16 year old Prue’s mother has just attempted suicide so she is shipped off to a remote island in the Shetlands for the summer holidays. She’s staying with her Aunt Ruth and Uncle Archie, a man she has only met a few times. Prue is hoping to find answers to the past, namely; who is her father and why is she forbidden to discuss him?

While on the island Prue learns about the mysterious disappearance of a girl called Evelyn O’Hara twenty years ago. Her uncle was the only suspect, there were rumours they were dating at the time of the disappearance and she vanished on her way to visit him. As Prue gets closer to her Uncle and spends more time on the island, she gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets the island hides.

The setting of this book was perfect and you were given such a sense of desolation and isolation with undercurrents of sinister happenings. The descriptions of the island itself and the house Prue stays in were done so well and the eeriness they invoked really added to your sense of unease.

Prue really felt like a teenager, along with all the angst and drama that brings and while she didn’t always make the smartest decisions, the motivation for those decisions still felt authentic. Ronnie, Archie’s grandmother was one of the standout characters. An elderly, plant obsessed, strong willed woman who takes Prue under her wing.

The plot carried itself along at a good pace culminating in a finale with enough twists and turns to keep you satisfied. There are quite a few themes going on in this novel; secrets, family, grief, guilt and also stories involving sexual abuse and drug abuse. Even with all that, Whitfield doesn’t get bogged down and manages to weave everything together in a fitting way. I found the ending to be slightly predictable and some of the writing at the beginning to be slightly stilted, especially the dialogue of Prue. This improved as the book went on however and overall it was an enjoyable and creepy read.

The Gone and The Forgotten is the second novel by British author, Claire Whitfield. At her Aunt Ruth’s insistence, Prue MacArthur reluctantly travels from South Croydon, London to the tiny island of Noost, in the Shetlands for her summer vacation. With her Nan gone and her mother in rehab after a suicide attempt, her preferred option, staying with her best friend Subo’s family has been rejected. The main draw for her is that her aunt has promised to reveal what she knows about Prue’s father.

Bus, car and ferry trips finally deposit her at Dynrost House, the Anderson family home, where she meets Veronique Charlotte Lewthwaite MacNair Anderson, aka Ronnie, who is the grandmother of Uncle Archie, Aunt Ruth’s new husband. Ronnie has filled Dynrost House to bursting with plants that she regards as her children, and from which she formulates skin care products, medicines and cocktails.

Prue is given Archie’s old nursery as her bedroom, but is kept awake by the sound of dripping, a wardrobe with lively doors, and lights that keep failing. Nightmares about a certain incident when she was seven plague her, too. And she later discovers the room housed a suicide victim.

The islanders share rumours with Prue about Archie’s involvement in the disappearance of seventeen-year-old Evie O’Hara, some twenty years earlier, as well as various tales of other strange happenings at Dynrost House. All are wary of its inhabitants.

Prue is frustrated that Ruth keeps putting her off about her family secrets, but she is used to “the MacArthur family policy of stoic silence on all unpleasant matters”. She fills her days helping Ronnie in her greenhouse and hooks up with eighteen-year-old James, a barman at the hotel.

The uncle she barely knows turns out to be an artist of provocative paintings featuring teenaged girls, but seems to offer sound advice about what troubles her, and Prue begins to doubt this charismatic man could be a murderer, especially when she comes across the victim’s letters to him. But can he really be trusted?

There is such a lot going on in this novel: family secrets, drug use and trafficking, gossiping islanders, grooming and seduction, grief and guilt, all against a backdrop of a gothic manor and insular neighbours. Most of the characters range between quirky and downright crazy; the house is creepy; proper care for this vulnerable protagonist is sorely lacking.

Prue appears to be an unreliable narrator, indulging in rather a lot of alcohol and drugs for a sixteen-year-old; she is also affected by other substances of which she is unaware; and has been taught by her mother at an early age to compartmentalise unpleasant memories, some of which spill out when she is under stress. That given, her poor decisions shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Whitfield’s descriptive prose is evocative and several mysteries draw the reader in and keep the pages turning; all are resolved to jaw-dropping or chilling effect. A gripping read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Head of Zeus/Apollo.

Having really enjoyed Clare Whitfield's debut novel People of Abandoned Character, I couldn't wait to read her newest novel - I wasn't left disappointed!

