The Thin Place by C D Major ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Thank you for kindly gifting me this book Netgalley and Amazon publishing. I gobbled this up in two days, it was that good!

'The Thin Place' refers to an old Celtic belief where "Heaven and Earth are only three feet apart, but in thin places that distance is even shorter".

This novel takes us along following the story of three different women: Marion who is newly married in 1929 to Hamish, who whisks her away to his Scottish estate away from her family in London; Constance a girl living in 1949 and present day Ava, who is a reporter, finding out about this mysterious place where dogs have jumped to their deaths, seemingly crazed over noises coming from under the bridge.

This novel has a perfect amount of history, with suspense and atmosphere galore. Reading the author note, I am now intrigued to find out more about this unexplained place, full of mystery, which is based on a real historical bridge.

I highly recommend this novel and I will be reading The Other Girl by Major, very soon too.

#NetGalley #TheThinPlace #CDMajor

I really enjoy reading stories where the location almost because a character in its own right and that is the case with The Thin Place. I loved the spooky, atmospheric descriptions and the intertwining stories between the characters. It's a little predictable at times but it kept me interested until the end.

I couldn’t put this book down for the most part! Great read! Very atmospheric and spooky. Definitely not a book to read when you’re alone in a house at night. I loved that the house itself felt like a character of the book. It was a little hard at times to keep up with the 3 different timelines but aside from that this book did not disappoint! Thanks NetGalley and the Publisher for giving me a chance to give an honest review of this book!

Literally a page turner! I haven't been this hooked in a story in a while and really needed something deep to get stuck in. So easy to relate to that pulling force that happens when you know what to do but know you could do something else and are torn. Thrilling until the very end!

I couldn’t go to sleep until I finished The Thin Place. Talk about edge of my seat mail bitting thriller! Don’t skip this one.

I was originally very invested into this story and was captivated to find out what was going to happen. However due to some content aspects of this book that I did not know beforehand I was unable to finish this title because of the triggering nature of the scenes.

Why is television reporter Ava Brent so drawn to Overtoun House and Bridge near Dumbarton, a few miles from Glasgow? How does Ava in the present day connect to Marion from 1929 and Constance in 1949? The story alternates between them in the well written,clever tale with strong Gothic overtones.

A thin place is a Celtic term for places where the gap or veil between Heaven and Earth is closer, Ava finds herself drawn to such a place and feels it’s magnetism. The atmosphere the author creates is excellent. There’s a real aura of mystery in this compelling and immersive page turner but it’s Overtoun House which pervades the storytelling the strongest. It’s like it’s horribly alive as it mesmerises Ava, it’s menacing and threatening which creates a spooky, supernatural sensation. The storyline especially that of Constance is positively chilling and makes your blood run cold and freezing your veins. There’s fear, madness and cruelty on an unimaginable scale with the plot taking on a dark black intensity. Ava becomes obsessed, she cannot let herself drop the investigation into the house despite the grim discoveries she makes, feels and senses. Her obsession has a negative impact on her personal life but she is unable to stop. The characterisation is good though they aren’t necessarily likeable by any means and Ava drives you mad with her continual digging up the past despite the adverse effects. Although you can predict some of the outcome as the clues are there, you do not see the ending coming and it’s very fitting.

Overall, this is a very compelling Githic mystery that cleverly weaves fiction with the fact of Overtoun House and Bridge.
I really like the cover too!

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Amazon Publishing for the arc for an honest review.

Ava is a journalist investigating a local news story regarding a bridge that is said to cause dog suicides. Locals say that it is one of the "thin places" where the gap between the real world and the spirit world is narrow, causing strange things to happen there. The story of her growing obsession with the place is interwoven with the story of a woman and a sickly child from the past, as the mystery of Overtoun is unravelled.

After a slightly slow start, I thought that this novel picked up pace brilliantly. The mystery and supernatural elements were balanced perfectly to create a sense of growing unease and horror as we find out what happened through Marion and Constance's own words. I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be looking out for more from this author in the future.

The Thin Place was hard to put down. An old school creepy feel. Loved the story telling from three different points of view. I found it very interesting it’s based on a real place which makes it even more hauntingly beautiful

Journalist Ava Brent, in search of an interesting news story investigates the mysterious and suicide-inducing Overtoun House & Bridge.
Arriving in the guise of a tourist, she develops a relationship with the home owner and an obsession with the house. Overtoun is steep in myth, secrets and holds fast to Ava. Legend has it that hundreds of dogs have leapt to their deaths from the bridge and dead bodies have been unearthed on the house property. With great drive and determination Ava uncovers information about this dark, foreboding house and is thirsty to learn more. Who were the occupants, what are their stories? why have the once welcoming towns people turned on her?
This novel moves from present day to flashbacks in 1949 and 1929. Three stories that interconnect with mysterious circumstances and supernatural happenings which provide compelling twists to an intriguing read.
My thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for an ARC in exchange for a book review.

