The Taxidermist's Daughter

''The ghosts of all whom death shall doom within the coming year, in pale procession walk the gloom, amid the silence drear.''
James Montgomery, ‘The Vigil of St.Mark', 1813
Our story starts in Sussex in 1912. It is the night before St.Mark's day, a night of spirits and shadows, when the living hide themselves to see the souls of the dead parading in the church yard.

''This is no place for the dead.''
But the souls are not dead yet. They are the images of those who will die during the coming year. Or so the villagers believe, for in Kate Mosses' extraordinary tale, the living and the dead are separated by a misty thread. Who has died and who has not? Who caused the death of the girl during the Vigil of St.Mark? Who is responsible for the missing men? How bleak can lives become once the sins of the past return to ask for retribution?

The centre of the story lies in Fishbourne, where Connie, a gifted young woman, tries to keep the work of her father alive, since he is in no position to do so. Harry, a young painter, finds his path meeting her own in an attempt to find the answer to secrets that go back in time, to a harrowing night, ten years ago.
Who'll dig his grave? I, said the Owl, with my pick and my shovel, I'll dig his grave.''
Death is always present. The black clouds of the gathering storms, the dangerous ground of the Marshes, the black colour of the birds frozen in time by the art of taxidermy. The words Blood, Skin, Bone are haunting the narration and its themes. It is a story about death and revenge, about the actions of the past and its consequences.

The Taxidermist's Daughter is one of the most atmospheric books I have ever read, a gothic, historical thriller that has leapt out of a nightmare. The way Mosse unfolds her tale is fascinating, her themes are depicted in an allegorical manner, full of images of the threatening nature of the Marshlands. The landscape is the jewel of the story, followed by the two protagonists. Connie and Harry are the young minds who struggle to escape the past and forge their own future. As for the rest of the characters? Well, to say anything about them would be a huge spoiler in itself. You'll have to read the book to understand.

The hightest compliment I can give is this: I was able to guess most of the continuation of the story -though, the end is extraordinary- but I never felt that the plot was predictable. This is how writers show how gifted they are and how much they respect their readers. Kate Mosse provides us with all the hints, the clues, the thoughts and the motives, and we take on the role of the Inspector. We are called to solve the mystery hint by hint, building the wall brick by brick.

As I was taking baby steps towards the end, I was afraid. It is a rare thing for me to feel frightened of the conclusion of a book, but here we share a shocking reading experience. I couldn't help being deeply influenced. It is the kind of story that you will look forward to read further, the kind of book that twists in your mind during the day. An exquisite creation, one of the best books I've ever read.And that's how simple it is.
''Old sins have long shadows.''