A variety of people on a small island in the North Atlantic are featured in this quiet story. We meet:
-Sig, who's full of guilt and grief after her beloved husband died,
-Matt, Sig's brother-in-law, with whom she has an argumentative relationship because of her grief-induced behaviour, including a solo climbing accident where she badly broke one of her legs
-Rex, Sig's stouthearted dog
-Evie, Sig's niece by marriage who's recovering from a car crash that killed her parents,
-Tom, newly arrived on the island with his divorced father and new wife and baby half-sister, and
-Kevo, an ex-con newly arrived on the island to reunite with a former girlfriend

There are several other characters, but most play supporting roles, and end up essentially becoming fodder when a malevolent, ancient curse is released on the island, transforming those it takes over into essentially zombies.

The first half of this quiet book has a measured pace, allowing you to get comfortable with the characters' lives. The author delivers a slow build of suspense; the book is atmospheric, claustrophobic, and has a great sense of growing dread.

I liked how C.A. Fletcher gave me time to care about the characters, before destroying the peace and safety of the island in the back half of the book when the pace picked up. Though this was not a gore fest, there were enough sudden deaths and mayhem to keep me worried about the main cast.

I had no idea what to expect from this author's work, as I haven't yet read "A Boy and His Dog", but I thoroughly enjoyed this creepy and disturbing pleasure.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Redhook Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.