The Storycatcher

Ann Hite

From the author of the “wonderfully crafted” (San Francisco Book Review) Ghost on Black Mountain comes a haunting gothic novel set in the Depression-era South about two young women who form an unlikely alliance when the spirit of a dead woman takes up residence in their home.

Shelly Parker, a sixteen-year-old servant who works for the tyrannical Pastor Dobbins and his family, has had the gift of sight for as long as she can remember. She’s grown accustomed to coexisting with the spirits of the dead who roam Black Mountain, telling Shelly their stories and warning her of the dangers that surround her. When the ghost of Arleen Brown, a poor woman who died on the mountain during childbirth five years earlier, begins to pursue Pastor’s daughter Faith—hell-bent on revealing a terrible secret that she took to her grave—Shelly is the only person that can help her. The two young women soon find themselves tangled up in a web of secrets and lies that takes them from Black Mountain to the murky saltwater marshes of Georgia, uncovering long-hidden truths that put their own lives in danger…

Atmospheric and infused with supernatural elements, Hite’ novel is a rich and wonderfully eerie tale that will stay with you long after the story ends (from Netgalley)

　

My Thoughts

I’ve been wanting to read a spooky book and this one seemed like it might fit the bill. This story is told in several different voices. Some of the characters have passed and are still around to seek revenge or to give warning to an evil that is still alive. Some of the characters are of the living and are in harms way from this person who has wicked ways. Together, and in very interesting ways, they work their retribution.

I loved the dialect the author used. I don’t know any “mountain” people, but the writing felt real for the time period and the local. We know from the story that there is a very bad person, but it is not until the end that it all falls into place of how this one individual has impacted so many lives.

There is a very good story here. I will say that I was sometimes lost due to the number of characters. Overall I got the gist of the storyline and I really enjoyed the premise. I just frequently found myself saying - ok - who is this again?

My thanks to Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books, via Netgalley, for allowing me to read this in exchange for an unbiased review.

Publish date: September 10, 2013.