The Blackhouse by @C_L_Johnstone

By Pamelascott
A deadly secret. An outsider who knows the truth...

Maggie Mackay has been haunted her entire life. No matter what she does, she can't shake the sense that something is wrong with her. And maybe something is...

When she was five years old, without proof, Maggie announced that someone in the remote village of Blairmore in the Outer Hebrides had murdered a local man, sparking a media storm.

Now, Maggie is determined to discover what really happened and what the villagers are hiding. But everyone has secrets, and some are deadly. As she gets closer to the horrifying truth, Maggie's own life is in danger...

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It wasn't the screams he remembered most, although they crashed to shore inside the howling, furious wind and ricocheted for hours around the high cliffs above the beach.

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(@HarperCollinsUK, 4 August 2022, ebook, 400 pages, copy from the publisher via @ NetGalley)

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I knew I would enjoy The Blackhouse when I read the blurb. It sounded right up my street. I didn't expect to love it quite to much. I loved the setting, the way the author brings the islands and the way of life alive. It's so real I felt I was really there on Blairmore. I liked the way the chapters explore how Maggie's past and past tragedies on the island have an impact on the present. The book is quite dark at times as Maggie moves closer to the shocking truth. I loved the twists and turns in the final chapters. I'm still shaking my head.