Full of family secrets, questionable characters and a hell of a lot of shocking behaviour, it's a dark coming-of-age novel, revolving around Prue, a young girl who's searching for answers.

Teenage angst, family drama and an absent father who nobody will talk about, it's easy to see how Prue has trouble with her own identity. But the truths she so desperately seeks, end in her being mixed up in a whole heap of trouble -which makes for such a creepily engrossing read!

A remote coming of age self discover in the remote Shetland Islands?
Yes, please!

The claustrophobic and daunting, always judged feeling here was strong!

However, I found the plot and the characters not easy to read and follow, but maybe this was just not the right book for me.
I really really got put off by a lot of unrelatable and unlikeable characters, which I do not enjoy.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

An absent father. A missing girl. Buried family secrets. Is the truth worth searching for?

Moving up to an island in Shetland, this is a novel about relationships and families. There are a few dark secrets here and there's some claustrophobic moments.

Great writing but I liked her first book more.

"Maybe what Prue was really frightened of was life, and she wouldn't be able to cope with it. Some big, invisible, unidentified monster was going to get her, and if she didn't know what form it took, or what it looked like, how would she know when to run? "

With her Nana death, and her mom's latest suicide attempt, 16-year old Prue is forced to spend her summer on the remote island Noost (rather than in London with her friend Subo as she had hoped). On one of the tiniest islands part of the Shetlands, she moves in with her aunt Ruth, who promises to tell her more about the father Prue was never allowed to talk about, her uncle Archie, who it soon turns out is the lone suspect in the 20-year old murder case of his former girlfriend Evelyn O'Hara, and Archie's mom, the rather eccentric Ronnie. Prue's stay on the island is not what she expected. Ruth doesn't say nearly as much as Prue had hoped, the house she is staying has secrets of its own and is properly creepy, and then of course there is the unresolved case of the murder of Prue's baby sister to deal with....

So, I am having a tough time reviewing this book. Part Coming-of-Age story, part psychological thriller, part family drama, there are parts that I absolutely loved. The setting of the island Noost, with its small island community, giving you the feeling that you are under constant scrutiny. The general setting of the house and the eccentricity of some of the characters were well described and made it seem all the more real. However, there were also parts I didn't like. I never quite connected with any of the characters, not even Prue. It was a complex story with many things happening, and perhaps this was just not the right time for me to read this and be able to keep track of everything. The book started of a bit slow, but once things started to run, they were running and there was no stopping me from jumping to the next page. A bit of a mixed bag for me personally, but I think many readers will delight in this YA story full of family secrets.

Prue hopes that the summer she's going to spend on a island in the Shetlands with her aunt Ruth and uncle Archie will give her the chance to get information about the father she's never know but it turns out there s a bigger mystery. She's 16 and she's coping with a mother who has serious mental health issues. Not easy but she's coping and she finds Archie to be a good egg. One problem- he's long been suspected of murdering his girlfriend Evie, Did he do it? Prue sets out to get answers to both questions. Set in 1993, it's a tale of family secrets and lies that rides on the well written characters. Thanks to netgalley for the ArC. A good read.

🌊Too many unsympathetic characters😒

2.5🌟 stars
This story missed the mark for me. I picked it up because of the Shetland Islands setting and the secrets and mystery aspects. Although the writing style itself was fine, I found it dragged out way too long and the majority of the characters turned me off, including Prue, the young female lead who's cajoled into spending the summer with her aunt on a remote island north of Scotland in the Shetlands while her mother is in rehab after an attempted suicide.

This girl first appeared as the dependable, responsible daughter who saves her despairing, depressed mother's life.
But on the island and absent responsibility she goes off the rails and eventually gets her aunt to reveal family secrets that are not at all pleasant. I liked Prue less and less as she used people, lied, got into regular substance abuse and put herself in situations that she knew would lead to a bad outcome. And is her behavior to be blamed on others? Not the way I read this character, no matter how they befriended or groomed her. Ronnie, Ruth and Archie had different character flaws but they were also not individuals who made me care about the outcome.

I also found the huge confessional info dump at the end just too much too late. I had already, anyway, figured out how things stood far before the big reveal.

Thanks to Head of Zeus Apollo and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

I have really chewed over my review for this one for a long time. It was well written, the twists and turns kept me guessing, but ultimately it just wasn't for me.

