A reclusive family in the secluded isle in rural Scotland, deaths, and the dark secrets that lie within. The story follows two girls who are raised in this family... or rather cult. Dinah and Evelyn are our main characters who are raised with Elizabeth and Abel in a family with three adults: Nora, Alice, and “Uncle”. Uncle is the Adder, an intimidating leader who has raised them to believe that he has powers given to him by the snake like ocean deity they all have to worship and serve. The story begins with the deaths and murder of the family members with only Dinah and Evelyn surviving. This is a gothic murder mystery along with a cult like family and folk-tale aspects. The children in the family are raised to believe that there is a snake in the ocean that has powers and that by worshipping it, they will be part of the “pure” who will be the last remaining people on earth with the snake deity comes and kills away the rest of the “impure.” The children are abused and drugged and made to believe that everything is being done for their own good, so when a police inspector comes to try and save them.... Evelyn begins to see what is really happening to her family and what they are suffering. The question then becomes, whether she can save her family before its too late or will they all die... and who really killed the family? The story is confusing, it doesn’t really start to make sense until about 60% into the book. I’ve read the author’s previous works and really enjoyed them, and I did enjoy the gothic atmosphere and horror nature of the story. It was written beautifully, I was just a little bit lost while reading what was going on until the twist at the end where everything is tied up. Overall, this does make a good read for a nice cold afternoon with a cup of tea. It definitely is a good one to pick up for autumn and spooky reads.

*Thanks Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tor Nightfire for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

With Little Eve, Ward proves herself a modern master of the gothic whle giving the genre a psychological depth that few have attempted successfully. Combining gothic tropes with poetic language to conceal a complex mystery and horrific events, Ward has created a story that is absorbingly beautiful and disturbing in equal amounts. Once again, as with "Last House on Needless Street", she does incredible things with unreliable narrators to craft a lyrical, resonating work within a setting of sea and wind-swept stone that readers of bodice rippers and weird tales will alike enjoy.

Mrs. Radcliffe would be proud.

This book makes me want to go back and re-evaluate all of my other book ratings. This book is 10/10 or 15/10 if that's even possible to give. The writing is so beautifully haunting yet fierce with ghastly descriptions that it makes you want to curl onto the couch with a big fuzzy blanket and hot chocolate just to feel safe from the words you are reading. LIKE WUT. I can not wait for this to be released in the US, as I will be the first to buy a hard copy. Read some of my favorite lines from "Little Eve' below.

"I climb with him to my hidden place above the sea. It is surrounded by boulders, covered with lichen and gull droppings and olf seaweed thrown here by storms. There is a strong odour of dead fish. It is the haunt of many sand fleas. No one comes here but me."

"Cheese hangs like dead men in the cold air. There are pots of Altnaharra honey, trays of salt taken from the sea, preserves gleaming in rows. All ready to be taken to market in Tongue. I finger the pear in my pocket. I think of the juice running down my chin. I think of sinking my teeth into crumbling white ewe's cheese. But Uncle would know."

"A screaming begins. The cacophony of a hundred thousand voices shouting instructions in an alien tongue. I have no choice; my blood and nerves have become the voices. If they told me to fly into an open fire I would do it. I am not one but many, feeding the great, combed entity of the hive."

Thank you NetGalley and Tor for the ARC! This is a great psychological, twisty read. This book is full of gothic horror and a disturbing cult where no one is safe and escape seems impossible. It's a great read for the fall.

Book Title: Little Eve
Author: Catriona Ward
Publisher: Macmillan-Tor/Forge
Genre: Mystery/Thriller, Horror
Pub Date: October 11, 2022
My Rating: 3.4 stars

I was attracted to this as I read and actually liked [book: The Last House on Needless Street] it was certainly a different read for me and turned out better than expected.
I went into this one trying NOT to have a high expectation.

Sisters ‘Little Eve’ and Dinah are two orphans who live in a mansion with Uncle and their 'family' ~ two other children and two women. The mansion is located on Altnaharra, off the Coast of Scotland.
Eve loves it there. It is all she knows save for the memories of a woman singing. She and her 'sister' Dinah are close, and Eve hopes one day to inherit Uncle's power. Dinah hopes for something else.

As war breaks out, things change drastically. Eve begins to question the things and people in her life. Then one night there is a terrible, terrible storm.

Book starts out with ‘The Author’s Note’ (I always love reading both the author’s notes as well as the acknowledgements so this was great that it was at the beginning and not at the end. However, the end has some fun things ~ the Acknowledgements and a ‘Readers Guide’

Want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for October 11, 2022

I really, really tried to like this one. There were things I liked and things I didn’t. I loved the setting and the time period, I didn’t like the actual story though. It was kind of confusing, and parts did not make sense to me. Idk, others may like this, it just was not my cup of tea.

I haven’t read this author’s previous books so I had no expectations coming in. That being said, after a slow start, I enjoyed this book, centered on a child named Eve who is raised within a cult off the coast of Scotland.

I had a hard time getting into the book initially and wasn’t sure exactly what was going on. To be honest, I’m not sure I still understood everything after I finished. That being said, I really enjoyed the last 70% of the book, once I got a better idea of what was happening. Eve’s questioning and subsequent realization of what she is dealing with was interesting to me and felt authentic of someone of her age. I also always enjoy when an author isn’t afraid to kill off primary characters. The end is the book was good and provided some twists that I did not see coming.

Overall, this was an interesting horror book. I always say I don’t like reading about cults but then I often enjoy many of these books after all. I didn’t feel like I truly understood everything but the character development, the surprises, and the dark content kept me fully immersed. I’d give it 3.5 stars at the end of the day. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange doe an honest review.

Evelyn is raised in a mysterious, reclusive family unit on a secluded isle in rural Scotland. Along with other adolescents Dinah, Abel, and Elizabeth, there are three adults: Nora, Alice, and Uncle. Uncle is the Adder, an intimidating leader imbued with powers by the ocean-deity they worship and serve. The story begins with a shocking act of violence that has left everyone on the island except Dinah dead.

This was an awesome ride. I have never read anything by this author before but I have heard good things and wanted to try this one even though horror/thriller is not my typical genre. And I am so glad I did! This is a strong book, well-written, with excellent scenery, leaning a little gothic although I thought she could've committed more to the house-as-a-character vibe, but what really stands out is how engrossing the story-telling is. I well and truly felt like I was being read a ghost story or watching a spooky movie, I could feel the rain falling and the stonework crumbling around me. Even though you know (from chapter 1) more or less how the characters' stories will end up, there is still a great sense of mystery, foreboding, and feels like a big 'reveal' is coming. Perfect for spooky season!

On the down side, I felt the story dragged a bit after the 50% mark. It definitely slowed down and I was more likely to put the book down and pick up my phone. I also wish there had been a bit of the actual "big reveal" feeling written into the characters' narration (does that make sense?). A lot of really shocking things happen (spoilers here>) we, along with Eve, find out that the truth about Him and the benison, and the honey, the truth about Uncle's past, and what he does during the ceremonies, about Dinah's betrayal, about her mother! twice!, but Eve/our narrator delivers most of this information in a flat affect, letting her sadness and mourning wash over us, but felt none of her shock. Even when Abel has killed himself, she sort of gives us this information in a way that makes it feel as though it was an inevitability. I'm torn on this subject because I like the way it was given to us, in this slow-moving gothicky sort of tone, rather than in earth-shattering revelations, but looking back on it, it feels untrue to the story and I think is part of what made the story drag a bit.

Also, this is just a personal preference, but I kind of wish we had been left with one or two questions about Eve's character/motivations at the very end. I would like a hint that perhaps things did not go exactly as she has said they went... perhaps she is hiding something, in the end? But anyway the ending was nice and neat and can't complain about that. A good book and a great story!

Thank you Netgalley, author, and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this e-arc.

"The world changes at night. Bad things from the beginning of the earth roam in the dark."

Cults of any kind just fascinate me. The power these leaders hold over their "followers" just makes my mind start going. It's intriguing to see and to read about. Yes, I'm weird but that's nothing new.

