A dark midwinter's night in an ancient inn on the Thames. The regulars are entertaining themselves by telling stories when the door bursts open on an injured stranger. In his arms is the drowned corpse of a little child.
Hours later the dead girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life.
Is it a miracle?
Is it magic?
Or can it be explained by science?
Replete with folklore, suspense and romance, as well as with the urgent scientific curiosity of the Darwinian age, Once Upon a River is as richly atmospheric as Setterfield's bestseller The Thirteenth Tale.
***
[There was once an inn that sat peacefully on the bank of the Thames at Radcot, a long day's walk, from the source]***
(@doubledaybooks, 1 January 2019, first published 4 December 2018, 380 pages, ebook, review copy from @doubledaybooks via # netgalley and voluntarily reviewed)
***
***
I read an extract of this book months ago and have been desperate to read the whole book since then. It's fair to say I fell in love with the book after reading just a few pages. I was delighted when I was approved for the book on NetGalley. I was not disappointed. This is one of the most original books I've read in ages and it blends folklore, myth and a bit of Dickens. I loved the way the book builds us myth, suspense and intrigue. The book opens in dramatic fashion with a seemingly drowned girl possibly coming back to life. Most of the book focuses on discovering her identity to try and find out which of three local families can claim the girl as one of them. The truth is carefully, gradually revealed and the author really knows how to tell a story. The River Thames plays a big role in the book which is unusual but works really well.