THE HAUNTING OF THORES-CROSS by KAREN PERKINS

 THE HAUNTING OF THORES-CROSS

BY

KAREN PERKINS

THE BLURB:-

A haunting historical thriller set in Britain's North Yorkshire Moors about isolation, superstition and persecution, The Haunting of Thores-Cross explores 18^th century life in a picturesque but isolated village in the North Yorkshire Moors.

When a vulnerable young girl is ostracised within her community and accused of witchcraft, the descendents of her neighbours will suffer for centuries to come.

THE REALITY:-

Was it really necessary to spell out the North Yorkshire Moors twice in the blurb? I think not, and its an oversight by the publishers (yes, I know I'm being petty!) This is a setting I have some affinity with, having loved the tales penned by the Bronte sisters, and also some of the work by Yorkshire blockbuster writer gal Barbara Taylor Bradford. It's also were I went this year, for my graduation from my (distance learning) MA and also where I will go to next year, for a break in Filey. The landscape and scenery of this area were beautifully documented, as were the regional accents used by (it seems) all of the characters in this novel. I loved the idea of a hidden village, sitting beneath the man-made flooded dam.

This definitely had something going for it as I finished it in only a few days, but I felt more for the historical settings and the character of Jennet than I did for modern-day Emma. I can certainly understand Jennet's wrath at those who'd hurt her, following the awful bad luck she had of (spoiler alert!) losing both parents at once and then her twins. I loved her vindictive nature- she wasn't about to take certain things lying down, and can certainly respect her glee when it seemed that some of her curses appeared to be working. Go, gal! Unfortunately, given the grim superstitions of the time it meant she was accused of being a witch, and that spelled her downfall.

I did like Emma, but with her parts of the story seemed to get far fetched. Did she really believe she was carrying Jennet's child and not her own, and that Mark, the father of the baby (and not her husband- rather, the husband of her friend who lived in Jennet's old cottage) was actually Richard Ramsgill? Having recurring dreams dictating the past is one thing, but actually carrying around this belief sounded plain daft. I also can't believe that Kathy and Dave readily accepted their spouses' affairs so easily. This author has been likened to Barbara Erskine, and that's another author whose stories start interestingly and with enough realism to carry them, but end up turning into something away with the fairies. I'm not sure that approach is my kind of reading, but I'd be prepared to give both Perkins and Erskine another go.