The Room in the Attic - Louise Douglas - ★★★★.½

AUTHOR: Louise Douglas

GENRE: Historical Mystery

PUBLICATION DATE: October 12, 2021

RATING: 4.5 happy stars.

In a Nutshell: Great characters, great plot, great writing. What are you waiting for? Read this book!!!!!

Story:

I am determined not to give anything away from this tricky story. So trying my best to just give the bare bones.

1903: Emma Everdeen is an old nurse who works at the All Hallows asylum in rural Dartmoor. When a boat with two unconscious people in it—a woman and a child--is discovered by the locals, the survivors are brought to the asylum and the child is put under the care of Nurse Everdeen. They spend their days in a room in the attic, away from the rest of the patients. The child, Harriet, soon makes her place in the lonely nurse’s heart.

1993: Lewis Tyler’s life has turned topsy-turvy after his mother’s sudden death eighteen months ago. His father has remarried, his new stepmother hates him, his elder sister has gone away to college, and Lewis himself is bundled off to the All Hallows boarding school, which is nothing like a good school should be. Here, Lewis meets another lonely boy, Isak, and their mutual pain bonds them in a true friendship. Both of them share a room in the attic, in the old wing of the school, while the actual building is being refurbished. But this room seems to contain some spooky memories, and the boys soon find themselves caught in a weird situation.

The third (minor) timeline is that of Lewis in 2021, with the 1993 narrative coming as his flashback. How the 1903 narrative connects with Lewis’ story is what you need to figure out by reading the book. My lips are sealed.

Ever read a book that hooked you so much that you are ready and willing to forgive teeny plot holes? That’s me for this story. It is thematically so complicated that some logical loopholes are inevitable. But the way the author has handled most of them deserves credit.

Right from the very first page, the atmosphere is very firmly created. It's creepy, it’s eerie, it’s suspenseful, and it’s addictive. The story took its time to develop, but it developed in such a way that I couldn’t keep the book aside! The initial part of Lewis’ story gave me David Copperfield vibes. (The Charles Dickens book, not the magician!) But it is much, much darker. The gothic feel is maintained throughout the narrative.

The main characters are well-sketched. Some of the secondary characters too make a mark, though they appear only in a few scenes.

The only complaint I have about the writing is that the perspective changes are too frequent. While this helps in maintaining suspense, it also means abrupt in-between-scene shifts between Lewis' and Emma’s stories. A slightly longer duration for each character perspective would have worked better for me.

This is my very first book by this author, and I assure you, it won’t be the last!

My thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.