I am a total sucker for spooky mysteries involving old haunted mansions, and C.D. Major’s latest book had an edge over all the others: hers was based on a real life location, and an unsolved mystery that has haunted a small Scottish town for decades. Set in Scotland, THE THIN PLACE features Overtoun House, a 19th century country house near the small village of Milton in Scotland. The house has gained notoriety through its attached bridge, a place where up to 600 dogs have jumped to their deaths over the last few decades, giving it its nickname of “the dog suicide bridge”. Add an alleged ghost to the mix and here you have the perfect setting for a compelling mystery with an eerie undertone and a hint of the supernatural.

According to Celtic legends, thin places are areas where the boundaries between the real world and the spirit world are “thin” and one can slip quite easily from one to another. In Major’s novel, journalist Ava Brent gets obsessed with the mystery of Overtoun House after a visit there for one of her news stories. But apart from Ava’s POV, Major also weaves two alternative timelines and voices into her story, creating a truly spine chilling background for current events. As the mystery unravels, Ava will discover her special connection to Overtoun House, which will put her in terrible danger...

I just loved the atmospheric setting in this story and of course had to look up hundreds of pictures of the place online, which immediately made me want to travel to Scotland! Major has captured the forbidding and yet somehow captivating aura of Overtoun House perfectly, and I could not have wished for a more perfect location for a spooky mystery. As Ava becomes more and more obsessed with the place, the boundaries between sanity and madness also blurred, and I was truly afraid for her safety.

As is often the case with multiple timelines, I initially struggled a bit to be equally invested in all three separate threads. Whilst I found Ava’s by far the most compelling, I was happy to see that all the threads tied together well in the end. Initially I really struggled with Constance’s voice as I am not fond of child narrators, especially if they sound much older than their years, but despite this I ended up enjoying the extra element of suspense and air of menace that Constance’s chapters added to the story.

THE THIN PLACE was a fast and compelling read for me, and even though I guessed some of the “twists” early on, as I was loathe to put the book down until I had all the answers. After reading up on the true events connected with Overtoun Bridge, I am still fascinated by its ongoing mystery and intrigue – what a fantastic setting for a book! I look forward to reading more from this new-to-me author.

My thanks to C D Major, Amazon Publishing and Net Galley for the ARC of THE THIN PLACE.
I love timeslip stories and this one lived up to the promise it made. Ava, a journalist, discovering she is pregnant decides it a good time to ask her mother about her childhood, something she has never spoken of, but when Ava questions her she is as evasive as ever. Some memories begin to come back to Ava; her mother standing on a cliff in front of a house, with tears running down her face. When Ava discovers Overtoun House in her investigations and realises it is the house in her memories, she decides to investigate some of the myths and rumour that surrounds it. She is told that Overtoun stands on the cusp of a Thin Place, and Ava is determined to find out what it means.

Constance spends all of her time in her room. She is only allowed to leave when her mother wheels her out in a wheelchair, and only when the doctor visits so that Constance can explain how ill she feels, that she is often sick, and her legs hurt so much she cannot walk. Sometimes Constance skips across her room to look out of the window. Sometimes, when her mother allows her a puppy, she runs around the room playing with her new friend, but only when her mother is elsewhere.

Marion marries a man she thought would never want her. He takes her to large house in Scotland that he says is his family home. Marion's husband is cold and unaffectionate. He visits Marion at night in her room, determined to create an heir, but Marion isn't able to carry a baby to full term. She loses many babies until she gives birth to a little girl when her husband is fighting in the war. Marion's husband is killed in the war, so there is only Marion. And her child.
Gripping, immersive and kept me hooked until the end.

I would like to thank Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read the ARC of this ebook.

This book was so creepy that I could feel the hairs standing up on the back of my neck. It was subtle and not something that will make you jump but a book that will leave you feeling uneasy. I love how the author mixed suspense, paranormal and family relationships together and then threw in a couple of twists to create a book that I couldn’t put down.

The characters did not have much of a background so it was difficult to care what happened to them. The relationships between the various characters were a bit hard to understand, they weren’t described or built up as I would have liked.

Overall this book was entertaining and creepy. I liked the storyline and the setting of the book.

This definitely was a page turner. I highly recommend for anyone looking for a quick read with a plot that keeps you guessing until the very end.

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.

A perfectly-crafted gothic tale, with enough mysterious twists to keep me reading long after I should have switched off the light.

The cast of characters, which I feel included the house and bridge, was fully rounded and came completely to life for me. I just wanted to keep reading more and more - so much so that I was almost disappointed when the final page came, however satisfying the outcome.

Discovering in the notes after the story that the "thin place" is real sent me rushing off to the internet to read all about it and look at photos. I've even added it to my "must see" list for my next trip to Scotland.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced E-book edition of The Thin Place in exchange for my honest review

Take three women in different time periods, a lot of mysterious dog suicides and you have a real creepy read. I was intrigued that this place really exists with quite the history. I did not know there would be multiple suicides as well as animal and child abuse in this book. Both of those made it a more difficult read and something that I would not have selected to read. I would like for the descriptions to have trigger labels, this could allow for better selections to me made.

