I went into this book mostly blind, and I'm so glad I did. Every page was a new surprise. I loved the Frankenstein retelling.

WOWZA. Very reminiscent of T. Kingfisher's work, I loved the ambiance and the overall pacing of the story. I'm a lifelong lover of Frankenstein, and this remained so true to the story and the character of Victor Frankenstein (ie an absolute monster). I could see where it was going pretty easily knowing how slimy Victor is and the constant mentions of Agnes' height, but it was still written so well it didn't matter. It made me think about how I would react in her situation, given her story is different than the monster's because she HAD known what it was like to be alive and human. Overall, great read and I'm so excited for this release!

Thank you to RDS Publishing and NetGalley for this digital ARC of Tim McGregor's 'Eynhallow.'

This is a very clever and well written interweaving of the classic horror - Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' - with Scottish Gothic. Tim McGregor inserts the inhabitants - natives and blow-ins - into the narrative of 'Frankenstein and what a job he does.

The harsh and often unhappy live of Agnes Tulloch - a blow-in - her family, neighbours and fellow islanders are jolted by the arrival of a stranger - Victor Frankenstein. Agnes, to her horror, is hired out by her husband as cook and cleaner to the new arrival but becomes enamoured of the glamorous foreigner. Coinciding with Victor's arrival are sightings by Agnes, her neighbour, and others of a strange giant, loping figure around the tiny island. And I think we all knew were this was heading. We'd been dropped into the latter part of 'Frankenstein' where the creature demands a mate.

Agnes becomes embroiled with Victor in many ways but, most importantly for the plot, as an unwilling and unwitting witness to - and later subject of - the depravity of his experiments.

The characters are all well-written and believable as people, parents, friends, bullies.

Without spoiling too much, one of the things I loved is how McGregor describes the slow dissolution of a person and their memories. It could be an account a person's descent into dementia - a general fading of awareness of the self interspersed with flashes of total clarity of something that happened or people known in the past.

The ending is harrowing and frightening. The author has created such a powerful and poignant backstory of Female main character, Agnes Tulloch. Her husband terribly failed to fulfil his vows. He was a widower when Agnes married him and now they have four children. When a stranger arrives at the island and rents an abandoned cottage, it makes people curious and greatly surprises them. But Agnes world’s turns upside down when her husband agrees to send her to cook for him and be his washerwoman. The stranger has a mysterious demeanour and hidden intentions. They develop a good bond but suddenly things takes a dark and monstrous turn. Victor is harbouring a secret that Agnes is oblivion to. But will it bring her life at stake? The book is so twisted, mysterious and dreadful.

The author is so talented. This book certainly gave me the feel of classic Gothic book.

Thank you Netgalley, Publisher and Author.

Huge thanks to Netgalley, Raw Dog Screaming Press and Tim McGregor for this eARC!

Eynhallow, Scotland.

A small, desolate, currently uninhabited island off the northern coast of Scotland. A place, according to Google, that has a folklore surrounding it that suggests the Finfolk, shapeshifting mer-people, reside their during the summer months.

Which, if you read Tim’s prior novella, ‘Lure,’ would have you wondering if these two are interconnected at all. But I’ll leave it at that.

Why I did bring that up, is to highlight the magic that Tim has captured in my imagination twice now. The first time was by crafting a cinematic, fairy tale with ‘Lure,’ a novella about a vengeful mermaid. Mermaids are a topic of story I struggle with and Tim had me rapt from page one and never let go.

Which gave me confidence going into this one. Why? Because I find Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus’ to be a slog to get through. Bits and pieces captured me unequivocally and have always stayed with me, but much like many of the older classics, my brain struggles to be whisked away, instead begging for them to be reduced to short stories instead of novels. I know, for some, that sounds blasphemous, but that’s how this readers brain works.

So, that brings us to ‘Eynhallow.’ A novella which has a very engaging synopsis, until the very last line – ‘His name is Frankenstein and he’s come to this remote isle to fulfill a monstrous obligation.’ That had my hackles up slightly. I trust that with Tim’s work I’ll get a stunning story and phenomenal prose, but when the name Frankenstein rings out, I was worried about how my reading brain would approach the subject.

