The Story Keeper by Anna Mazzola

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The Story Keeper by Anna Mazzola

I have been desperate to read The Story Keeper after I fell in love with Mazzola's debut, The Unseeing, and I was not disappointed.

In The Story Keeper, Mazzola uses folk tales, the myths and legends of an island’s history, the art of story telling and the rituals that bring people together to create a fascinating and intriguing story. From the very opening the atmosphere is deliciously mysterious, with a palpable sense of foreboding which is completely captivating.

The main protagonist, Audrey, is an exceptionally well-crafted character. Seemingly brave and bold but harbouring pain and a darker past, she arrives on the island with the hope of assisting with Miss Buchanan with her quest to ‘round up’ the oral history of the people on the island through the stories they tell. Audrey struggles to find her place, to be accepted, to please Miss Buchanan and to earn the trust of the locals. She is an intriguing character; intelligent, diligent and focussed. Initially she appears aloof, although this more a protective armour - but from the outset she’s interesting and any reservations the reader may have had towards her are quickly replaced with empathy or curiosity. As the story continues, we see that her motives for working with Miss Buchanan are more complicated and less altruistic; she has her own reasons for running away to the Isle of Skye and as well as more emotive reasons for wanting to return there.

I love Mazzola’s writing. Her prose is beautiful. She tells a tale which though very firmly set in the past, feels as alive, vivid and accessible as any contemporary novel. Just as with The Unseeing, Mazzola strikes the perfect balance of capturing the ambiance and feel of a novel written in 1850 as well as creating something that will resonate with the reader as much as any contemporary novel. The dialogue is particularly effective – true to the time, place and characters, always authentic and convincing but always readable and without pretence. As I said, I love Mazzola’s prose and I have so many favourite lines and phrases in the book, but the line I truly fell in love with was ‘a murmuration of starlings’.

We are clear on the setting, location, time and place through the description, observations and carefully placed detail. The use of detail is subtly interwoven to the prose so without drawing attention to her research and knowledge, Mazzola makes the reader feel as if they are living and breathing the life on the island alongside Audrey. This is further emphasized by the fact that Mazzola clearly has such a thorough understanding of her characters, their lives and the setting that she is effortlessly able to place the reader there with subtle skill and a deft hand.

I was caught up in the varying threads of the storyline, captivated by the people of the Isle of Skye, on the edge of my seat as the mystery of the murdered and missing girls unfolds and the tension and suspense increases with expert execution. There are many themes explored about beliefs, consequences, the importance of stories, and the secrets harboured by families. There are some brilliant moments of ambiguity, mystery and terror. There are some fantastic moments of fear and terrific moments of tension and suspense. I loved the merging of the real, the spiritual, the supernatural and the power of myths and legends. This is the perfect novel for anyone who loves stories and oral history, and for readers who like novels with strong, memorable characters, isolated locations and small communities.

I am now decided that Mazzola is definitely one of my favourite writers. The Story Keeper seems to absorb the strongest elements of Hitchcock, Du Maurier, Charlotte Bronte and S K Tremayne to create a novel which entertains, fascinates and draws the reader in an unputdownable historical thriller, full of mystery, unsettling imagery and a gripping plot. 

A 5* read and a very strong contender for one of my books of the year.

The Story Keeper was published on 26th July 2018. 

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy of the novel.