[Book Review] Little Eve

Little Eve is a bone-chilling tale filled to the brim with psychological suspense - a must read for gothic horror fans.

On the Scottish island of Altnaharra, a family prepares for The Adder to come and the world to be swallowed by the ocean. Or at least, this is what they are told. Uncle tells them this, and what are you to do if you know nothing else but this life? When The Adder comes they will all inherit his powers, as long as they all follow the rules as Uncle says.

The family is led by Uncle, and consists of two women - Alice and Nora - and four children - Eve, Dinah, Abel, and Elizabeth. For as long as they can remember, none has questioned the ways of the island or Uncle. They are taught to fear the outside world, deprived of knowledge, denied basic life necessities, and punished when Uncle feels they’ve misbehaved. Uncle leads the family in rituals as they worship The Adder, their snake god, and teaches them that outsiders are impure and in their own depravity they can eventually harvest the powers of The Adder and “see” as he does. No one questions Uncle for many years, until things stop adding up in the protagonists’ minds.

Ward begins her story at the end, when the local butcher, Jamie, brings a delivery of meat to the castle only to stumble upon a horrific scene of corpses laid out in a bizarre sacrifical formation, each missing a single eye. The lone survivor, Dinah, found barely alive begins the tale of how this scene came to be.

A majority of the story is told between the alternating perspectives of Eve and Dinah. The time period switches between 1917 to 1921 as readers follow the events leading up to such a gruesome scene. In the earlier timeline, Eve and Dinah are young girls with Dinah coming of age soon and Eve not far behind. Both want something more than the island has to offer, but do not know how to express or obtain that. When a local detective starts sniffing around after a murder in town, Eve begins to question the ways of their lifestyle and the words of Uncle.

Throughout the story the reader has to piece together the conflicting details of Dinah and Eve’s accounts. Also, deciphering the motives and truths of the lifestyle the family leads. If you are a fan of Ward’s other novels, The Last House on Needless Street and Sundial, you are likely accustomed to her psychological approach to storytelling and split narratives, and Little Eve fits right in. Ward is a master at weaving complex characters and story arcs that keep you guessing until the last second. You feel so deeply for the characters, saddened by the manipulation they undergo and the trauma they repress. While there are shocking twists, the story’s greatest strengths are found in the realistic characters and their resilience.

Little Eve is a story that makes your skin crawl. It’s perfect for readers of gothic horror and psychological thrillers, or if you have interest in religious cults. Little Eve was first published in the UK in 2018 and won the Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel. It will be published for the first time in the US on October 11, 2022 by Tor Nightfire.

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