The Twisted Tree: An Amazon Kindle Bestseller: 'A creepy and evocative fantasy' The Sunday Times

By Author / Illustrator

Rachel Burge

Genre

Fantasy

Age range(s)

14+

Publisher

Hot Key Books

ISBN

9781471407765

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

10-01-2019

Synopsis

Part ghost story, part Nordic mystery - a creepy and chilling tale steeped in Norse myth, perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman and Michelle Paver's Dark Matter.

Martha can tell things about a person just by touching their clothes, as if their emotions and memories have been absorbed into the material. It started the day she fell from the tree at her grandma's cabin and became blind in one eye. Determined to understand her strange ability, Martha sets off to visit her grandmother, Mormor - only to discover Mormor is dead, a peculiar boy is in her cabin and a terrifying creature is on the loose. Then the spinning wheel starts creaking, books move around and terror creeps in . . . Set in the remote snows of contemporary Norway, The Twisted Tree is a ghost story that twists and turns - and never takes you quite where you'd expect.

Praise for The Twisted Tree: 'A creepy and evocative fantasy likely to make readers wary of the shadows in the corner of an eye', The Sunday Times; 'Rattles along with proper page-turning pace', The Daily Express. Sequel: The Crooked Mask

Reviews

I can't say it any better than the blurb on the back of this wonderfully written book: 'The Twisted Tree is a chilling ghost story inspired by Norse legend.'

Martha can tell things about a person just by touching their clothes, as if their emotions and memories have been absorbed into the material. It started the day she fell from the tree at her grandma's cabin and became blind in one eye. Without giving too much away, Martha decides to go and see her Mormor (grandma), who lives on the tiny, isolated island of Skjebne in Norway. When she eventually gets there, things don't turn out as she hoped and as the very first page tells you, ...'the horror of these past few days might never have happened'.

I was totally gripped by this chilling tale that is centred around Norse myths and legends. Martha is a great main character, you will find yourself rooting for her, willing her to succeed as she not only battles with her own demons, she has to deal with supernatural ones as well.

The Twisted Tree is a great read. Due to its dark content of mild horror, ghosts, ghouls, myths, Norse legends and a touch of romance thrown into the mix, The Twisted Tree will have YA readers turning the pages eagerly well into the night! The book contains 242 atmospheric pages that engage the reader right from the first page.

Suitable for 13+ readers of chillers and thrillers. Confident readers will perhaps read this in one sitting, less confident in two or three. I also think this would be a great book for reading groups as there are opportunities for research and discussion. This book has everything, it's got a great plot with twists you don't see coming, with interesting characters that you care about, contains lots of atmosphere and is chillingly creepy! I'm sure this will be a big hit with YA readers. Hope there will be a sequel!

242 pages / Ages 13+ / Reviewed by Linda Brown, school librarian.