While the premise was fascinating, I was underwhelmed by this book. Gloria and Stig were lackluster protagonists and the twist wasn't as exciting as I think it was intended to be. There were some nice sections - I especially liked Gloria's interactions with the weather girls - but I felt like I had to slog through unnecessary pages. ( )

This was a great mystery read around Halloween. There are new clues and twists on every page it seems. I had no idea where it was going to end up but I was very satisfied!! ( )

After reading a later book by McPherson I decided to get into her back list. While the mystery was interesting and the atmosphere pervasive, this is a weaker book. First is the very relationship between Gloria and Stig (Stephen). She hasn’t seen this guy since they were children. He shows up on her doorstep in the middle of the night after they nearly crashed cars into one another. She lets him in, lets him stay, hides a body, harbors him as a fugitive and they go on their little sleuthing adventure together. In what universe??

So after letting that go I stayed with it only to have an already complicated plot with a lot of deaths get even more crazy. Oh and before I get to that, speaking of crazy, Gloria is ga-ga. A total nutjob. The superstition. The constant book references which most people don’t get. Her hair. Her general intense mania over her institutionalized son (Nicky! - it’s a prayer, a kneejerk thought to anything remotely startling, it’s her mantra). All nutty. And a bit shallow. Her defining characteristic is her love of books and constant reading. It felt like a sop to readers. I caught some of the references Gloria peppers into conversation, and it was fun, but enough. Don’t pander to me.

Anyway, after a whole bunch of running around talking to those left alive, illegal use of public databases, more deaths and an unpleasant encounter with her asshole ex-husband she comes up with the killer. Zoe. Ex-husband’s new woman. Older than him, but not so you’d notice. And speaking of not noticing. All these dead people didn’t recognize her as their former “teacher” at the hippie school? OMG. Talk about a stretch. Throwaway line about plastic surgery, wigs, glasses and new clothes, but really? Not one person figured out that their new friend, mentor, hair stylist or whatever was their old teacher? And that she was seriously hacked off that they had all “ruined her life”? Ah well. I guess the signs were there, but it did seem a bit rabbit-out-of-the-hat to me. And the solution was very like the one in the other book I read. A person bent on revenge who worms their way into the lives of the people she wants to destroy. Only in fiction.

But it wasn’t bad enough that I won’t try another, just to see if she has any other ways to plot a novel. The general tone of the story was fun. The creepy asylum that used to be a school. The cottage Gloria lived in in exchange for keeping up with the superstitious beliefs of the owner who is too ill and has to live at the care home with son Nicky. McPherson is good at holding back details to make a reader curious. Nicky’s illness. Rocking the stone. The real situation at the school (now the care home) and the way the story shifted and changed as each person told it. Nice. ( )

Source: Review copy provided by publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

The Child Garden by Catriona McPherson
Midnight Ink, 2015
Crime Fiction; 336 pgs

Catriona McPherson's The Child Garden has a bit of a Gothic feel to it, set in a small Scottish town steeped in history and charm. Gloria Harkness has always lived in the area and knows it well. Now she resides in the centuries old home of Miss Drumm, taking care of the place and Miss Drumm's dog and cats, and rocking the old stone in the garden for luck or to keep evil at bay, Gloria isn't sure. Both Miss Drumm and Gloria's teenage son live in a care home not too far away, a home that once was an alternative school for children that closed down after the death of one of its students several years before.

There is a darkness and foreboding throughout the novel, which heightens the intensity and heavy atmosphere in the book. From the pouring rain at night, a near accident, the overgrown woods and an unexpected visitor at her door, Gloria's simple, and yet complicated life is about to change in a way she cannot imagine.

Stig Tarrant is scared and unsure of what to do. A call from an old classmate has him racing in the direction of the old school he once attended for answers. When his path crosses Gloria's, the two old friends put their heads together only to find themselves deep in a web of deceit and possibly murder. Neither are eager to go the police for their own reasons, but Gloria is determined to get to the truth--not only for her sake, but for Stig's especially. And it might be fun to live as if she's in one of those books she loves to read so much while she's at it.

Neither Stig or Gloria are particularly young, which endeared the characters to me even more, being that I'm not much younger than they are. They are not particularly beautiful people either, at least not on the outside. I liked that about them too. Gloria nor Stig are perfect, each with their insecurities and selfish moments, each wanting to do the right thing just the same. Always first and foremost in Gloria's mind is her son, who is special needs. She wants most of all to protect him and keep him out of harm's way.

As the story unfolds, Gloria uncovers many different versions of the "truth" and must find a way to piece it all together. What is obvious is that there seems to be a connection between the alleged suicide of the boy all those years ago at the school and the fate of the other former students, including Stig and an unexpected person close to her. There were many twists in the story as more information came out, and I found myself suspecting a few different people as I read, some more than others.

I loved the attention given to the more supernatural stories Miss Drumm insisted were true--about the devil's bridge, the rocking stone, and the hallowed places. It gave the novel a sense of otherness, and yet the author does a good job of keeping the story grounded in reality. For those who do not like ghost stories, have no fear. This is not one of them.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Child Garden. I love the book references given Gloria's love for books. And I liked the overall feel of the novel, the characters for their depth and struggles, and the overall story, which was both entertaining and, well, disturbing. ( )

Excellent British mystery with lots of plot twists, murder and mayhem. ( )