Audio book. Listened to July 2019. Released by Audible Studios 19th March 2019.
Book published 5th July 2018 by Polygon.
Lucie is a young girl who has fallen in love with the wrong man - her sister's boyfriend.
They have been carrying on an affair behind her sister's back, but their romance is discovered by her mother and she is sent packing from the house.
With nowhere to go, Lucie has accepted a job as an assistant to a retired academic, who lives in the remote Scottish countryside, in the grounds of an old water mill. She is resigned to taking her bruised heart well away from her family, to try to forget about Reuben as best she can.
'Mac', now retired from her academic career is writing another book - this time based on the folktales of the local area. She has been struggling with failing health and the approaching deadline of her manuscript, so is persuaded by her son Arthur to hire an assistant. She does not know what to make of Lucie, the quiet girl she has hired, although there does seem to be a lot going on under the surface.
As time passes, Lucie and Mac get into a kind of rhythm. Mac is becoming obsessed with the story of the "Cruel Sister" - a tale of sibling rivalry, with links to the old mill and nearby castle - but she seems to be struggling to focus and is losing her grip on reality. Lucie finds herself being drawn into the tale too, as it resonates with her own situation, and is desperate to find out what happens in the story.
As the love triangle between Lucie, her sister and Reuben becomes even more complicated, Lucie is feeling the pressure of her guilt and is in fear of her sister discovering the truth. She has already confided in the kindly Arthur and finds herself developing feelings for him.
Mac has started to suspect Lucie's secret and wants to protect Arthur from this young Jezebel if she can. She has her own skeletons in the cupboard to hide and the the weight of what she has done is fueling her erratic behaviour.
Sometimes the past will not stay buried.....
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Bone Deep is a delicious slow burner of a story, and it works really well as an audio book.
The narration is split between Lucie and Mac all the way through, and the story develops as you go backwards and forwards between their descriptions of past events, their feelings and what they think they know about what is going on. These parts are beautifully read by Una Mcdade and Emma Hartley-Miller in all their Scottish glory.
Although Lucie is a mystery to Mac, she seems to be an open book to the reader from very early on, as you are aware of her affair with Reuben almost from the start, but she is hiding a huge secret that will not become apparent until near the very end of the book.
Mac on the other hand, is a bit of an unknown and her character and secrets are revealed over the course of the story - and she has some pretty heavy secrets at that. As she is writing her book, Lucie's romantic affairs and the events in the Cruel Sister stir up a the past for Mac, and a kind of madness descends upon her. Although both Arthur and Lucie notice Mac's peculiar behaviour, especially her fixation with a woman called Anna Madigan, they put this down to eccentricity and old age. Little do they suspect the truth.
I loved the way that they pace of the story increases as you get to the climax, and I found myself being drawn further and further into the yarn. Both Mac and Lucie's narratives become more desperate as they entwine with the chilling direction of the Cruel Sister and the brooding presence of the water mill. What starts out as a Scottish domestic drama, becomes something much more menacing and dangerous, tied up with the rich history of Scotland, as the themes of love and betrayal dominate.
I thoroughly enjoyed this Audible production and am very keen to read, and listen, to more of Sandra Ireland's work. In fact The Unmaking of Ellie Rook is now firmly in my sights!
*********************************************************************************
Mac has started to suspect Lucie's secret and wants to protect Arthur from this young Jezebel if she can. She has her own skeletons in the cupboard to hide and the the weight of what she has done is fueling her erratic behaviour.
Sometimes the past will not stay buried.....
*********************************************************************************
Bone Deep is a delicious slow burner of a story, and it works really well as an audio book.
The narration is split between Lucie and Mac all the way through, and the story develops as you go backwards and forwards between their descriptions of past events, their feelings and what they think they know about what is going on. These parts are beautifully read by Una Mcdade and Emma Hartley-Miller in all their Scottish glory.
Although Lucie is a mystery to Mac, she seems to be an open book to the reader from very early on, as you are aware of her affair with Reuben almost from the start, but she is hiding a huge secret that will not become apparent until near the very end of the book.
Mac on the other hand, is a bit of an unknown and her character and secrets are revealed over the course of the story - and she has some pretty heavy secrets at that. As she is writing her book, Lucie's romantic affairs and the events in the Cruel Sister stir up a the past for Mac, and a kind of madness descends upon her. Although both Arthur and Lucie notice Mac's peculiar behaviour, especially her fixation with a woman called Anna Madigan, they put this down to eccentricity and old age. Little do they suspect the truth.
I loved the way that they pace of the story increases as you get to the climax, and I found myself being drawn further and further into the yarn. Both Mac and Lucie's narratives become more desperate as they entwine with the chilling direction of the Cruel Sister and the brooding presence of the water mill. What starts out as a Scottish domestic drama, becomes something much more menacing and dangerous, tied up with the rich history of Scotland, as the themes of love and betrayal dominate.
I thoroughly enjoyed this Audible production and am very keen to read, and listen, to more of Sandra Ireland's work. In fact The Unmaking of Ellie Rook is now firmly in my sights!
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Blurb for Bone Deep:
What happens when you fall in love with the wrong person?
The consequences threaten to be far-reaching and potentially deadly.
Bone Deep is a contemporary novel of sibling rivalry, love, betryal and murder. It is dual narrative, told in alternate chapters by Mac, a woman bent on keeping the secrets of the past from her only son, and Lucie, whose own past is something of a closed book. Their story is underpinned by the creaking presence of an abandoned water mill and haunted by the local legend of the long-dead sisters, themselves rivals in love and ready to point an accusing finger from the pages of history.
Buy The Bone Deep Audio Book Here
Author info:
Sandra Ireland was born in Yorkshire, lived for many years in Limerick, and is now based in Carnoustie. She began her writing career as a correspondent on a local newspaper but quickly realised that fiction is much more intriguing than fact. In 2013 Sandra was awarded a Carnegie-Cameron scholarship to study for an MLitt in Writing Practice and Study at the University of Dundee, graduating with a distinction in 2014. Her work has appeared in various publications and women's magazines. She is the author of Beneath the Skin (Polygon, 2016) and The Unmaking of Ellie Rook (2019).
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