In the aftermath of her mums attempted suicide sixteen-year-old Prue is forced to spend the summer in the remote Shetlands with her aunt, Ruth, and new uncle, Archie, Prue arrives determined to find some answers about who her dad is and what's behind her mums breakdowns. But she soon finds herself caught up in a web of family secrets far bigger than she bargained for.

Thank you Netgalley and Head of Zeus for giving me an opportunity to review this ARC.

‘A lot has happened, Prue, and you’ve dealt with it incredibly well.’

Summer, 1993. After her mother attempts suicide, 16-year-old Prue agrees to spend the summer holidays on Noost, a remote island in the Shetlands with her Aunt Ruth and her husband Archie. Although reluctant to stay with her aunt at first, Prue hopes that her aunt will shed some light on the past. Prue has grown up not knowing who her father is, and her mother has forbidden any discussion about his identity. Prue is also dealing with the recent death of her grandmother as well as the death years earlier of her baby sister.

But when Prue arrives from London, she finds that Ruth is reluctant to talk. Prue also finds out that Archie is the only suspect in the disappearance of his then girlfriend, local girl Evelyn O’Hara, twenty years earlier. Evelyn was on her way to meet Archie when she disappeared. Within days of arrival, Prue has more questions, and no answers at all. Ruth seems unwilling to talk and the house she is staying has its own mysteries. Archie’s grandmother Veronique (Ronnie) tends her abundance of obscure plants and tries to interest Prue in their various properties.

Prue is missing her friend Subo back in London and while she becomes close to James, a university student, home for the holidays helping his mother run the local hotel, she is determined to find answers to some of the mysteries surrounding her.

What follows is a very twisty and complex psychological thriller. I did work out a couple of aspects of the story but not others. Did I enjoy the story? Mostly, although there was too much family drama (and too many secrets) for me to suspend my disbelief enough to flow with the story.

The mysteries will be solved by the end, and I imagine some readers will find the story more satisfying than I did.

‘We’re rather good at keeping secrets, aren’t we?’

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

This was an interesting story describing a family that cannot possibly exist - Can It?
Prue is a sixteen year old having just taken for final school examinations before further education. What a start to life that Prue had, her baby sister murdered and the jailed murderer being released, her mother attempting suicide and now in a mental hospital, her grandmother, Nana, has just recently died and now she is having to stay with her aunt Ruth on a remote Scottish Island. Once there she discovers that the villagers all believe that her Uncle Harry killed his girlfriend many years ago and they still hold bad feelings for the family and when she arrives at the house it is to meet Ronnie, the madcap grandmother of Harry.
What a lovely set of characters that are all well described as is the scenery and village life on the island.
It was easy to detect the person who really did the 2 murders but Prue really wanted to know her father's name as well. I certainly did not guess that.
I felt that Prue was a very young 16 year old with too many hang ups in her life and it was obvious that throughout her life she had never had any one to guide her with a firm hand.

Prue’s baby sister was murdered, her mother is in a mental hospital, her father is unknown, her Nana has just died, and her uncle is suspected of murdering his girlfriend many years ago. That’s a lot of problems for anyone, let alone a sixteen-year-old girl who has just finished her GCSEs. Because of the situation with her mother and Nana, Prue has to stay with her mother’s sister, Ruth, and her husband (the aforementioned uncle), Archie, on the island of Noost, notionally the most northerly of the Shetland Island. The house, Archie’s ancestral home, is also occupied by his grandmother, Ronnie. The house, buried deep in the woods, is ancient, spooky, full of secret passages, strange noises, dodgy electrics and filled with a plethora of obscure plants. The latter are the pride and joy – “my children” – of Ronnie, archetypal Wise Woman or Mad Woman (or possibly both). Prue has several missions: find out what really happened to her sister; discover who her father was; solve the mystery of her uncle’s missing girlfriend; and get reconciled with her mother. Oh, and lose her virginity – a promise she made to her best friend back home!
So at heart this is a coming of age story; young girl overcomes adversity and becomes a woman. But it is also a mystery story, in fact at least three mysteries need to be solved. At times it seems as if it might be a ghost story, at others it is clearly a psychological thriller. Such complexity can be quite challenging for the reader, who must engage with this often bewildered or confused protagonist. It starts quite slowly and feels a bit like what I imagine YA books are like (I’m way outside that demographic) but picks up pace and is moving quite rapidly by the end. All mysteries are finally resolved and, in retrospect, can be seen as inevitable.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

