Where I End

Where I End is an oddly compelling, dark, and disturbing tale of isolation, family, obsession, and the ties that bind. I had a hard time putting this book while at the same time being a wee bit creeped out by it. The isolation, the shunning, the wetness in the air coupled with the obligation of caring for the “bed thing” makes for a sad existence for Aoileann.

Aoileann lives with her grandmother and her mother who she refers to as the ‘bed thing’ on an island that she has never left. Her father lives on the mainland and visits once a month. Aoileann wants to belong, to be liked, to have a friend, to be accepted. She has no friends so when she meets Rachel and her new-born baby Seamus on the beach, she becomes obsessed.

This is a dark book which is seeping with atmosphere. The isolated island off the coast of Ireland is a great setting for this dark book. The chill and salt in the air, the home on a cliff, the isolation, and the shunning from their fellow islanders make for a creepy gothic book. There are undercurrents of tension and dread which flow throughout the book. This is a book you don’t read but you feel. It is unsettling, eerie, strange, and compelling.

If you are looking for a gothic and dark book, Where I End might be right up you alley.

Dark, riveting, hard to put down and gripping.

Thank you to Kensington Books | Erewhon Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.