The Black Feathers

The Black Feathers - Rebecca Netley. I wasn't blown away by this book. The plot and writing were solid but the pace was so slow. I think it was going for a creepy build up but I found myself getting a little bored.

I got appropriately creeped out and I did enjoy the characters but it needed to move faster and had it, it would have been the best book of the year hands down. 3.75 stars rounded to 4

  ‘'A wind comes down from the hills and breaks through the oaks. Behind me, Guardbridge throws a series of flawed shadows, creating patches of darkness where none should exist. And as I stand there I feel suddenly watched.''
So, you are about to follow Annie in her new life in Guardbridge, a life away from painful secrets. You are about to travel to Yorkshire. You are about to step into a story of darkness and sorrow and obsession...A tale of black feathers left by the spirits of the tormented dead and omens of impending doom. A tale of bravery and resilience. A story of betrayal.
‘'By lunchtime the rain has turned again to snow and a storm is blowing off the moors, sending spindrift whirling at the windows; smoke coughs from the chimney flues and taints the air.''
Annie's world is one of falling snow and shadowy skies. As the moor entices and threatens with its wintry light, its wildness, its sorrowful wind so does Guardbridge. A place that promises a new start and threatens with its locked doors and dark corners where spirits abound. The light finds it hard to escape the ‘'lowering sky'' and the creaking willows and birches are silent witnesses of a painful past. 
Don't look up. Faces are staring at you from empty windows. Don't turn around. There are spirits in the mists and the moor is treacherous...
Tread carefully. There are ravens, flying away, their squawking a mysterious lament.
Be careful what you hear. There is so much whispering in this house...
Don't fear the darkness and do not leave the candle by the window unless you want a spirit tapping on your window. 
In Rebecca Netley's world, you will feel the wind and the rain on your face. You will smell the damp air, and the musky aroma of the moor, you will follow unknown footsteps in the thick darkness of the night, you will watch the gloomy light and the bleakness of a winter's day through your blurry window. You will come across characters to be loved and characters to be hated. You will converse with ghosts.
If you want to read a book whose atmosphere is the finest after Wuthering Heights, Rebecca Netley is there to cater to your needs. The Black Feathers is the perfect continuation of the legacy started by Emily Bronte. I don't think there is a greater compliment than that. 
Quite simply, one of the most haunting and atmospheric books you will ever read.
‘'Mist has come down about the house like the film of an eye, but high up a moon, blown to fullness emerges behind the chimneys. There is a drumming of wing beats and the sky darkens as a swarm of birds descends to the copse with muffled caws, settling on branches and knocking flakes of whiteness to the ground. They gather on the roofs and the oaks shudder with their calls.''
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