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  • Writer's pictureGemma

Sight Unseen by Sandra Ireland


SYNOPSIS:

1648. Alie Gowdie marries Richard Webster during a turbulent time in Scotland's history. Charles I is about to lose his head, and little does Alie know that she too will meet a grisly end within the year.


2019. Sarah Sutherland is struggling to cope with the demands of her day job, caring for her elderly father and keeping tabs on her backpacking daughter. She wanted to be an archaeologist, but now in her forties, she is divorced, alone, and there seems to be no respite, no glimmer of excitement on the horizon. However, she does have a special affinity with the Kilgour Witch, Alie Gowdie, who lived in Sarah's cottage until her execution in 1648, and Sarah likes nothing better than to retreat into a world of sorcery, spells and religious fanaticism. Her stories delight tourists as she leads them along the cobbled streets of her home town, but what really lies behind the tale of Alie Gowdie, the Kilgour Witch? Can Sarah uncover the truth in order to right a centuries-old wrong? And what else might modern-day Kilgour be hiding, just out of sight?


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My Thoughts:

Sarah Sutherland is a mother to a teenage daughter who is travelling the world, a daughter to her elderly father who is becoming more and more in need of support and is holding down two very different jobs: a manager at a local supermarket and running witch tours around the local area. She finds herself struggling to cope with all the demands made of her and is drawn to the mysteries surrounding Alie Gowdie, a woman who was accused and then killed of being a witch.


I loved the historic connection of witchcraft that the book explored and too got caught up in Sutherland's research into the truth. I also enjoyed reading her father's narrative and felt great sympathy towards him especially with regards to how frustrated he felt at times with his current situation. His story is very touching and I was fascinated by Charles Bonnet Syndrome, something I had never heard of before and am so glad Sandra Ireland included this particular condition in her novel to help raise awareness and understanding of this condition.


There are several story lines that weave through this novel and I was fascinated to see how they all came together at the end. The book is left open-ended and I am convinced there is an unfinished story surrounding her daughter; for me something doesn't feel right about her current situation. I am intrigued to see where Sandra Ireland will take the next book in the Sutherland series and hope we hear much more from her father and perhaps Hannah's narrative too. Either way I will definitely be purchasing book two as I feel very much invested in the characters and enjoyed Ireland's style of writing.


Many thanks to Polygon books and Love Book Tours Group for my gifted copy of Sight Unseen and the invite to the blog tour.










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