CW: miscarriage, child abuse, animal abuse, animal death

I picked up this book from the "read now" section of Netgalley because I thought it would push me out of my reading comfort zone. While the book wasn't for me, it definitely did push me out of my comfort zone!

As it's a mystery/thriller, I'm hesitant to share too much of the plot here. However, know that our main protagonist, Ava, is an investigative journalist looking into the bridge at Overtoun, from where since the 1950s dogs have been known to leap to their deaths. On the bridge, Ava feels something that may be supernatural, and she becomes obsessed with finding out the truth about what happened at the house and the bridge, an obsession that strains her relationships with her mother and sister, the father of her child, and her capacity to do her job. The two other stories are that of Marion, a naive young woman who marries a handsome young man who takes her to live at his family’s crumbling estate, and that of Constance, a sick child who lives isolated in a small room of a big house, occasionally visited by her mother.

Normally, I love multiple-POV novels, but this one felt unclear and a bit like I had whiplash. It was difficult to follow for me - probably because the timeline of ⅔ of the narrators wasn't very clear until the near end of the book. While this choice makes sense, it would have been nice to have even a sliver of WHEN the 2 interesting characters were.

The main protagonist, Ava, was not endearing to me. I do appreciate the realistic look at family dynamics for her, as not every family is "perfect," but ultimately found none of the characters in her timeline to be endearing. This made it really challenging for me to continue reading this book.

Ultimately, I can't say that I'd recommend this book. I just found the book lacking in too many areas that made it unenjoyable for me. I really had to push through to even finish this book. I wish it was better, but the "big reveal" of this mystery/thriller wasn't even that shocking to me.

Overall rating: 2/5

TW: Miscarriage & suicide.

Newly pregnant Ava Brent is a journalist on a mission. She has a great job, a loving husband, and an itch to uncover the mystery of Overtoun House and the connected bridge where over 500 dogs have been known to leap to their deaths.

When herself and her crew arrive in the small town, they’re met with silent stares and sealed lips. Ava soon realises that the area, dubbed the Dog Suicide Bridge, is a so-called ‘thin place’—a place where the veil between this world and the world of the dead is at its thinnest.

From the moment she sets foot on the bridge, Ava knows something is wrong. She feels sick and the hairs on her neck stand to attention though the others in her team don’t seem to notice. Lost in the shadow of Overtoun Estate, Ava wants nothing more than to go home and be free of the darkness.

Though, when she leaves, the obsession begins.

Who lived in that house? Why do the dogs jump? What is a thin place and why does she feel so connected to it? These questions keep her up at night, putting a strain on her heath and the health of her relationships.

The more Ava begins to uncover about Overtoun, the more she wonders about her own heritage and three storylines, separated by history, all intertwine, leading her right back to the house that plagues her dreams.

Major’s The Thin Place follows three interconnecting storylines. We have our present day protagonist, Ava, and her mission to find out more about the house and bridge. Then we have Marion. Newly married, she moves to Overtoun Estate in 1929 and suffers many miscarriages throughout her life and comes to realise that her husband is not the man she thought he was. Many years later in 1949, little Constance spends her days stuck in the same room of the house, plagued by health issues with no discernible cause. Day after day, alone and unwell, she begins to wonder if her mother is really the loving woman the town believes her to be.

The plot, for the most part, was interesting. Major tries to keep the reader on their toes, this much is obvious. I believe we’re meant to be uncovering the mystery alongside Ava but I found that the twists were too predictable and I figured them out way before our protagonist did which left something to be desired. Though, it was still enjoyable to read.

The bridge is, in fact, a real place in Dumbarton, Scotland, where many dogs have jumped to their deaths. Incorporating this real place with Ava’s fictional journey was an intriguing way to get the reader immersed in the world.

The characters were multifaceted though Ava putting her health at risk because of her innate need to uncover more about the bridge did annoy me. She neglected her husband, her job, and her family, all for this foreboding bridge that has ‘DANGER’ written all over it. I understand that this was to show just how much the bridge called to her, but I feel like it went a bit too far. If I started acting the way she did, my family would have a bit more to say than just a few stern words.

Having three interconnecting storylines was a lovely way to show us the history of the bridge without having one big infodump. Although, at times, they got a little repetitive, especially Constance’s story as many days were spent alone in her room.

The writing itself was good. It didn’t fill me with fire but it was still written well and Major makes sure to explain the plot twists, ensuring that nothing comes out of nowhere for shock value which is a big pet peeve of mine.

Although it wasn’t my favourite, it was still a really enjoyable read and I’ll be sure to pick up other releases by the same author.

At the end of the day, C.D. Major’s The Thin Place is a dark yet predictable journey into the supernatural where history is never quite as it seems.

I really did like this book. The writing was good but I seemed to like Marion and Constance more than Ava. I would recommend this book though

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.