𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁, 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀.


Just how much does it cost to be given the keys to a kingdom?

Set in 1993: Prue doesn’t doesn’t know much about her family history, only thing she knows for sure is that her mother is unstable and that after sixteen years of being alive, she still has no clue who her own father is. Her mother breaks down, often, and this is just the latest collapse. Her Nana is gone, leaving grief in her wake, and years of unanswered questions. Aunt Ruth has never confided either but promises this time, if Prue comes for a sorely needed vacation in her home in Shetland, they will talk. Ruth, the aunt who married a wealthy man named Archie (a stranger to Prue) is easier to get close too but she isn’t exactly spilling any secrets. Ruth had no idea just how serious her sister had sank into her depression, this time Prue’s mother needs a place that can really help her and Prue needs room to breathe, away from her mother’s heavy needs. Prue reluctantly departs her best friend’s home and makes her way to the small island of Noost, never imaging the family secrets that are lying in wait.

Once on the island, Prue meets her Uncle Archie and his peculiar grandmother, Ronnie- the only relatives still alive in his family. In her seventies, the woman tends to her many plants like children and lives in a universe all her own, but she is sharp and in perfect control of her mind and body. She tells Prue right away that when she heard she was coming to stay, she just knew it would change everything. She tell her it’s a good thing she is there, ‘the spirits want it to happen,’ and gushes over her. Ronnie is a proud woman from a long, Scotish line of MacNairs, who landed on the island due to ‘following a boy’ long ago. Ronnie comes off as very intense, believing in energies, and extremely uptight about Prue touching her precious plants. Straight away, dreams from when she was a little girl of seven begin to haunt her. It’s the place, surely. Memories she has scrubbed away about her baby sister Holly, as slips of our early childhood hide from us with age, but surely there is more she just can’t recover? In a family of secrets, is it a surprise she keeps stories even from herself? Then the crime the woman Joan Gardner committed, it’s all returning to bite her. Ronnie seems to warm to her and where Aunt Ruth remains tight lipped, Ronnie gushes about her own past and that of their huge, old home.

The island has a magical energy that feeds the artistic palate of her aunt and new uncle, Archie. Ronnie warns her, their work is strange! It is unsettling and the house itself seems to be alive with eerie sounds. It isn’t the relaxing escape she was looking forward too, in fact, more questions than answers are arising, especially about Archie. He is ‘a proper bloke’, intimidating, a man who takes up space and is nothing near as welcoming as her Aunt Ruth’s first husband. Locals think he is guilty of something terrible, even if they can’t say what or prove anything. When she ventures out, fully immersed in her first taste of freedom, she encounters a local woman who warns her about Archie, the only good to come out of it is she meets a boy after being scared away. The two form a relationship, but she can’t help but poke the accusations she hears about Archie. Then to learn that there have been strange accidents, deaths, tragedies tied to the home only makes her more frightened of the place. In fact, the very room she is staying in has a story she can’t quite help but fear.

Is Prue ready to know what she has been asking for years? Does she truly want her own spoiled family history, that reeks of damning sins? Will it finally help her understand her mother’s lowest of lows? Archie, she should be weary of him, but even that is changing.

This was an engaging tale of family sins, of the ways people will bury their shameful history despite the cost. Prue may well have to face herself, and her own actions. A bit of a twist, with a sad past. A good read for anyone who enjoys mysteries of family sins and tragedies.