Catriona and I didn't start our reading relationship off on the right foot. The first novel I read by her was The Last House on Needless Street and that book was a huge letdown. The cat with deep thoughts was my favorite part. Since it didn't make my eyeballs bleed, I thought I would give this author another chance to wow me. This book turned my frown down towards the pits of hell even further.

I couldn't even finish this one. The writing didn't suck me into the story and the characters were too dull for my liking. It was like watching paint dry. No fun at all. The best thing about this was the cover. I'm sad at how sad this book made me.

There was a paragraph in this book that stopped me in my tracks. I mean, I could be overreacting but you be the judge of this. I know that I don't like it.
"Nora blows out the candle, then goes shuffling along the corridor. I hear her groan. She is so fat; no wonder."

Little Eve was supposed to be the book that brought the author and me closer together but it actually tore us apart even further. I think I'm done with books by this author. Well, Catriona, it was fun while it lasted but it's bon voyage for now.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Nightfire, and Catriona Ward for the advanced copy of Little Eve in exchange for my honest review.

I knew going into this book that there is a certain "WTF-ness" to Ward's writing (it's something I love about her) but I still struggled with this one regardless. I truly felt like I had no idea what was going on until about 75% into the book. It felt almost too literary for my taste.

I found the last portion of the book entertaining, albeit a little predictable. I can definitely see why this was an award winning novel, it's just not 100% my taste.

Little Eve was originally published in 2018 but will be out in the US for the first time on October 11!

I received an advanced copy of Little Eve from Netgalley and was excited because I’ve heard great things about Catriona Ward. This book was deliciously dark and gothic, a perfect Scottish setting for the coming fall days. It was a tale about a secluded “family” living in a rundown castle on an island with strange rituals and preparing for the end of days. In the opening pages, a villager delivering food to the castle discovers their bodies, all missing an eye. Everyone in the family is dead except for Dinah, who is barely alive. From there, Dinah tells us the story about life on the island and with Uncle, the leader of their cult. She unravels the mystery of that fateful day and we learn the truth about their lives and their deaths.

The writing was haunting and gripping and the story was disturbing, so this won’t be for more sensitive readers. I found it perfectly creepy and it only crossed my personal lines in the tiniest of ways, which made the story that much more enthralling. Little Eve will be published on October 11, 2022 and is available to be pre-ordered. Did I say this is the perfect October read for those of us who enjoy the scarier side of things? Because it is. And I’m planning to read more by this author as the season shifts because I have a feeling I’m going to love all of her work.

This is a very dark, gothic tale that I’m sure will be appeal to all those who enjoy such tales. I have to confess this is not a genre that I usually read but felt I should give such a popular author a try. However, it was a little too dark and disturbing for me, so I can’t say I enjoyed reading it, but I can appreciate it was well written and plotted, with a chilling and atmospheric setting, steeped in horror and tension.

On an island cut off from the north coast of Scotland by a causeway, the crumbling castle of Altnaharra sits on an island of the same name, isolated and secluded. Inherited by Col John Bearings in 1898 on his return from India, he has taken up residence with two women and a number of foundling children, establishing a strange cult. Iron gates keep visitors out and the members of his household segregated from the world, ready to accept his beliefs and punishments as they ready themselves for the end of days. Goods would be delivered to the gates where payment was waiting and it was in 1921 on one such trip to the island that led the local butcher to discover a gruesome scene. What led up that event is gradually revealed as members of the cult tell their horrific accounts of life on Altnaharra.

The cult itself is well imagined, with its members competing against each other for Bearings attention and love but also needing to cling together to survive their daily struggles. The tension builds slowly as the bleak setting and the characters set the scene, and there are some clever twists and turns in the tale that fans of Catriona Ward are sure to enjoy.

This is a thoroughly gripping story of a strange cult on the northern shore of England during the 1930’s. The story begins with the ritual murder of several people. From there, the plot backtracks to show how the events played out.
The story is told through the eyes of two primary characters. The interesting thing is how the characters see their lives as being completely ordinary when, in fact, they are horrible. The cult is ruled by a man who calls himself Uncle, and he rules the women and children with an iron fist. As the story unfolds and more and more clues are revealed, it becomes clear that he is a madman.
I could not put this book down!