A page turner, eery and gothic. A complex family, a teenager who want to know more about her root. A complex family and a fascinating and chilly summer in the Shetland.
I loved the storytelling and the story kept me hooked.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

For Prue, there are too many secrets being held by her dysfunctional family, making this not just a coming of age story but one of many revelations. The characters are well described from Prue’s own relations to the small group of quirky islanders who all have their part to play in the dramatic ending. The author gets inside Prue’s head with good effect, and balances that against those around her with something to hide. A very good psychological mystery, although not such a surprise ending to me!

An exceptional book! The perfect combination of a coming-of-age story with a crime novel. I really enjoyed Clare Whitfield's first book, and although this one is very different it has the same quality that makes you want to keep reading and never put it down. All the characters felt very well developed and it was nice to read about a teenager who actually comes across as believable as a teenager. Prue is a great protagonist and you really feel as though you're uncovering the mysteries with her. 5 stars easily, and I can't wait to see what Clare writes next! Thank you to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Enjoyed the book and would give it 3.5 stars. I had to keep reminding myself that it's 1993 not 2022. Not that it matters, because I'm pretty sure that island will be the same no matter what year. It's in the middle of no where and not even one of the main Shetland Islands. The Anderson Family home was scary, the people who lived inside didn't help, either did all the plants. I'm pretty sure every character in this book was crazy, at least everyone in Prue's family or associated with them. Prue made horrible decisions. She ignored every warning sign. She didn't have any great role models in her life and her mom put her down about everything. Every bad thing that you can imagine, happened to Prue. Most of it occurred while she was visiting her aunt. Agree with Prue that recorders were created to torture parents. I have heard Hot Crossed Buns to last me a life time. I'm not really sure why Ruth insisted Prue came to stay with them for the summer. Ruth ignored her and never wanted to answer Prue's questions. Plus, she knew what type of man her husband was. Didn't Ruth see anything wrong with Ronnie constantly giving Prue alcohol? Prue would have been safer if she stayed with her friend's family. When Prue finally learned the truth about the identity of her father, I was shocked. Definitely didn't expect that, no wonder everyone kept it a secret. Then throw in the truth about Holly and what happened to her all those years ago. The only thing Prue's family was good at, was keeping secrets. They had so many, I'm not sure how they kept track.

Definitely recommend the book. I couldn't stop reading because I had to know what was going on in that creepy house and if Prue ever got answers to her questions. Look forward to reading more books by the author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Head of Zeus through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Whoa! What a ride. It was very fast-paced. The writing style kept me hooked and I didn't find myself losing any interest. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and how real the story felt. The author did a great job painting the setting, so it was easy for me to visualize the scene played out before me. I recommend giving this one a chance!

An awkward teen, Prue reluctantly spends the summer with her Aunt in the Shetlands. Her grandmother has died and her mother has had another episode and is in mental care. Prue's past is haunting: a missing sister and the identity of her father is a secret. She is desperate to know who her father is and why his identity has been kept from her, so spending the summer with her Aunt and new Uncle may give her the answers she's looking for.

On the island, she meets quirky characters and some others shrouded in mystery. There are dark family secrets and several twists that make this story hard to put down. Clare Whitfield's writing starts out slow but catches your attention after a couple of chapters to where you can't put this book down.

Thank you to Head of Zeus, Apollo and NetGalley for this digital ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁, 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀.


Just how much does it cost to be given the keys to a kingdom?

Set in 1993: Prue doesn’t doesn’t know much about her family history, only thing she knows for sure is that her mother is unstable and that after sixteen years of being alive, she still has no clue who her own father is. Her mother breaks down, often, and this is just the latest collapse. Her Nana is gone, leaving grief in her wake, and years of unanswered questions. Aunt Ruth has never confided either but promises this time, if Prue comes for a sorely needed vacation in her home in Shetland, they will talk. Ruth, the aunt who married a wealthy man named Archie (a stranger to Prue) is easier to get close too but she isn’t exactly spilling any secrets. Ruth had no idea just how serious her sister had sank into her depression, this time Prue’s mother needs a place that can really help her and Prue needs room to breathe, away from her mother’s heavy needs. Prue reluctantly departs her best friend’s home and makes her way to the small island of Noost, never imaging the family secrets that are lying in wait.

