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A review by readingtimeatthezoo
The Thin Place by C.D. Major
4.0
The story is based around an estate and bridge in the Scottish town of Dumbarton, north of Glasgow. Overtoun House and bridge is a sprawling estate, rumoured to be a “thin place”, where heaven and earth are only separated by a thread.
The house has an both eerie and tragic history and so was definitely the perfect backdrop for this book. The area is also home to an bridge known as the Dog Suicide Bridge. Built at the end of the late nineteenth century it was supposedly a site where over five hundred dogs have leapt to their deaths.
Set amongst 3 different periods in time, told by 3 different women, Marion, Constance and Ava this was a thrilling read across three very different generations.
Marion, who in 1929 is the new bride who moves to her husband’s estate north of Glasgow becomes the mistress of the home and its sprawling grounds. Yet after a heartbreaking number of miscarriages and her husband called away to war, Marion soon learns that life on the estate is not as she was expecting.
Constance, who in 1949 is the sickly bedridden child who can do nothing but stare wistfully out her bedroom window at the strange stone bridge and the world going on outside that she is no part of, only ever leaving her room for doctors and hospital visits.
Then Ava, who in the present day is the driven TV reporter, trying to be the perfect partner, sister, daughter and soon to mother as she discovers she is pregnant.
Anchoring these three together, albeit across different times in history is the mysterious Overtoun House.
As a TV reporter Ana is drawn to the story of this mysterious Estate, an almost ghostly presence pulling her in with an obsessive cloak. It is clear to her that there is a story here to be told, but is it a history that is best kept buried? Yet Ava can’t ignore the pull, even if it means putting herself at risk as she tries to unearth its mysteries. Who lived there before, what happened to them, why are dogs leaping to their death?
I’m a huge fan of thrillers as well as historical fiction and this all wove together nicely for me. The pace was definitely fast enough that I was kept enthralled the whole way through, and I while I knew there had to be some connection to the three women, each time I thought that I had possibly worked it out, a curve ball was thrown taking me off course.
I wish there could have been a little more of the story devoted to the historical characters of Marion and Constance, but overall this was an enjoyable read. I’d definitely recommend reading the author’s notes at the end of the book too.
The house has an both eerie and tragic history and so was definitely the perfect backdrop for this book. The area is also home to an bridge known as the Dog Suicide Bridge. Built at the end of the late nineteenth century it was supposedly a site where over five hundred dogs have leapt to their deaths.
Set amongst 3 different periods in time, told by 3 different women, Marion, Constance and Ava this was a thrilling read across three very different generations.
Marion, who in 1929 is the new bride who moves to her husband’s estate north of Glasgow becomes the mistress of the home and its sprawling grounds. Yet after a heartbreaking number of miscarriages and her husband called away to war, Marion soon learns that life on the estate is not as she was expecting.
Constance, who in 1949 is the sickly bedridden child who can do nothing but stare wistfully out her bedroom window at the strange stone bridge and the world going on outside that she is no part of, only ever leaving her room for doctors and hospital visits.
Then Ava, who in the present day is the driven TV reporter, trying to be the perfect partner, sister, daughter and soon to mother as she discovers she is pregnant.
Anchoring these three together, albeit across different times in history is the mysterious Overtoun House.
As a TV reporter Ana is drawn to the story of this mysterious Estate, an almost ghostly presence pulling her in with an obsessive cloak. It is clear to her that there is a story here to be told, but is it a history that is best kept buried? Yet Ava can’t ignore the pull, even if it means putting herself at risk as she tries to unearth its mysteries. Who lived there before, what happened to them, why are dogs leaping to their death?
I’m a huge fan of thrillers as well as historical fiction and this all wove together nicely for me. The pace was definitely fast enough that I was kept enthralled the whole way through, and I while I knew there had to be some connection to the three women, each time I thought that I had possibly worked it out, a curve ball was thrown taking me off course.
I wish there could have been a little more of the story devoted to the historical characters of Marion and Constance, but overall this was an enjoyable read. I’d definitely recommend reading the author’s notes at the end of the book too.