*I was given access to an ebook to review by Tornightfire in exchange for an honest review*
Rating: 4/5
“On the wind-battered isle of Altnaharra, off the wildest coast of Scotland, a clan prepares to bring about the end of the world and its imminent rebirth.
The Adder is coming and one of their number will inherit its powers. They all want the honor, but young Eve is willing to do anything for the distinction.
A reckoning beyond Eve’s imagination begins when Chief Inspector Black arrives to investigate a brutal murder and their sacred ceremony goes terribly wrong.
And soon all the secrets of Altnaharra will be uncovered.”
So let me say, I’ve now read all three of Catriona Ward’s books published in the US and Ward can. Not. Miss. I have loved all three. There is always the concern with thrillers that they will begin to feel repetitive and overdone, but Ward always seems to circumvent this concern. Unlike her other books, Little Eve is based in the UK (in Scotland I believe? Don’t quote me on that) and is has distinctive cult behavior going on. The story itself is told through a dual POV that both move forward in time with each switch back. It centers around this pseudo “family” living on an island in a crumbling castle. They perform strange rituals centered around snakes and godlike worship of “Uncle.” The story begins with a murder of the entire family and we get to puzzle out what happened from Eve’s POV prior to the murder and working up to the event itself and from Dinah’s POV in the aftermath of the murder.
It took me a good long time to guess the twist. I literally made note at 87% that I had figured out the twist. Do I think that I should have recognized it earlier? Perhaps, but I was just having too good of a time reading to stop and try to puzzle it out. It was the kind of book that you just devour because the actions of the characters are just so bizarre and intriguing. Couple this with Ward’s immaculate use of descriptors. The scene is set beautifully, but it’s clear that the façade is cracked and you can’t escape the insurmountable dread. Even though you know what has ultimately occurred in the story, the desire to piece together how it went from point A to point B is intense.
Little Eve touches on themes of spirituality and the detrimental effect of blindly believing what you’re told despite being shown evidence to the contrary. It makes you pause to consider what you can really believe and if the truth they’re all being told really is the truth. You know that certain things aren’t true, but others were so carefully blended into the narrative that you don’t even stop to consider what they could really mean.
Now, even the best books have their problems and this one isn’t immune (although Ward could publish her grocery list and I’d still be surprised to see what’s waiting at the bottom). My initial problem with the way the book is set up is that Eve’s chapters felt too long, especially at the beginning. I’m talking chapters that would span like 15-20% of the book without stopping. It made it hard to take a break. Then, Dinah’s chapters would only span like 2-5%. It made the narrative feel unbalanced and sometimes it dragged. Like I said, this was mostly a problem at the beginning, as it really picks up at the end. Another issue I had was that, even though I appreciated the twist and the Killer’s identity, it felt like a cop out. I’ve read both The Last House on Needless Street and Sundial and they both felt so carefully done, like intentional misdirection. This one felt more like the killer was chosen out of convenience more than for their actual vendetta. Elements of it felt forced and less purposeful than I’m used to with Ward’s writing. (Though my understanding is that this is one of Ward’s early works, so it makes sense that her style has only developed)
In all, just read this book. If you like thrillers with a historic bend and have a thing for cults (even in passing), this book will check all your boxes. It’s just such a sharp, engrossing story that it’s hard to put down. This book will be in my top 5 for 2023, I can feel it already. Thank you so much to Tornightfire for allowing me access to the ebook to review, I’m just disappointed I didn’t dive in sooner! Little Eve is currently available everywhere books are sold. This has only renewed my vigor to read Looking Glass Sound whenever it hits stores in August of this year!