For readers of The Dark Lake and The Dry, comes this taut psychological suspense set in a dramatic Tasmanian landscape from bestselling author Sarah Barrie.
A lonely widow, a sinister act, a remote mansion with a dark past...
After the violent death of her husband, Callie Jones retreats to a cottage in the grounds of an old mansion in Tasmania. The relative remoteness of the place and the wild beauty of the Tasmanian landscape are a balm to her shattered nerves and the locals seem friendly, particularly horseman Connor Atherton and his siblings at the nearby property, Calico Lodge.
But all is not well: the old mansion has a sinister past, one associated with witchcraft and murder. As Callie is threatened by odd events in the night and strange dreams overtake her sleep, she begins to doubt her own sanity. What's really going on beneath the surface of this apparently peaceful town? Are her friends and neighbours really who they seem? As events escalate, Callie starts to realise that the mansion may hold the key to unlocking the mystery, but the truth might have as much power to destroy as it does to save.
Devil's Lair. Sarah Barrie
Bit of housekeeping first because I got myself a little confused early on here. DEVIL'S LAIR is a standalone novel from prolific Australian author Sarah Barrie, sharing some location similarities with an earlier novel - BLOODTREE RIVER. Sarah's past books seem to lean towards the romance side of the equation, with DEVIL'S LAIR billed as romantic suspense.
The novel starts out with events leading up to the violent death of Dale Jones, unfaithful husband and business partner of Callie Jones. Fleeing the aftermath of his death, Callie lobs up in a neglected mansion house, in a small Tasmanian town, which comes with the requisite spooky stories, creaks in the night, odd neighbours, and general decay and foreboding.
From the opening pages I suspect some readers may be aware that we're looking at that form of suspense that comes well telegraphed, with atmospherics to spare, and a cast of millions. There were points in the book where a hand written cast list including connections to who / how was the only hope I had at keeping up. Especially if the book had been put aside for a few days to go on with something else, when getting back into the swing of it required heaps of concentration and that list. Having said that DEVIL'S LAIR feels very much like the opening salvo in a series as there plenty of hints of future directions as well.
So - lots of characters / lots of ideas / a pretty stereotypical setting ... can be gone along with, but what stayed with me for the longest time after reading the book was the juxtaposition of all of that, and a sort of cozy narrative with an oddly laid back attitude when faced with a particularly gruesome body count. Whilst you'd think you could possibly live with things that move or bump in the night in a house that's supposed to be haunted, the somewhat lackadaisical approach to murder after murder, and oddity of never once having that referred to ... I don't know ... a major crime squad or something, didn't make sense. Add to that the budding romance - our plucky widow and the gorgeous local bachelor and the balance wasn't pitched at reader's of my ilk obviously.
Extra heavy on the romance, extra light on the suspense side, where the murder and mayhem seems to be somewhat secondary to the personal relationships, DEVIL'S LAIR will undoubtedly appeal to fans of that balance.
Devil's Lair. Sarah Barrie
Callie Jones has never had any reason to mistrust her husband Dale, until the day that derails her entire life. How could Callie have been so wrong about the man she had chosen to spend the rest of her life with?
Fleeing from the eyes of the press after Dale’s violent death, Callie takes up the offer of a friend to stay in a cottage in the grounds of a lovely old mansion that has sadly been allowed to decay in the hands of its elderly owner. It’s a lovely place for Callie to rethink her options, and she is not deterred by the spooky stories attached to the main house and surrounds. Small Tasmanian towns can keep their secrets just as well as anywhere else and Callie now has enough of her own to protect. As she begins to become aware that someone is watching her and moving creepy toys are around the cottage as she sleeps, Callie increasingly no longer feels safe in her remote rural hideaway. The creepy neighbour who won’t take no for an answer is unsettling enough and those weird markings around the doorways and windows? What on earth are they meant to ward off, or allow in?
Nearby Calico Mountain is a hive of industry and the family that run the tourist lodge always have a million ongoing concerns. Manager Connor Atherton though is beginning to seriously rethink his decision of participating in a project that provides work opportunities to ex prisoners. The slaying of a beloved horse, the disappearance of one of the new workers plus a murder all adds up to chaos and the possibility of the tourist lodge losing both custom and solid employees. Thank heavens Connor now has Callie in his life to help him sort it all out.
Author Sarah Barrie has written a large cast of characters into this book and it can be a bit of a challenge to keep them all in sharp focus as you read DEVIL’S LAIR. Granted there are threads included for future works featuring secondary characters, which are easy enough to flag as you encounter them.
The book jaunts along with jarring death after jarring death which do not sit well alongside the otherwise cozy narrative of a woman finding love again after trauma. The two worlds do not collide so well in DEVIL’S LAIR which struggles to keep an ongoing momentum with the slayings that should have attracted a huge police presence, not just the attention of local country cops, and the budding romance of a widow with the local gorgeous bachelor. Can absolutely see this book as a fully formed romance novel without were it not for the crime elements being introduced, but cannot see that DEVIL’S LAIR would be convincing in reverse.
If you like character driven dramas set in small communities, you will appreciate DEVIL’S LAIR as it is rather sweet and dialogue driven and does not spend time delving into all the gritty details of a detailed homicide investigation. This is not a suspenseful read by any means but you will quickly become invested in seeing a happy ending for Callie after all that she has experienced.