Publication Date: June 9, 2022

Head of Zeus

Apollo

Overall I found this an engaging, important, and tense Young Adult thriller with believable characters, plot pacing, and dialogue,
However, I feel that the themes the novel went into topic about could’ve been depended and strengthen more…it felt that the themes that were weaved throughout this were quite flimsy and weren’t explored enough with bite and weight,
I thought that Prue was relatable and fleshed out and she definitely was likeable, although I do like unlikeable narrators. She was believable enough, she was the most in-depth character in my opinion and everyone else, like the themes, didn’t have enough depth and life,
I think the exploration of Prue’s uncle was done quite well, that the mystery of that itself was gripping and didn’t end up being too predictable or cliche. I also think the descriptions and atmosphere of the town and the residents were both well done, I felt I could imagine the town myself quite well,
I also feel the pace was decent, not too slow or too fast, although I don’t mind slow-in fact I love slow novels,
I will say I think the writing was pretty simplistic and often too watered down,
I thought the best writing came at the beginning and the end, those last passages were wonderful and vivid,
I do understand it’s a YA so the writing, at least from what I’ve experienced from reading a lot in the genre, won’t be as detailed and descriptive-that worked well here for the realistic, everyday dialogue, but I think overall besides the descriptions of the town and Prue’s recurring thoughts that worked well, I feel it all could’ve had more depth and the writing could’ve went into more description as I felt there was a lot of dialogue.
Overall it was a decent YA thriller that didn’t end up being too cliche or predictable, it’s an easy enough read that had a good enough pace and worked well with the looming mystery.

This book is unlike anything I've ever read. I normally don't love any books that are super emotional. This book was just amazing. I loved the remote aspect of it. As well as the drama. I would love to read more from this author in the future.

This book is filled with every kind of family drama I could think of. Sixteen-year-old Prue is going to stay with her Aunt on a remote little island after her mother tried to kill herself. She decides that she will go and try and get her aunt to answer a question that she has been wondering about her entire life... that she was never allowed to bring up to her mother or grandmother... She wants to know who her father is and knows her aunt has to have at least some answers.

When she arrives on the island she doesn't expect the weirdness that starts right off the bat that had me thinking that this book was going to go in a whole different direction(which I think I would have enjoyed, and made a lot of things make more sense to me at least). However, after the initial weirdness, things seem to calm down a bit and we don't hear any more about it. But her aunt, the aunt's husband, and the husband's grandmother are acting weird and are hiding things...

The book is sort of a roller coaster of intenseness where you think we're finally going to be getting some answers, and sometimes we do, but mostly it dies off into nothing. Then Prue is off hanging with the island kids or taking driving lessons from her uncle...acting completely normal even though we can see it's NOT. Quite a few times her uncle acts particularly skeevy, and while it bothers her at the moment she tends to forget about it afterward and even defends him. Then it gets intense again and something is revealed. While a lot of this book is on the slower side, you can feel that it's building up to something big... Which we did get. Some of which was surprising, and other parts left me feeling vaguely unsatisfying, especially at the very end.

This is the first book I've read by this author, and I will check out her other books.

The summer of 1993 is not going to be easily forgotten. 16-year-old Prue has grown up with her mother and her gran in London, but her childhood was not a conventional one. Her mother strived to keep her sheltered, not letting her play outside with the other kids, timing her walk home from school to ensuring she doesn’t participate in extra-curricular activities. Her life is surrounded by secrets with the main one being her father. Prue wants to know who her father is, and when her mother ends up in hospital after an attempted suicide following her gran's death, Prue’s aunt forces her to spend the summer at her home on the Island of Noost, one of the Shetland islands with the promise of telling her the truth. However, what Prue learns in the course of her summer is a lot more than what she had bargained for. Her family is riddled with secrets, including a possible murder.

Prue is a typical confused 16-year-old with a lot to learn. Some moments she acted mature and in others completely stupid. She doesn’t make the best of decisions a majority of the time, but then she is 16 and has a lot to learn. Unfortunately for her, some lessons may be hard to swallow and others should never have happened.

I really enjoyed this story. I wasn’t sure what to expect after reading #peopleofabandonedcharacter as the premise and timeframe are completely different. I went through a lot of mixed feelings over Prue as a lot of the time I wanted to slap her attention-seeking ways, but then pitied her for the lack of guidance she has had through life so far. She really just needed a hug and someone who she can trust to talk to. The twists and turns had me fearing for the worst. It was quite an uneasy read in parts and with a huge revelation which I didn’t see coming, plus with a few more which I feared and hoped were incorrect. Overall, this is another brilliant page-turning novel by @clarewhitfieldauthor and I am looking forward to whatever she writes next!

This story, part coming of age and part gothic mystery, was really very good! After her grandmother’s death and her mother’s latest suicide attempt 16 year old Prue is summoned to spend the summer holidays in the Shetlands with her Aunt Ruth, Ruth’s husband - her Uncle Archie and Archie grandmother Veronique (call me Ronnie). The family pile is on the small remote island of Noost in the Shetlands. Prue can’t think of anything she would rather do less but Ruth tells her this will give them a chance to really talk and Prue takes this to mean she may finally find out who her father is as her mother has been tight lipped about that little nugget.

