Eilidh works as estate manager at the beautiful castle manor of Thistlecross. Annabel, the estate owner, has planned a holiday for her three estranged sons, inviting them home for the week, hoping to reconcile. Things are tense from the get-go. While the boys /say/ they forgive their mother for the abuse their father inflicted on them, their actions belay that. Things begin rough, and only get worse. The day after Annabel’s sons arrived, her eldest, Andreas, is found drowned. A short while later Annabel herself succumbs to a mysterious illness. Has Thistlecross been cursed? Where will the carnage end? And will Eilidh manage to survive the maliciousness that’s taken over the castle?

I rather enjoyed this little mystery. It started slow, but it kept me hooked. Unlike most mysteries like this, the MC isn’t actively trying to solve the case(s). She, and the other staff- Maise, Brenda, Griff- are just trying to keep their heads down and get their jobs done. The police visit again and again, as the crimes pile up. An innocent lie, told as a prank, turns into something out of control, inadvertently adding to the death count. By this time, the police should just move in, so often have they been called. Despite all of the death at Thistlecross, there are bright spots. Sian, Andreas’s wife, delivers a healthy baby boy. And Eilidh allows her heart to open back up, falling in love with Griff, the estate’s groom. This budding relationship is nearly snuffed when Eilidh becomes the killer’s next target.

The conclusion of this story was a bit complicated. There were two entwined yet separate crimes with two culprits. Neither of them were who I expected. This just seems a terribly dysfunctional family. Learning why Annabel did the things she did when her children were growing up, that was heartbreaking. That they hated her for their perceptions was equally heartbreaking. I felt really bad for the castle staff, caught in the family squabbles.

There were a few things I was unclear on. Timelines were one thing that puzzled me. Large chunks of time seemed to pass quickly, making several days seem just the next day. Police procedures also puzzled me, though this is set in Wales, and I am not as familiar with UK procedures other than knowing they do differ from the US.

I loved that this story is set in Wales. It’s the home of my ancestors. I appreciated that there was a pronunciation guide at the beginning. Though I was already familiar with some of the pronunciation, many are not familiar with the quirks of Cymry and Gaelic. I find it very frustrating when books with unusual names and phrases don’t give a guide to pronouncing them. The main character’s name is a great example. To look at Eilidh, the untrained brain might frizzle. ‘Dh’ isn’t something familiar. Would you guess it’s pronounced ‘Ay-lee’?  

***Many thanks to Netgalley/Kensington, Silver Dagger Tours and the author for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.