4.5 stars!
THE SHADOW OF A SHADOW, by R.H. Dixon, is a psychological horror novel that will have your mind whirling in multiple directions at once. There are mysteries upon mysteries, horror both psychological and mental, and more than a hint of the supernatural. Throughout it all, however there's a certain beauty to the words--at times, almost a lyrical prose--that deceives the reader on the surface.
". . . anything can exist in the dark, even things that are unimaginable . . . "
The beginning shows us a horrible "orphanage" run by a sadistic nun. Through the eyes of two sisters, the terror here was palpable. It was all too easy to feel the heavy atmosphere of despair and realize how easily a crippling fear could take hold.
". . . She had no option but to think they were all bitter and twisted psychopaths who hid their evilness behind the black shrouds of godliness they wore . . . "
Fast forward into the future. After the death of her estranged mother, Catherine goes to the Bed and Breakfast that her Aunt--who she'd always felt more at home with than her own mom--owned. However, dark mystery abounds here as well. Whether it always did, or whether it began with the disappearance of Cat's cousin, Calanthe, sixteen years prior, is the question.
". . . you don't know what it is to doubt everything, even yourself . . . "
The characterization is phenomenal here. In Catherine, we have a troubled young adult who never really felt that she fit in anywhere. Her thoughts may seem unreliable, but is that because of her own mental trauma, or a sinister presence that may have attached itself to her family?
As we travel back and forth with her memories, we are given glimpses into the pertinent issues that have shaped the present.
"Or was the darkness a consequence of my own fear?"
The atmosphere varies from light-hearted--with Aunt Lyrica's accepting and loving demeanor--to uncertain, fearful, and even terror-inducing on occasion. The novel reminded me of a puzzle, in that we would get individual pieces to mentally put together, trying to make out the full story in our minds.
". . . It's not the bogeyman you should fear . . . There's worse evil among the living . . . "
Overall, I feel that Dixon did a great job in creating a story that brings us sympathetic characters, mysteries that cover generations, and a supernatural touch in the form of a shadow--with teeth.
Catherine's emotions are so vivd that I felt like I was experiencing them myself. When she reminisced about past events, the pull was so strong that I could have been standing beside her at the time.
Dixon examines the depth of fear--both experienced first hand, and by nightmares passed down as absolute certainty.
"I wasn't even a shadow . . . I was the shadow of a shadow . . . "
Even reading this in the safety of your own home, you may begin to notice the shadows in a whole new way . . .
Recommended.
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Top reviews from other countries
Markota
Fantastic Character Development
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 20, 2020