The house fits the description of gothic to a “T” - large and rambling, old, draughty and with numerous secret passages and priest holes. When she arrives though, Ruth is not keen on talking and Prue is frequently left to her own devices. In the village, such as it is, she learns that Archie was suspected of the murder, 20 years ago, of his then girlfriend Evie O’Hara. No evidence of this was ever found. Evie’s mother still stalks the Anderson lands in a deranged way. Prue moves herself into Archie’s former room. The elders are not happy about this but let it go telling her in no uncertain terms to not touch the books. Of course Prue touches the books. Inside she finds stashed money but also the occasional letter from Evie to Archie and these are enough to confirm in her mind that the two were very much in love and she doubts that Archie would have killed her.

Ruth and Archie are artists. She sneaks into Ruth’s studio and doesn’t know what to make of the rather disturbing artworks. Archie works out of the summer house and his artwork is rather more erotic. Meanwhile Prue is exploring her developing sexuality and is sneaking around more and more in the search for answers - about her father and about the death of her younger sister Holly, about her mother’s melancholia.

It all comes to a head one night when she has gotten too close to some uncomfortable truths and the resulting confrontation was a jaw dropper for sure. This story builds up a head of steam. The characters were fantastic, so devious, so many hidden secrets. This was a very well put together mystery with dark psychological undertones. There was always a sense of creeping menace which blossomed into fully fledged horror at the end of the book. I would never have picked that ending! Many thanks to Netgalley and Head of Zeus for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

This story follows 16-year-old Prue in 1993 following her grandma's death and her mother's suicide attempt. She spends her school holidays on a remote island with her Aunt Ruth, Uncle Archie (whom she hardly knows), and his mother, Ronnie. Prue decides to stay with them to find out who her father is from her aunt. While there, she discovers her uncle is suspected of murdering a local girl, Evie, twenty years earlier. She brings it upon herself to find out the truth of these situations. In doing so, she also finds out the truth about how her younger sister was killed.

I was intrigued to read this book based on the description and the fact that I loved Whitfield's previous book, People of Abandoned Character. However, I did not find myself enjoying this book until the last 25% of it, when the twists and turns and reveals happened (all of which I loved!!).

The beginning of the book was intriguing, but the middle was very slow and nothing seemed to really happen. Prue stays with her aunt solely to find out about who her father was, yet nothing is really mentioned until it is revealed who he is. Something is mentioned at the start about the case of her younger sister's murderer potentially being released, yet nothing is mentioned until then end, when it is revealed what actually happened. These things seemed like such important topics that would be explored throughout the entire book, but they only really popped up at the end. They were also dealt with a very rushed manner.

The murder of Evie was better dealt with, as it was mentioned throughout the whole book in different ways. However, again, the reveal at the end seemed quite rushed.

A good thriller that felt slightly tedious at times but maybe that adds to the book? Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book takes you on quite a ride. It is a slow burn for a lot of it, very descriptive of a time and place. Part mystery, party coming of age as the main character tries to understand her family's history A father she has never known, a mother with severe depression, she goes off to stay with her aunt and more secrets are revealed there

Suspenseful, thriller to keep you on the edge of your chair. Enjoyed this book and look forward to more from this author.

Well family secrets never stay hidden and they always come to the surface in some shape or form, a good read and I read this book in one sitting ..

Prue is 16 and her mother is in the hospital after a suicide attempt. She goes to live with her aunt on a remote island in Shetland, where she finds out that her uncle was suspected of murdering his girlfriend 20 years earlier. Along with learning more about that, she also hopes to find out answers to her paternity and other things kept quiet in her family. This was pretty good. I guessed at most of the secrets and what happened to the missing girlfriend pretty early on, but it didn't take away from the story since it was more about Prue than it was about a mystery. 4 stars.

This book was intriguing and well=written, though I found some parts a bit slow. Overall a good read!

3.5 stars, rounded up.

Thank you to Head of Zeus, Apollo and NetGalley for the chance to read this book!

