairs, hit her head like her father told her, or was there more to it than that?

A few days after the funeral a young woman's body is found in a stream by Connie's house and Connie thinks she recognises her, but does she? Could it just be that the coat is familiar? The coat she saw someone wearing at the funeral, and so begins the unravelling of the mystery.

There's the strange disappearance of her alcoholic father - no-one seems to know where he is - the arrival of a stranger, Harry Woolston, who professes to be the son of the local doctor, but is he and can he be trusted? And where is his father? Why did he leave for the specialist hospital so quickly and not come back?

There's the ever present threat of the storm as it builds momentum through the book, the inquisitive local bobby (policeman) making his enquires and casting his aspersions, the sudden occupation of Themis Cottage by an unknown single woman (this is 1912 remember) and the continuous and horrific slaughter of the town's menfolk, all as the storm makes land, the tide rises and the solitary blinking light from that cottage pulls Connie, Harry, the policeman and many more besides likes moths in the dark, and makes for one hell of a climax.

You'll have to read the book to find out what happens of course but believe me, it is very well worth your time.

Chilling, spooky, rain soaked town on the south coast of England in the midst of a murder spree in the early 1900's with beautifully written characters, great plot, plenty of blood and intrigue; what's not to like?

Four and a half stars and one of my favourites so far this year, and with winter approaching, what better time to immerse yourselves in the pages of a book like this.

Don't forget to search my blog for your favourite authors and books to see if I have read them yet and if I have not, why not message me with your recommendations.

Mad Mike's Writing Blog, Book of the Year 2015

This isn't about books written this year, or even books published this year; this is about the books I have read this year, and there are thirty or so to choose from (a recent record for me). So, where does one start?

I won't bore you with a big long list and go through each book individually, suffice to say that many of the books I've read this year have already been reviewed, right hear on this blog, so you'll probably have a good idea where this is going.

For those of you that are new here, or just flitter in and out from time to time, you can always look back through my historic posts or look at my Amazon reviews; for all the others, I'll skip the chaff, the mediocre, and move straight to the top five.

In at number 5, with its intriguing, dystopian alternative to an England never known, is: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Better than the film and well worth a read. 

In at number 4, with its sense of isolation and quirky French spookiness is: The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse. Left me feeling cold and alone, but warmed through. Go figure! (Blog post 17/02/15)

In at number 3 is another book by Kate Mosse, the second in the Languedoc series, Sepulchre. Just as good as the first, if not better. Can't wait to read the third book in the series. 

In at number 2 is: An Officer and a Spy, by Robert Harris. So, so good, you just need to read it, but not quite my favourite book this year. (Blog post 13/10/15)

My favourite book of the year, the one that works on so many different levels, that keeps popping back into my subconscious; the one whose characters are yet to fade, is: The Casual Vacancy by J K Rowling. All that a book should be, intrigue, passion, subterfuge, and a great cast. Enjoy, and see you all next year.