Off the coast of Scotland sits the dark isle of Altnaharra, the home of a mysterious cult populated by children. The children are strays and orphans, assembled here by a powerful man called Uncle who, together with his magnificent snake Hercules, exerts a charismatic influence over his charges. Eve and Dinah are among Uncle’s followers and they are inseparable, but not even Uncle’s mysticism can hold off the outside world forever. When a series of violent murders strikes the island, Eve finds herself at the centre of the police investigation – but her account of what happened that night is very different from Dinah’s. As past and present collide, and as her faith in her own reality begins to unravel, Eve is forced to confront the secret of who she really is… is she a monster or is she an innocent and how long will the girls be able to keep the truth buried?
We’ve kept the synopsis for Little Eve as sketchy as possible because, not unlike the titular character’s sanity, if you examine the details of the plot too closely it can bring the whole thing tumbling down. In fact, experienced readers of gothic chillers will probably be able to predict the books’ masterstroke from a single line of dialogue in the opening chapter. But the pleasure of Little Eve is in the journey rather than the destination. Catriona Ward’s depiction of a remote island cult is evocative and chilling – even if the true nature of their beliefs is kept frustratingly nebulous – and although it’s hard not to be reminded of the famous Parker-Hulme murder case (aka Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures) whenever Eve and Dinah share space on the page, that doesn’t prevent Ward’s anti-heroines from becoming two distinct creations in their own right. Ward’s language is wonderful, occasionally conjuring up shades of Angela Carter and Shirley Jackson, and even if you’re one of those readers who can already see what’s coming the sinuous way she unspools the mystery may still keep you second-guessing until the very end.
Little Eve is a tremendously enjoyable thriller that will plant some disturbing imagery in your head. Prepare yourself for a few sleepless nights.
LITTLE EVE / AUTHOR: CATRIONA WARD / PUBLISHER: WEIDENFELD & NICOLSON / RELEASE DATE: JULY 26TH
