LITTLE EVE by Catriona Ward – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Little Eve by Catriona Ward
Published by Tor Nightfire on October 11 2022
Genres: Adult, Horror
Pages: 288
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A beautiful, horrible tale of inescapable family ties.

Above, the castle sighs and shifts. Creaks, cracks, sound and movement as if with the passage of vast dark coils. The thing from Dinah’s dream is down here, too. It crawls up through the trapdoor.

Catriona Ward has a gift for creating characters who are bound together in awful ways, but who love each other fiercely despite the horrible things they do to each other. In Little Eve, that family is a group of six people who live in seclusion in a decrepit mansion in Scotland. Uncle believes that a great sea snake will arise from the ocean and change the world, and in typical cult leader fashion, he’s grooming his “family” members to go along with him, do his bidding, and most of all, suffer for the cause. This is a chilling story with some nice twists, beautifully constructed and executed, and it’s my second favorite Ward story after The Last House on Needless Street (that one is going to be hard to top, IMO)

The story alternates between the past and present, beginning with an event that occurred in January of 1921. A young man named Jamie MacRaith is delivering a side of beef to Altnaharra, the castle where Uncle and his family members live. But the gate to the castle, usually locked, hangs open, so Jamie decides to investigate. On an altar near an abandoned church, Jamie discovers a horrific site: five bodies are laid out on the stone, arranged in a star shape. Each one has its right eye gouged out, and upon further inspection, Jamie discovers that one of the people is still alive. The girl is Dinah, and the four other bodies are Nora, Elizabeth, John and Sarah. Dinah is in great pain but tells Jamie that her sister Eve killed them and escaped.

Next we jump back to the year 1917, where Eve narrates the story and explains the events leading up to the murders in 1921. Eve lives with her family Dinah, Abel, Elizabeth, Alice, Nora and Uncle. Uncle overseas a ritual called the seeing, where members of the family are given the opportunity to “see” through the eyes of Hercules, the snake he keeps for this purpose. Uncle controls his family by doling out scant bits of food and a horrific punishment called Wane, where the offender is locked in the cellar for days with no food, water or light. The youngest members of the family dread these punishments, but Nora, who has been there the longest, believes in Uncle’s teachings and everything he asks them to do. Uncle warns them of the “Impure,” those who aren’t blessed with his knowledge of what’s to come. The younger ones attend school in the nearby village—Uncle insists on it so their family appears normal to outsiders—but it’s a series of encounters with these townspeople that sends things spiraling out of control.

Ward’s writing drips with atmosphere and Gothic sensibility. The reclusive, crumbling castle, Uncle’s cruel punishments, the sense of gloom and darkness that hangs over the characters’ lives—all of it adds to the creepy feeling that things just aren’t right in Altnaharra. There are several mysteries within the story as well. Dinah and Jamie both give statements at the inquest after the murders are discovered, but are they telling the truth? Some of what they say just doesn’t add up. Ward’s fragmented way of telling her story adds to the confusion and keeps the reader guessing until the end.

There are so many heartbreaking moments in this story, I found it to be sad and depressing more than hopeful, although there are glimpses of happiness. Many sections were hard for me to read, especially the parts where Uncle refuses to feed his children because they’ve broken a rule (often a rule they didn’t even know about). Eve counts each bite of food—they are allowed a certain number of bites each day—enough food just to survive, never flourish. Sometimes they are “shunned,” which means the others must ignore the shunned person until Uncle says it’s over. There are even darker elements that could be triggers for some readers, like miscarriage, suicide and rape, so do be aware. But the characters, especially Eve, Dinah, Elizabeth and Abel, tugged at my heartstrings, and I wanted to jump into the story and save them.

Ward introduces a few “outside” characters who play pivotal roles in the story. One is Chief Inspector Christopher Black, who is part of the murder investigation in 1921, but who also appears earlier in the story when he suspects that John Bearings, the man also known as “Uncle,” is abusing his family members. I liked the way Black is used as a witness of sorts, a man who sees things through a completely different lens, and his observations make you question what’s true and what isn’t.

I especially loved one sequence of events that reminded me of Atonement. If you’ve read the book (or seen the movie), you might know what I’m talking about, but something happens where a seemingly innocent act causes a ripple effect that ends up ruining a bunch of lives. I know that sounds depressing, but it was so cleverly done!

Most of all, I loved the way the story changes as each character takes the stage to give their narrative. There are a couple of good twists at the end and some unexpected connections between characters. Nothing is quite as it first seems, which isn’t surprising because there are so many unreliable characters in this story. Little Eve won the Shirley Jackson award when it was first published in 2018, and I can see why. Highly recommended for fans of Catriona Ward and readers who love dark, atmospheric mysteries.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.