The Twisted Tree by Rachel Burge
Book of the Week: 3 February 2019
Cover illustration by Rohan Eason
Martha is on her way to visit her grandmother (her Mormor) on a remote Norwegian island where she used to spend her summers. She is troubled by her relationship with her mother, the aftermath of an accident that left her blinded in one eye and the strange power she has to sense people’s emotions and aspects of their past through contact with their clothing. She is given a lift to Mormor’s cabin by a neighbour, only to find that the sole inhabitant is a squatter called Stig. He tells her that her grandmother died and the funeral was a couple of weeks ago. Martha realises that no-one knows where she is, the mobile phone signal is out, the nearest neighbours are miles away and Stig could be a mad, axe-murderer. Added to this, there appears to be something on the loose in the nearby woods and odd movements that can’t be explained coming from inside the cabin.
Rachel Burge uses Norse mythology and the isolated setting to create a creepy tale with a dash of romance.
Other books with frightening happenings in remote places:
Fir by Sharon Gosling
Savage Island by Bryony Pearce
Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell
Dark Matter by Michelle Paver