#30. Picked Without Reading The Blurb – Pine by Francine Toon (Paperback)

Sometimes I think book cover designers are not given the credit that they deserve. For me, an intriguing cover can be a reason why I choose a book, and the cover on Pine was precisely why I bought it. I think the cover is simple, but hauntingly beautiful and intriguing. Fortunately, the book was just as good as the cover, and I can see why this was shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Crime Debut of the Year. 

“Lauren and her father Niall live alone in the Highlands, in a small village surrounded by forest. When a woman stumbles on to the road one Halloween night, Niall drives her back to their house. In the morning, she’s gone.

In a community where daughters rebel and men quietly rage, mysteries like these are not out of the ordinary. Lauren looks for answers in her tarot cards, hoping she might be able to read her father’s turbulent mind. Neighbours know more than they let on, but when a local teenager goes missing it’s no longer clear who she can trust.

In a place that can feel like the edge of the world, In the shadow of the Highland forest, Francine Toon captures the wildness of rural childhood and the intensity of small-town claustrophobia. In a place that can feel like the edge of the word, she unites the chill of the modern Gothic with the pulse of a thriller. It is the perfect novel for our haunted times..”

This is a perfect winter read; a good gothic thriller set in the wild Scottish Highlands that chills you to the bone. It’s one for curling yourself up in a blanket to read, preferably in front of a roaring fire and maybe with a little tipple of something to hand! 

Ten-year-old Lauren lives with her father in a tiny village near the Moray Firth. Her mother disappeared shortly after her birth and her father drowns his sorrows in bottles of whisky. This book reminded me of “The Woman in White” by Wilkie Collins – not in terms of the story – but because of the feeling of unease when reading it, and the mysterious ghostly figure seen wandering the woods dressed in a white dressing gown. 

One night when Lauren and her father are driving home, a female figure steps out in front of their vehicle. She’s unresponsive, and they take her back to their home. They give her something to eat and a bed for the night but come morning the woman has gone. Lauren vividly remembers the events of the night, but her father doesn’t, however, he is usually intoxicated most evenings so that doesn’t come as a surprise. Lauren keeps seeing this gaunt female figure, wearing just a dressing gown in this bleak, frozen Scottish landscape. Other villagers have seen the figure too, but they quickly forget they have seen her, which leaves Lauren confused and scared.

The majority of the book sets the scene, slowly building tension and developing each of the main characters so you feel as though you know them. Lauren might be sure she has seen a ghost, but she is also a typical little girl who enjoys a can of Fanta and a packet of Monster Munch whilst reading a copy of the Beano; she is a relatable character that you quickly grow fond of. I loved that Lauren puts on her mother’s ten-year old lipstick in secret, it is an innocuous act a little girl would do, but there is a sinister overtone in the book that cannot be ignored. Likewise, her father Niall has a penknife hidden away in a set of antlers…why keep it hidden? And why do the villagers seem to think that it’s normal for people to go missing, leaving no trace behind them? What secrets do the adults want to hide?

The story builds up in these gradual layers of normal activities, such as the children trick or treating at Halloween, which feel slightly out of place. The interactions of the adults give rise to a discomfort that you can’t quite place, the answer just out of reach, and then suddenly this docile tale changes direction and becomes darker and claustrophobic. Equal to these changes is the inclusion of the expected tropes of a ghost story. There are mysterious phone calls, a derelict house in the middle of the dark woods, which is damp and smelly, but I let these predictable things slide past me in favour of enjoying what is otherwise a well-constructed ghost story.

Lauren was such an engaging character to read about. She was graced with both a childish innocence, and a maturity beyond her years and she was fearless. She asked the questions that no-one wanted to answer, but undeterred, she’d just ask someone else.

" ‘Ann-Marie? Some girls were talking and it made me wonder. Where do you think my mum went?’ Lauren’s words rush out like water. She sees Ann-Marie go still as she continues. ‘I once asked Kirsty about it, but she said I have to ask my dad and my dad doesna want to talk about it.’ "

Her connection with the older girls Ann-Marie and Diane was a joy to read because she wasn’t an annoying inquisitive child that they had to babysit, she had formed a bond with them. When Lauren suggests she tells them their futures with a pack of playing cards, they don’t laugh at her, they engage with her like they are all sisters, but there is still a sense of unease lying below the surface of their interactions.

I really enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to Francine Toon publishing something in the future. (Having checked her website I’m disappointed to see that Pine, her debut novel, is the only book she has written.) Her style of writing was breathtaking; she created an intriguing cast of characters and a bleak landscape that I was immediately drawn to. 

For fans of gothic horror, this is a haunting, atmospheric read that keeps on drawing you in, but it is also a moving tale of a child’s loss and fleeting memories. It is filled with grief and rage, folklore and superstition, and is truly spellbinding. No wonder it won the 2020 McIlvanney Prize for Scottish crime book of the year.

Genre: Thriller, Fiction, Horror, Crime, Mystery, Gothic

Release Date: 1st October 2020

Publisher:  Black Swan

Pages: 325

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