Set in 1993, we join Pru as she is shipped off to an island in the Shetlands to stay with her Aunt now that her Nana has died and her mother is hospitalized due to an attempt to take her own life. Pru wants badly to stay in her home with her friends but her Aunt entices her to come with a promise to reveal all of the family secrets which include the identity of Pru's father.

Pru arrives on the island and meets a crazy cast of true characters. There is a vein of coming of age throughout the book as Pru chases her first kiss and more. These parts are so well written you will undoubtedly feel that you are in high school again and lng for those long Summer days.

There is quite a bit of mystery featured in the book, the unnamed father, the death of Pru's younger sister and a missing young woman from 20 years before. Pru's family is tied up with all of these secrets and as the Summer draws to an end, Pru discovers more than she bargained for. If you reminisce about your 16th summer, love a family drama or long for well written coming of age story, then #TheGoneAndTheForgotten is for you! #HeadofZues #NetGalley #NetGalleyReads

I really enjoyed 'People of Abandoned Character' (it's an absolute belter, totally recommend) so I was excited for Whitfield's second novel. Sadly, it wasn't what I was hoping for! Maybe it's partially because the premise wasn't quite so audacious, but this never engaged me - and I'm sad to say I put it aside before finishing. I didn't think that the writing was all that strong and I gleaned very little sense of character or place. There was a lot of exposition to foreground the family drama and I found my interest waning in these sections. Otherwise, I don't have too much to say about this one - which I suppose says a lot, really!

A brilliant book that is fast paced, suspenseful and gripping to read. I would definitely recommend this book to my audience, it is superb

This book, "The Gone and the Forgotten" by Clare Whitfield is a very different book to "Persons of Abandoned Character". I really enjoyed reading about Prue's summer in Noost, a remote Shetland isle in 1993. The house she stays in is very quirky, and so are the characters who reside within. I really enjoyed Ronnie with her natural remedies, gins and teas. There was a more sinister side of the story, we find out who Prue's father is and also what happened to Evie.

CW: rape, suicide, depression, drug abuse, alcohol abuse

This story follows 16-year-old Prue in 1993 following her grandma's death and her mother's suicide attempt. She spends her school holidays on a remote island with her Aunt Ruth, Uncle Archie (whom she hardly knows), and his mother, Ronnie. Prue decides to stay with them to find out who her father is from her aunt. While there, she discovers her uncle is suspected of murdering a local girl, Evie, twenty years earlier. She brings it upon herself to find out the truth of these situations. In doing so, she also finds out the truth about how her younger sister was killed.

I was intrigued to read this book based on the description and the fact that I loved Whitfield's previous book, People of Abandoned Character. However, I did not find myself enjoying this book until the last 25% of it, when the twists and turns and reveals happened (all of which I loved!!).

The beginning of the book was intriguing, but the middle was very slow and nothing seemed to really happen. Prue stays with her aunt solely to find out about who her father was, yet nothing is really mentioned until it is revealed who he is. Something is mentioned at the start about the case of her younger sister's murderer potentially being released, yet nothing is mentioned until then end, when it is revealed what actually happened. These things seemed like such important topics that would be explored throughout the entire book, but they only really popped up at the end. They were also dealt with a very rushed manner.

The murder of Evie was better dealt with, as it was mentioned throughout the whole book in different ways. However, again, the reveal at the end seemed quite rushed.

The characters are (I'm assuming) written to be unlikeable. I liked that, though it also became tiring because I just wanted a couple more characters to root for.

Overall, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I wanted to. I think it was a great effort on Whitfield's part, as I LOVED the reveals, but just didn't hit me like her previous book did.

I would like to thank Head of Zeus and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a voluntary and honest review.

It's the story of a family's unravelling through the eyes of a confused and isolated 16-year-old girl trying to make sense of the past… This book was such a pleasure to read, such a beautifully written, atmospheric book , everything about this book is just so perfect and beautiful, the writing, the characters, the world building and the story.

nteresting but not really my cup of tea. Well written I just personally couldn’t get into the story. Her mother died by suicide and so she goes to love with her aunt and uncle on a remote island. But their lives are not what she thought. And there are definitely some buried secrets. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.