They Drown Our Daughters Written by Katrina Monroe Book Review by Miranda Moses (Fraser) ISBN: 978-1-7282-4820-2 Oh, my creepy lovers, it is that WONDERFUL time of year when we pull out our pumpkin spice and/or apple cider and run through the crunching of leaves. Yes, that's right, it's time for the Halloween Book Review Series of 2023! And I'm starting with a book that didn't get the love it deserved last year. We had a family emergency come up that left me in a rotten state of mind so I didn't get back to reading at the time. But here we are, a year later, and this book got its moment in the sun. To start off, Katrina Monroe did a wonderful job and I plan on looking into more of her work. On Goodreads, you will find this book listed as horror, fiction, and gothic. I stuck with fiction for its category but it is important to understand that there is a ghost/wraith at the center of this story. It also has multiple points of view throughout the book but it is always very clear about who is talking/when they are talking. With that being said, if you struggle with a lot of names this may not be your cup of tea- BUT there is a handy family tree in the front and back of the book that you can reference. I did it a couple times as this book starts off in the year 1881 but is primarily told by a woman in the "present day" and that's a lot of family tree to cover! I place this story to be in the 2010s based on best guesses and the publishing date of the book. Now, let's get into this story, shall we! The novel begins in 1818 with a woman named Regina. She discovers that her husband is having an affair and goes to a local witch for a charm to help her predicament. But when her young niece discovers what she's doing a struggle ensues and the niece passes away. Accidental or not, Gina tries to hide her wrongdoing by tossing her niece's body into the ocean. The witch warns her that Liza's spirit will not rest without a proper burial but Regina does not heed the warning. The very same night Regina's oldest daughter vanishes into the sea and the curse begins. Ever since that night the women in her line have died tragic deaths, suffered a call to the sea that is almost hypnotizing, and above all suffered as mothers. Back in the present day, our main character Meredith is coming home to Cape Disappointment. Her marriage is ending and she hopes she can figure out her next moves in her hometown. Meredith and her mother have a strained and complicated relationship. She feels as though her mother never really loved her, only tolerated her existence. Plus there's her mother's dwindling mental state making her "more delusional" than before. You see, Cape Disappointment's biggest tourist attraction is their rumored mermaid in the cove. To the people of the town who have seen her they believe a mermaid is out there, ethereal, and waiting to grant a wish. But Meredith's mother Judith believes that there is no mermaid, that it is death calling to her and her loved ones. Judith had spent all of Meredith's childhood warning her of the ocean and staying away from the water, surrounding their home with protection charms, etc. Meredith believes her mother is crazy and paranoid and refuses to instill those same fears in her daughter, Alice. But deep in her bones even Meredith feels the tug to the ocean, the voice in the waves beckoning her... As the story plays on we hear from Meredith's ancestors and their battle with the curse, with the rumors that their family is cursed. The jabs that the women in their family are just mentally insane. The tormenting fears of mothers terrified of their babies being the next to drown. We hear from Meredith's mother and why she is the way she is. We see the battle of each woman coming to terms with the curse and wondering if they can break it. When Judith passes away the timeline gets very sped up for Meredith and she must find the answers or lose herself and her daughter to the 'ocean's mournful call'. I really enjoyed seeing the various generations putting the pieces in place. but the crushing weight of the curse taking their hopes from them was hard to accept. As a mother listening to Meredith try to reason out if their real curse was just being bad mothers and fearing that she would never be enough... tore at my heart. I worry about the same thing sometimes. In conclusion, I thought it was a very good story. BUT after about 250 pages the direction of the story seemed to shift. It went in a direction I was not expecting and it threw me off. I wasn't sure if I liked it... and for that, I did give the book 4 out of 5 stars. But the ending and the plot twist attached to that change of direction were very worth it. I did not find this book scary but definitely heartbreaking and a true mystery. Still gets a stamp of approval for the Halloween series but I want to prepare people that it was more thriller than horror. Katrina Monroe did put out another novel this year under the genre of horror called, "The Graveyard of Lost Children" so expect that to be on next year's list! She's definitely gained a reader out of me. Read on my fellow bookworms. May we one day have Belle's library! As always links to the author's pages can be found down below.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Fiction Book ReviewsArchives
October 2022
|