Once on the island, Prue meets her Uncle Archie and his peculiar grandmother, Ronnie- the only relatives still alive in his family. In her seventies, the woman tends to her many plants like children and lives in a universe all her own, but she is sharp and in perfect control of her mind and body. She tells Prue right away that when she heard she was coming to stay, she just knew it would change everything. She tell her it’s a good thing she is there, ‘the spirits want it to happen,’ and gushes over her. Ronnie is a proud woman from a long, Scotish line of MacNairs, who landed on the island due to ‘following a boy’ long ago. Ronnie comes off as very intense, believing in energies, and extremely uptight about Prue touching her precious plants. Straight away, dreams from when she was a little girl of seven begin to haunt her. It’s the place, surely. Memories she has scrubbed away about her baby sister Holly, as slips of our early childhood hide from us with age, but surely there is more she just can’t recover? In a family of secrets, is it a surprise she keeps stories even from herself? Then the crime the woman Joan Gardner committed, it’s all returning to bite her. Ronnie seems to warm to her and where Aunt Ruth remains tight lipped, Ronnie gushes about her own past and that of their huge, old home.

The island has a magical energy that feeds the artistic palate of her aunt and new uncle, Archie. Ronnie warns her, their work is strange! It is unsettling and the house itself seems to be alive with eerie sounds. It isn’t the relaxing escape she was looking forward too, in fact, more questions than answers are arising, especially about Archie. He is ‘a proper bloke’, intimidating, a man who takes up space and is nothing near as welcoming as her Aunt Ruth’s first husband. Locals think he is guilty of something terrible, even if they can’t say what or prove anything. When she ventures out, fully immersed in her first taste of freedom, she encounters a local woman who warns her about Archie, the only good to come out of it is she meets a boy after being scared away. The two form a relationship, but she can’t help but poke the accusations she hears about Archie. Then to learn that there have been strange accidents, deaths, tragedies tied to the home only makes her more frightened of the place. In fact, the very room she is staying in has a story she can’t quite help but fear.

Is Prue ready to know what she has been asking for years? Does she truly want her own spoiled family history, that reeks of damning sins? Will it finally help her understand her mother’s lowest of lows? Archie, she should be weary of him, but even that is changing.

This was an engaging tale of family sins, of the ways people will bury their shameful history despite the cost. Prue may well have to face herself, and her own actions. A bit of a twist, with a sad past. A good read for anyone who enjoys mysteries of family sins and tragedies.

Publication Date: June 9, 2022

Head of Zeus

Apollo

Overall I found this an engaging, important, and tense Young Adult thriller with believable characters, plot pacing, and dialogue,
However, I feel that the themes the novel went into topic about could’ve been depended and strengthen more…it felt that the themes that were weaved throughout this were quite flimsy and weren’t explored enough with bite and weight,
I thought that Prue was relatable and fleshed out and she definitely was likeable, although I do like unlikeable narrators. She was believable enough, she was the most in-depth character in my opinion and everyone else, like the themes, didn’t have enough depth and life,
I think the exploration of Prue’s uncle was done quite well, that the mystery of that itself was gripping and didn’t end up being too predictable or cliche. I also think the descriptions and atmosphere of the town and the residents were both well done, I felt I could imagine the town myself quite well,
I also feel the pace was decent, not too slow or too fast, although I don’t mind slow-in fact I love slow novels,
I will say I think the writing was pretty simplistic and often too watered down,
I thought the best writing came at the beginning and the end, those last passages were wonderful and vivid,
I do understand it’s a YA so the writing, at least from what I’ve experienced from reading a lot in the genre, won’t be as detailed and descriptive-that worked well here for the realistic, everyday dialogue, but I think overall besides the descriptions of the town and Prue’s recurring thoughts that worked well, I feel it all could’ve had more depth and the writing could’ve went into more description as I felt there was a lot of dialogue.
Overall it was a decent YA thriller that didn’t end up being too cliche or predictable, it’s an easy enough read that had a good enough pace and worked well with the looming mystery.