I’d like to start by apologising to any other books I may read this year, because The Puzzle Wood has set the bar incredibly high. This fast-paced gothic mystery kept me engrossed and guessing all the way to the end.
Deep in the woods, something is stirring…
When Miss Catherine Symonds arrives to take up a position as governess at remote Locksley Abbey in the foothills of the Black Mountains, where England bleeds into Wales, she is apprehensive.
It is not the echoing, near empty house with its skeleton staff that frightens her, nor the ancient woods that surround the Abbey or even the dogs that the owner, Sir Rowland, encourages to stalk the grounds, baying for blood. It is Catherine herself who fears scrutiny: her reference and very identity are fraudulent. She is travelling in disguise to investigate the fate of the last governess at the house, who took her own life out in the woods. For that governess was Catherine’s own sister, but until now she had believed Emily had died many years before, when they were just children…
The Puzzle Wood is like a knife – sharp, well-honed, perfectly balanced; threatening even when inert. It’s a rich mixture of historical fiction, mystery and supernatural suspense, populated by a varied tapestry of well-rounded characters, an ominous setting and a full-throttle plot.
There are so many ways this book could have gone wrong, given the complexity of the story at its core, the many elements that need to come together and be foreshadowed, the delicate threads that hold it aloft. But Rosie Andrews is a master storyteller and deftly weaves these elements together with consummate skill.
It’s particularly refreshing for a novel like this to develop at such a pace. It’s not rushed by any means, but it would have been so easy to tell a more languid story where not much happens and the main developments are few and far between.
The two main characters – Miss Catherine Symonds and Dr Arthur Sidstone – for instance, both have their own secrets to hide. This is actually a trope I usually don’t like, for the very reason mentioned above. There’s only so many times the narrator (whether first or third person) can obliquely reference ‘what happened’ or end a paragraph with ‘…’ before it gets tedious. Many books stretch it out so far that, when the reveals do come, my response is one of relief – finally! – rather than any sort of excitement or surprise.
There are some things I would have liked to have seen, but this is less to do with the novel lacking – and therefore requiring – them, rather that I enjoyed certain elements so much I’d have liked more. It’s difficult to discuss without giving anything away, though, but these small nitpicks certainly aren’t enough to warrant giving this book anything less than 5 stars.
If you want a gothic mystery packed with interesting characters, an encompassing sense of place, an ominous atmosphere and a roaring crescendo of twists and turns, all underpinned by a delightfully otherworldly premise, The Puzzle Wood could be right up your street.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’d better go an pick up Andrews’s debut, The Leviathan.