Fir by Sharon Gosling

Book of the Week: 26 November 2017

Our move to a fantastic, new purpose-built library has meant no Book of the Week for a while, but now it returns with a snowy tale for winter by Sharon Gosling. An un-named, teenaged narrator tells this story of the Stromberg family and their move from Stockholm to the north to run a timber plantation. The family arrive at a huge, isolated mansion to find a malevolent housekeeper, in the Mrs Danvers mould (Read Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier or ask your parents or teachers if you want to know more about Mrs Danvers), along with a group of children and their tutor, Tomas, who are studying conservation and the ancient forests that surround the house. Gradually, the weather worsens and everyone is marooned by a heavy snowfall that seems to bring inexplicable events: blood-stains in the snow and sightings of strange children in the winter wastes.

This is one of the Red Eye series of books, so if you like stories such as Frozen Charlotte (see Book of the Week 5th March) and prefer your horror to be short on gore, but long on feelings of dread, then Fir is for you.