In 1990, three girls devote themselves to a sinister figure.
In the year 2000, a young mother disappears, leaving behind her husband and baby daughter.
In 2018, a teenage girl is charged with murder.
The Tall Man is filled to the brim with intrigue, with aspects of the mystery being referred to but never fully explained for the majority of the book. Although this does build suspense and interest, there was a bit too much. It was over 40% of the book before anything started to be explained and, by that point, I was more fed up than intrigued.
However, it is still a very good story. I really liked the way it was told: through the filming of a documentary about Amber Banner and what she did (which you don’t get to find out until a good three quarters of the way through).
This story was not as creepy as I would have liked. I am a bit of a horror-freak, so I was looking for something closer to a properly dark thriller instead of the suspense/murder-mystery that it is.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Shipwrecks are a part of life on the coast of Cornwall. In the remote village of Porthmorvoren, things are no different. Bounty and corpses wash up on the beaches regularly, and the locals take what they can. On one such day, Mary Blight helps herself to a fine pair of boots from the body of a dead noblewoman, not realising that she has set herself up as the prime suspect for biting off the woman’s earlobes to steal her earrings. As word spreads of the so-called ‘Porthmorvoren Cannibal’, Mary’s safety becomes less and less certain. The arrival of a handsome Methodist minister to the village only makes matters worse.
In the quiet town of Balam, people are dying. Following the loss of the town’s resident white mage, Aava – fresh from the mage academy – is sent to find the cause of the unknown illness and create a cure before the rest of the town becomes infected. When strange insectoid creatures start invading the town, seemingly attracted by the bodies of the illness’ victims, Aava seeks help from ex-mercenary Ryckert to get to the bottom of the mystery, before there is nobody left alive in Balam.
Ursula Flight was born on the night of a bad-luck comet. Educated by her father, she discovers a love of writing and develops a dream of becoming a famous playwright. However, she is expected to marry and live the way it is believed that a woman should. Trapped in a loveless marriage, Ursula decides to fight for her dreams. But freedom comes at a price.
Jesika is four and a half. She lives in a flat with her little brother, Toby, and her mum, who is struggling to make ends meet. Jesika struggles to understand everything that’s going on, and has to deal with a lot when her mum and Toby get ill. All she knows is that she loves her mummy and doesn’t want to live anywhere but with her.