Aussie Book Review: Beneath the Shadows by Sara Foster

Book reviews

11 Oct

Sara Foster- Beneath the Shadows Format- Paperback Source- Review copy provided by author Synopsis: HOW DO YOU BEGIN TO MOVE ON WHEN THE PAST WON'T LET YOU GO?When Grace’s husband, Adam, inherits a cottage on the isolated North Yorkshire moors, they leave London behind to try a new life. However, a week later, Adam vanishes, leaving their baby daughter on the doorstep.The following year, Grace returns to the tiny village of Roseby. She is desperate for answers, but it seems the slumbering village is unwilling to give up its secrets. As Grace learns more about the locals and the area's superstitions and folklore, strange dreams begin to trouble her. Are the villagers hiding something, or is she becoming increasingly paranoid? Only as snowfall threatens to cut them off from the rest of the world does Grace begin to understand how close the threat lies, and that she and her daughter may be in terrible danger if she cannot get them away in time.Review: This is an enjoyable suspense mystery novel by Australian author Sara Foster. Set in Roseby, England the winter chill and snow gives the setting a real eerie feel. Beneath the Shadows is not your average mystery story but it has a hauntingly curious ghostlike feel to it also. It had me guessing until the very end.Grace returns to the cottage where she spent the last few days with her husband Adam before he disappeared and left her with their daughter in a pram on the doorstep. Everyone believed Adam abandoned them and his responsibilities of fatherhood; Grace refuses to believe this and returns to the scene to try and find some answers. The local townsfolk are a quirky lot; there’s Meredith the nonchalant mother of three adult daughters up in the manor. There’s also Ben who takes on the job of renovating her cottage and Claire, Meredith’s daughter who seems different to the rest of her family.At first I found it difficult to connect with Grace because she seemed almost emotionless in the beginning of the story but I think this melancholy reflected the aftermath of her husband disappearing quite well. I got to know Grace better when her sister Annabel and her best friend James arrive and bring a little life to the home. I felt completely drawn into the association between Grace and Ben and I think they became quite well developed characters with an underlying emotional connection that was really believable. It was suspenseful and full of twists and turns and I think whether you typically enjoy this genre or not, Beneath the Shadows is a great read by a talented Australian author.