Tuesday, May 29, 2012

The Unseen by Katherine Webb (includes international giveaway)

Last year I read and really enjoyed The Legacy by Katherine Webb. When I saw that the author had a new book I was very happy and looked forward to reading it. 

When Cat Morley is sent from London to the small village of Cold Ash Holt, it is a chance for a new start for her. Whilst her new mistress, Hester Canning, knows something of Cat's recent past, she has decided that the rehabilitation of Cat will be her new pet project and so keeps the details to herself, which prompts plenty of speculation amongst the villagers as to what crime it was that she committed. Hester has been married to her husband for some time but things are not as they should be and the only person that she can confide in is her sister who has her own marital issues to deal with.

Albert is very interested in theosophy and when he believes that he sees some elemental spirits in the meadow, an 'expert' in the field, Robin Durrant, comes to stay at the vicarage and settles in for an extended stay. The longer that Durrant stays the more tensions rise in the house. Albert becomes more obsessed further neglecting his wife, Cat distrusts Durrant from day one and he isn't above stooping to blackmail to get  her to do what he needs her to do.

Hester is an extremely naive young woman. She knows that things are not as they should be but she can't seem to reach her husband emotionally in one crucial aspect of married life. Albert is a cold fish and Robin is smarmy and duplicitous from the first page that he appears on.

Whilst none of the characters are particularly likable, the most interesting character in the book is Cat. She has been in service at a big house in London but really she doesn't really fit fully within the servant class but she certainly is not a lady either. When she becomes involved in the suffragette movement she finds imprisoned and the reader is exposed to some of the terrible conditions that Cat and others like her were exposed to as they fought for a right that most of us take for granted - the right to vote. Cat was then freed to work as a Hester's servant but she finds it difficult to settle back into normal life. The only place that Cat can find solace is with George the barge man but even with him she cannot trust enough to not feel trapped or imprisoned.

The blurb talks about a murder, and there is one, but I was kind of surprised at how late in the book it occurred. Part of the reason is because this isn't a traditional mystery in that the reader is trying to figure out who done it, although that is part of the story, but more the feel of the story is related to the spiritualism elements and the strange goings on in the vicarage at Cold Ash Holt.

The story unwinds both in the present time and in the past. I am usually a big fan of the dual narrative storyline! I love seeing modern characters discover what was going on in the past at the same time as we are learning what is happening too, but it can be difficult at times to get the balance right. It is a very good author who manages to make you care about both story lines at the same time. Unfortunately for me, the balance between the two strands was all wrong and I think that in some ways that is even reflected in the book blurb where there is not a single mention of the modern storyline.

The opening premise of the modern story line was a good one. Leah is a journalist who has answered a call from her old boyfriend to go to Brussels. He works for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and they have uncovered the well preserved body of a soldier from World War I and he has two interesting letters sent to him by a H Canning. Leah's journey takes her from Belgium to the small town of Cold Ash Holt to try and discover who this man is. In Cold Ash Hold she meets a man who is the grandson of Hester and Albert Canning. Mark (I think it that was his name) is extremely distrusting of journalists. The reason for this is explained in due course, but could have been quite interesting but because the modern storyline felt tacked on, almost like an afterthought, none of the issues that were raised were explored as much as I would have liked.

While this book was interesting, I never really felt that I was caught up in the time and place and the book seemed to drag a bit as well. In summary, this book has the potential to be a really compelling read but it unfortunately did not live up to that potential for this reader.

Rating 3.5/5

Synopsis

England, 1911. The Reverend Albert Canning, a vicar with a passion for spiritualism, leads a happy existence with his naive wife Hester in a sleepy Berkshire village. As summer dawns, their quiet lives are changed for ever by two new arrivals. First comes Cat, the new maid: a free-spirited and disaffected young woman sent down from London after entanglements with the law. Cat quickly finds a place for herself in the secret underbelly of local society as she plots her escape. Then comes Robin Durrant, a leading expert in the occult, enticed by tales of elemental beings in the water meadows nearby. A young man of magnetic charm and beauty, Robin soon becomes an object of fascination and desire. During a long spell of oppressive summer heat, the rectory at Cold Ash Holt becomes charged with ambition, love and jealousy; a mixture of emotions so powerful that it leads, ultimately, to murder.


Tour and giveaway details

My copy of this book came from the local library but I requested it so that I could participate in this blog tour!

To visit other stops on the tour, check out the blog tour schedule here. It's interesting to note that this author has no web presence at all. Whilst I understand no Facebook, Twitter, blog etc I would have thought that a website would have been a basic requirement in these days.

If you think, though that this is something that you might be interested in reading, I am pleased to be able to offer up a copy of this book and the giveaway is open internationally! To enter leave a comment   including your email address so I can contact you if you are the winner!

The giveaway closes on June 7.

15 comments:

  1. Earlier this month I bought and read Legacy by this author. I would love to win this novel. Thanks for the giveaway.
    lcbrower40(at)gmail(dot)com

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  2. I enjoy books by British authors and am willing to try this one! Thanks for the giveaway.

    harvee44@yahoo.com

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  3. This sounds really good to me!

    abookishaffair(at)gmail(dot)com

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  4. That sounds like a must read to me :)

    jeninquincy@gmail.com

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  5. I am reading this one right now, and so far, I am finding it intriguing. I am right in the middle, and it is becoming more curious by the moment. I will have to remember your comments as I get further along. Thanks for the candid and perceptive review.

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  6. This sounds like a good read. :)

    s(dot)marshallteen(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  7. I liked The Legacy, though found it a bit slow and predictable. The plot of this sounds a bit more like something I might be interested in, because I definitely don't want The Legacy to be the only book of Webb's I read.

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  8. I quite like the sound of this one: I love a literary mystery!

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  9. I too read The Legacy but I didn't love it. It seems from the description that this one would be more to my liking. Great review, Marg!

    anneaustex

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  10. The plot sounds like it meanders a bit. Almost as if the story doesn't know what it wants to be. However, the characters sounds unlikable and that is hard for me to deal with. Thanks for the honest and through review :)

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  11. sounds really interesting! Thank you for the giveaway!!

    inthehammockblog at gmail dot com

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  12. hm, that's a different cover. I am trying to decide if I like mine better or not. Maybe in July we should do a cover story on HT for it... Anyway, I felt about the same. I am still glad I read it, but wasn't blown away.

    And, I know you know this anyway, but no need to enter me in the giveaway. :)

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  13. This really sounds like a complex and interesting read. Thanks for the chance!

    twistingthelens@gmail.com

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  14. I'm really intrigued by this one in spite of your somewhat lukewarm review - I'm thinking that it might be a book that I really enjoy.

    Thanks for being on the tour Marg.

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  15. I have The Legacy, but still haven't read! Would love to enter the giveaway thought :)

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