03/28/2016
Muirlan Island in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides provides the sensuous setting for British author Maine’s impressive debut, which charts the parallel quests of two women a century apart. In 1910, Beatrice Blake, a young bride, and her husband, eminent painter Theo Blake, travel from Edinburgh to Theo’s estate on Muirlan island, Muirlan House. For all Beatrice’s efforts to be a loving wife, their marriage doesn’t last. In 2010, copy editor Hetty Deveraux, a descendant of Theo and the estate’s new owner, journeys from London to Muirlan House, which she plans to fix up as a hotel and sell. When decades-old human bones turn up buried in the sand on Muirlan, Hetty seeks to identify the remains, whose owner clearly met foul play. In researching the former residents of Muirlan House, Hetty eventually discovers what drove Beatrice and Theo apart. The revelations are inevitable yet unforced. Vivid descriptions of the island’s landscape and weather enhance this beautifully crafted novel. Agent: Fiona Brownlee, Brownlee Donald Associates (U.K.). (May)
I really enjoyed the ambiance of the book... It felt like a great harmony between the environment and the mystery taking place. You could feel the mood of people in keeping with the landscape, the mood adapting to the elements... A very enjoyable atmospheric novel, spanning over a few generations, rich in landscape descriptions and suspense."
The House Between Tides reminds me of books written by Phyllis Whitney, Victoria Holt or Mary Stewart in that they all have the same style of writing, moody, dark and atmospheric stories that involve romance and mystery where the male characters are often brooding and the women are bound to fall in love them in spite of their moodiness and mystery."
"Evocative...Much is left up to the reader to interpret, which showcases the skill of this debut author. The novel is a haunting story of loss and longing in an unusual setting. Recommended."
Maine contrasts Hetty’s present-day consternation with the past story of Blake and his wife, delivering details at a perfectly suspenseful pace... the historic mystery will keep readers guessing right up until the end.
The stark setting proves to be the perfect backdrop for Maine's well-plotted debut. The novel weaves secrets from both past and present with a bit of a romance and the feel of the Outer Hebrides to build a mystery that is as eerie and complex as the house of Muirlan itself.
Reminiscent of the Gothics of the 1970s, THE HOUSE BETWEEN TIDES by Sarah Maine takes the reader on a stimulating stroll through two time periods, igniting the senses with a classic mysterious aura. The moodiness of the location easily placed my mind on holiday in the past while unraveling the mystery in the present.
The House Between Tides reminds me of books written by Phyllis Whitney, Victoria Holt or Mary Stewart in that they all have the same style of writing, moody, dark and atmospheric stories that involve romance and mystery where the male characters are often brooding and the women are bound to fall in love them in spite of their moodiness and mystery."
The House Between Tides reminds me of books written by Phyllis Whitney, Victoria Holt or Mary Stewart in that they all have the same style of writing, moody, dark and atmospheric stories that involve romance and mystery where the male characters are often brooding and the women are bound to fall in love them in spite of their moodiness and mystery."
Maine contrasts Hetty’s present-day consternation with the past story of Blake and his wife, delivering details at a perfectly suspenseful pace... the historic mystery will keep readers guessing right up until the end.
2016-05-18
Last night, debut author Maine dreamed of a contemporary spin on classic Gothic tropes.Orphan Hetty Deveraux has inherited a crumbling, wind-battered mansion on remote Muirland Island in western Scotland, "on the edge of the world." The day she arrives to inspect her new property, however, local assessor James Cameron finds a skeleton beneath the floorboards. Who is it, and how long has it been there? Abandoned since the war, the house was the refuge of Theo Blake, a Turner-esque painter-turned-mad recluse and a distant relative of Hetty's. At loose ends since the deaths of her parents, Hetty hopes restoring the house will serve as a new beginning. Meanwhile, in 1910, Theo Blake brings his new bride to Muirland House, whose landscapes have inspired some of his most famous paintings. Maine skillfully balances a Daphne du Maurier atmosphere with a Barbara Vine-like psychological mystery as she guides the reader back and forth on these storylines. The two narrative threads are united by the theme of conservation versus exploitation: Muirland is a habitat for several species of rare birds, threatened in the 1910 plot by Blake's determination to kill and mount them for his collection and in the 2010 story by Hetty's half-formed plans to transform Muirland House into a luxury hotel. Local man Cameron wants to see the island preserved as "a precious place, wild and unspoiled, a sanctuary for more than just the birds." The setting emerges as the strongest personality in this compelling story, evoking passion in the characters as fierce as the storms which always lurk on the horizon. A debut historical thriller which deftly blends classic suspense with modern themes.
Narrator Justine Eyre imbues Maine’s debut novel with just the right sense of gothic mystery. In 1910, newlyweds Beatrice and Theo Blake move to Theo’s estate, Muirlan House, on Muirlan Island in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides. In 2010, Theo’s distant relative, Hetty Deveraux, becomes the estate’s new owner. After Hetty takes possession, long-buried human skeletal remains are found, apparently indicative of foul play. Eyre delivers the alternating time periods and characters, keeping the voices unique and the period diction spot-on. The mystery of the skeleton connects to the conflict that arises when Hetty wants to turn the house into a luxury hotel despite the objections of a local man who wants to preserve the land as a nature sanctuary. It’s all somewhat predictable, but in the nicest way, Eyre makes this entertaining listening. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine