⚪ The Stranger's Companion is a historical mystery and gothic thriller which is inspired by real events in Sark, a small island, part of the British Channel Islands, in 1933. The clothes of a man and a woman was found neatly folded on the edge of a cliff, but no one knew whom they belong to. And that's how this story also begins.
⚪ Throughout the story we are brought to two alternate timelines, the past is around the 1923, while the present is in the 1933. The main event, the mysterious two clothes without the owners, is happening in the present. They are first found by Everard Hyde. A girl called Phyllis Carrey is interested in the case, and writes reports for local newspaper.
⚪ Phyllis has just returned to the island after being out of it for some time. From the beginning, we get a feeling of mystery surrounding Phyllis and Everard - who has also just returned from a kind of exile. They seem to be anxious of meeting each other. Little by little the mystery unfolded along the story, as well as the mystery of the missing persons whose clothes were found by Everard.
⚪ As fascinating as the missing person mystery is, the mystery of the past is much darker and more menacing. We are presented with a glimpse of the after war of 1923; of the precocious young Phyllis and the shy and scared boy of Everard. How they amused themselves by playing "ghost" and other mischievous stuffs to the already superstitious islanders, and how they eventually entangled in dark secrets that will change their lives.
⚪ The main attraction of this book is the writing style. I love how the writer put some "excerpts", either from tourist information guide, or from the news containing updates on the investigation, to open the chapters. They provide a refreshing touch to the otherwise rather gloomy story with superstition, ghost hunting, seance, and of course, murder.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
**The Stranger's Companion will be published in June 20th, 2024.
This does sound interesting, and the setting is unusual. John Murray is an old and distinguished publishing house, still led by the original family, as I recall. I hope this does well.
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