Book Review: Blackwood

Title: Blackwood

Author: Gwenda Bond

Summary: [from NetGalley]

On Roanoke Island, the legend of the 114 people who mysteriously vanished from the Lost Colony hundreds of years ago is just an outdoor drama for the tourists, a story people tell. But when the island faces the sudden disappearance of 114 people now, an unlikely pair of 17-year-olds may be the only hope of bringing them back.

Miranda, a misfit girl from the island’s most infamous family, and Phillips, an exiled teen criminal who hears the voices of the dead, must dodge everyone from federal agents to long-dead alchemists as they work to uncover the secrets of the new Lost Colony. The one thing they can’t dodge is each other.

Review:

I love it when history leaves us a mystery! There are so many great ones: What happened to Amelia Earhart? Who was Jack the Ripper? What happened to all those Mars Rovers? And, the one Blackwood deals with, where did the people of Roanoke go? These mysteries make great starting places for stories, and in fact, there’s been a resurgence of those types of historical fantasies in recent years. I had yet to see on that tackled Roanoke though so I jumped at the chance to read it when it came up on NetGalley.

I don’t know what I was expecting when I started the book, but Blackwood turned out to be something else entirely. I twas surprisingly short – maybe a day’s worth reading, even if you’ve got other things to do. I also found it to be much more of a thriller than I expected – though why, I don’t know, since 100+ people disappearing into thin air has all the trappings of a major horror story!

Once I got used to the aspects I wasn’t expecting, the story itself was alright. Miranda was refreshingly different than most heroines – self-sufficient, clear-headed and a tiny bit stubborn. While there was a romantic interest, he often took backseat or even the sidekick role, allowing Miranda’s personality to really shine and grow as a character.

Because the book is so much of a suspense/thriller I’m hesitant to say andy more. the cause of the disappearances, both in the original Roanoke legend used and in the modern equivalent, is so unexpected and so, so creepy that it’s worth the read, just for the payoff – I’m pretty glad I didn’t finish this one late at night!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of Blackwood from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.