What I liked: Set at the end of the 1790’s, we follow 29-year-old, Agnes Tulloch, wife, mother and, by default, the island’s midwife. She has no formal training in the practice, but after having four successful births and a few unsuccessful ones herself, she’s the go-to when a baby is arriving. Her life is hard, rough and cracks have appeared in her tolerance. She’s tall and very strong. And she was essentially forced into marrying her husband, who is almost twenty years older than her.

Her life is set and she goes about her day as normal. That is, until this strange visitor arrives. Victor Frankenstein. Those who were born on the island detest those from abroad, and so because of this, none of the islanders want to have anything to do with him. Agnes herself, is not from the island, born on the mainland and only moving her once wed to her husband, so Agnes’ husband hires her out to this stranger. She’ll bring him some food and keep his place clean.

At first things are fine, but as she learns more about Victor and the two develop a connection, life begins to change. McGregor does a wonderful job of making Agnes one of the best characters you’ll ever read. I mentioned her age previously, as throughout, you’d think she is twice that, her soul older and her will ironclad. She cares deeply for her children, and her submissiveness to her husband and his drunken abuse slowly dissolves, her internal strength growing as she sees a potential for her and her children.

The island itself plays a prominent role, its shores and undulations making for a perfect place for these families to be island-bound and artificially stranded. The currents are rough and sailing across isn’t without peril.

McGregor’s masterful prose shines through here. Every single sentence is a highlight and told through a razor sharp sense for a cinematic experience. I read at night, and all day, while at work, I was longing to return to Agnes and Eynhallow, wanting to see who the strange creature was the lurked on the periphery and just how Agnes would get out of this life she so desperately wants to leave.

The final quarter of this story is heartbreakingly bleak. Events have happened and Agnes has to watch her former life from afar. It was soul crushing to witness how time forgets her and she forgets everything else. Her kids, their names, those who used to live on the island and how she’ll haunt its shores forever more.

What I didn’t like: In all honestly, I found this novel perfect. Having finished it late last night and now writing this review up first thing, I struggle to pinpoint something to share with you that you may not like. I would tend to lean toward the obvious, this isn’t a rollercoaster paced novel, it’s more of a casual meander across an island and back, so if you’re looking for non-stop action and cliffhangers galore, this won’t be the novel for you.

Why you should buy this: Tim McGregor has knocked this one out of the park and once again he’s thrown my own reading prejudices in my face.

From start to finish, Agnes bleeds from the pages and you’re going to be rooting for her and holding your breath time and time again as she navigates the harsh life she’s been forced into. Fans of Shelley’s work will really enjoy this ‘side story’ of Frankenstein’s quest to create life from death and the last quarter is a great think-piece exploring the ramifications of what this would mean, were he successful.

Just an outstanding novel and one that I think will elevate McGregor into that next level of world-renowned writers. Right where he belongs.

If you think you've read everything concerning the legend of Frankenstein and his unholy experiments, think again. This novel firmly puts an authoritative stamp on on the terrors and horrific outcome of this man and his creation.

This is set on the small island of Eynhallow, population around twenty people. It's a cruel place and it's not easy living there. Our protagonist has a husband and four children but it's not exactly a happy marriage by any means.

One day a mysterious stranger rents a supposed haunted home on the island and that's where this story takes off into the creepy, bizarre, and just plain dreadfully frightening.

We, as readers, know the story of Frankenstein but this book is set in the late 1700s so the others on the island just consider him a foreign heathen, with gossip and rumors swirling around his presence there.

Yes, his experiments and creations will be seen and felt but, perhaps, not in the way you'd think. This book goes to some dark places and the absolutely heart pounding ending is perfect.

While exploring the horrors of Frankenstein himself, this is also a book about family, loyalty, love, and guilt. It's the characters on the island who really make this novel more than just a creature feature. The characters give it a heart and soul behind the scares.

I loved this book and highly recommend it.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

This was alright! It started off strong, and then it felt like it waned in terms of combining itself with the original text. It felt like the author lost some of his original strength when it had to force itself into a different style of text. It was an interesting concept however, told from a different perspective!

I thoroughly enjoyed the world of Agnes Tulloch! The work is written so nicely that it's not hard to feel as if you are on Eynhallow with all of the residents.
I loved the use of uncommon language-- words that are known, but aren't used often-- and the flow of dialogue was so masterfully done.
This is such a creative retelling of a classic story, and really reflects the tragic nature of the doctor's creations, and will leave you pondering the story long after it ends.