Linda Gillard's books cover a range of subjects (A Lifetime Burning - Incest; Stargazing - Blindness) to name but two and, consequently, they are not easy to categorise. No obvious slot for these books to be shelved in or sold to the public, each one is different, quirky and edgy. Because of this it was difficult to place this author's books and so Linda turned to Amazon/Kindle and went Indie. Since then she has never looked back and her books are selling in their thousands. Last year Linda came to the inaugural Felixstowe Book Festival and gave a workshop to a packed venue on just how she did this. She also wrote a guest blog for Random on this subject which makes fascinating reading and if you missed it do give it a look. Link is here.
Yesterday morning found me in my dressing gown at 10 am and the reason for this was Cauldstane as I simply could not go out or do any of the errands and chores I had to do that day until I finished the book. I had sat up until after midnight the night before and crashed out with the light on as my eyes would not stay open desperate though I was to finish it.
Cauldstane is the story of two ghosts. The first is Jenny Ryan. She is a ghost writer who travels up to the Scottish Highlands to meet Sholto McNab, retired adventurer and Laird of Caulstane Castle. He wants to publish his memoirs in order to raise money to stave off the sale of the castle which is crumbling around its inhabitants.
"When I first caught sight of Cauldstane, I didn't see a building and a way of life in its death throes. Cauldstane stood, heroic, long-suffering, defying all that the centuries had thrown at it........I saw an ivy clad tower, much taller than it was wide, with more windows that I could easily count, the whole topped by conical-roofed turrets and looking, from a distance, like a child's toy".
Jenny is installed at the Castle and begins work. She hears all about the Cauldstane Curse which seems to
have claimed Sholto's two wives plus his daughter in law, Coral. A fall from a horse, a car crash and a drowning in the river have blighted the lives of the McNabs and leaves the two sons Felix and Alec alone and with no chance of marrying and having children in case the curse strikes again.
Then the second ghost makes its presence felt. What I loved and laughed about was the way in which Meredith, the wife who died in the car crash, communicates with Jenny and lets her know she does not want her at the castle. She writes on Jenny's laptop. Now this is certainly a modern take on haunting and I thought it was a brilliant idea. It is also immensely spooky and Jenny gets angry:
"Is this some kind of threat? Who are you and why are you leaving me these messages?.......I'm here to do my job and I only want what is best for the family....
I sat there glaring at the screen. Then, to my absolute horror, words began to appear, one by one:
And I only want the worst.
Bat out of hell doesn't begin to describe it. I was out of my chair, across the room and into the hall before I stopped to think of any rational explanation"
This is a terrific read full of turns and twists and revelations. More ghostly happenings, attempts on Jenny's life, flying hat pins, simply marvellous. Oh and I forgot to mention that there is a housekeeper who used to adore Meredith and keeps her room dusted and cleaned and just how she left it. Mrs Danvers perhaps? Or perhaps not.....you will not know until the end.
So to sum up, ghostly goings on, romance, secrets, lies, unrequited love, a gloomy castle in Scotland...well what are you waiting for? Go buy and read. Available for the Kindle and in paperback.
Great stuff.
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And if you want to read what I think about A Lifetime Burning by this author, here is my earlier post
And also my thoughts on Star Gazing
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