This book started out a little slow. But Ward knows how to bring the slow burn into a raging fire. There were so many twists and turns - some I saw coming and others that just smacked me up the side of the head. I enjoyed reading this book. Ward is a great author and I can't wait to read more books from her.

I don't believe there is anyone writing in the Thriller/Horror genre that does psychological horror as consistantly well as Catriana Ward. She takes the twists and turns that revitalized the Mystery/Thriller genre years back and applies them to reach the tortured depth of the human soul again and again. For this reason she is an auto-read for me!

If Catriona Ward ever writes a phone book, I am here for it! I'll read anything by her! Little Eve was fantastically creepy gothic at its best! More twists and turns than a gothic staircase. Great writing and the story kept me glued to the very satisfying end!

Catriona Ward blew me away with The Last House on Needless Street and Sundial. I was thrilled to hear that she had another book coming out this fall and I am grateful to have been given an advanced copy. Little did I know that this is not a new book to her catalogue, but actually the second book she's ever written. It has never been published in the US, but it will now. And THANK GOD! Boy, this book did not disappoint one bit. It was gothic, atmospheric, mysterious and disorienting (in the best way possible). See synopsis from Amazon:
—
From Catriona Ward, the international bestselling author of The Last House on Needless Street comes Little Eve, a heart-pounding tale of faith and family, with a devastating twist.

Winner of the Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel.

“A great day is upon us. He is coming. The world will be washed away.”

On the wind-battered isle of Altnaharra, off the wildest coast of Scotland, a clan prepares to bring about the end of the world and its imminent rebirth.

The Adder is coming and one of their number will inherit its powers. They all want the honor, but young Eve is willing to do anything for the distinction.

A reckoning beyond Eve’s imagination begins when Chief Inspector Black arrives to investigate a brutal murder and their sacred ceremony goes terribly wrong.

And soon all the secrets of Altnaharra will be uncovered."
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The author did such a great job of creating a sense of place. It was very evocative and I really felt like is was on the isle of Altnaharra.. The storyline twisted and turned in such an awesome way and I loved how it unfolded. I'm learning that, when reading a book by this author, it is best to let it happen, to wash over you and experience it as it's happening. Don't try and figure it out. Just go with it.

This book was just excellent. Many thanks to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the advanced copy. It was a pleasure to experience this story. Little Eve will be available October 11, 2022.

Okay I don't know what is going on here.. The Last House on Needless Street was absolutely amazing. I listened to it as an audiobook and was absolutely enraptured by the way Ward used language and the world she created. Since then I've tried to read both of her subsequent books and simply struggled from the opening pages.. I'm wondering if this is a case where the audiobooks somehow resonate better with me. That doesn't usually happen - I am a reader not a listener by nature - but I can't imagine what other explanation there is for the wildly different response I've had to the three books.

This one did not work for me, in the same way that Sundial did not. I was drawn in by the description, as I was with Sundial, and yet somehow just never connected to the characters or story. With Needless Street that connection happened straightaway - and my only surmise at this point is the audiobook versus written word format. So I will definitely be checking that out in future because I am highly intrigued by the concept here and would dearly love to be able to make it through to the end...

Catriona Ward’s dark stories are masterpieces. The beginning of this was a little hard to follow, however I find that is common with these kinds of stories. Cult + semi-paranormal + unreliable narrators. Once I got into the flow of the writing style I was completely immersed in Eve and Dinah and Altnarharra’s story. This was absolutely insane, and yet could easily be a true story the way the world is.
I loved the small secrets that lead you toward the end of this story and what ultimately happened. The little stepping stones to where the madness of Uncle’s disturbing world was headed were so well done. I absolutely love CW’s style of writing and her way of doing horror in non-traditional ways. She is able to easily use popular tropes and completely bend them to her will. I read Sundial first and then this and she is now an auto-buy author for me.