Author: Josephine Pennicott
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Age Group & Genre: Historical Murder Mystery/ Gothic
The Blurb:
Poets had always lived there, the locals claimed. It was as if the house called to its own…
When Sadie inherits Poet’s Cottage in the Tasmanian fishing town of Pencubitt, she sets out to discover all she can about her notorious grandmother, Pearl Tatlow. Pearl was a children’s writer who scandalised 1930s Tasmania with her behaviour. She was also violently murdered in the cellar of Poet’s Cottage and her murderer never found. Sadie grew up with a loving version of Pearl through her mother, but her aunt Thomasina tells a different story, one of a self-obsessed, abusive and licentious woman. And Pearl’s biographer, Birdie Pinkerton, has more than enough reason to discredit her.
As Sadie and her daughter Betty work to uncover the truth, strange events begin to occur in the cottage. And as the terrible secret in the cellar threads its way into the present day, it reveals a truth more shocking than the decades-long rumours.
‘Poet’s Cottage’ is a beautiful and haunting mystery of families, bohemia, truth, creativity, lies, memory and murder.
What I Liked About This Book:
I really loved this book, which I would describe as a Gothic murder mystery set in Tasmania. It’s a parallel story, moving between modern day and the 1930s. When Sadie inherits Poet’s Cottage, a house in a sleepy village of in Tasmania, she moves there with her teenage daughter in an attempt to start a fresh life after her marriage break-up. However, all is not well at Poets’ Cottage. Sadie’s grandmother, Pearl Tatlow, was murdered there years earlier, and many believe the cottage is haunted. Pearl was a popular children’s author, ambitious, strong-willed and selfish. The events leading up to her murder are told from the point of view of the woman who became her biographer, Birdie Pinkerton, but there are clues that she may not be a reliable narrator. Slowly, Sadie finds the events of her own life shadowed and haunted by the violence and tragedy of the past, as the reader comes ever closer to discovering the identity of Pearl’s murderer. Poets Cottage is a clever combination of historical murder mystery, family drama, and Gothic ghost tale – I’d really recommend it.
What I Didn’t Like About This Book:
Poet’s Cottage has a complicated plot line, with lots of mysterious and macabre elements. By the end, when the murderer is finally revealed, the reader has become a little hardened to all the twists and turns and so the surprise does not perhaps have the same impact as it would have had if there had not been so many other strange and spooky happenings. However, this didn’t stop me from really enjoying the rollercoaster ride.
Other blogs on this book you may find interesting:
AustCrimeFiction
Poets had always lived there, the locals claimed. It was as if the house called to its own…
When Sadie inherits Poet’s Cottage in the Tasmanian fishing town of Pencubitt, she sets out to discover all she can about her notorious grandmother, Pearl Tatlow. Pearl was a children’s writer who scandalised 1930s Tasmania with her behaviour. She was also violently murdered in the cellar of Poet’s Cottage and her murderer never found. Sadie grew up with a loving version of Pearl through her mother, but her aunt Thomasina tells a different story, one of a self-obsessed, abusive and licentious woman. And Pearl’s biographer, Birdie Pinkerton, has more than enough reason to discredit her.
As Sadie and her daughter Betty work to uncover the truth, strange events begin to occur in the cottage. And as the terrible secret in the cellar threads its way into the present day, it reveals a truth more shocking than the decades-long rumours.
‘Poet’s Cottage’ is a beautiful and haunting mystery of families, bohemia, truth, creativity, lies, memory and murder.
What I Liked About This Book:
I really loved this book, which I would describe as a Gothic murder mystery set in Tasmania. It’s a parallel story, moving between modern day and the 1930s. When Sadie inherits Poet’s Cottage, a house in a sleepy village of in Tasmania, she moves there with her teenage daughter in an attempt to start a fresh life after her marriage break-up. However, all is not well at Poets’ Cottage. Sadie’s grandmother, Pearl Tatlow, was murdered there years earlier, and many believe the cottage is haunted. Pearl was a popular children’s author, ambitious, strong-willed and selfish. The events leading up to her murder are told from the point of view of the woman who became her biographer, Birdie Pinkerton, but there are clues that she may not be a reliable narrator. Slowly, Sadie finds the events of her own life shadowed and haunted by the violence and tragedy of the past, as the reader comes ever closer to discovering the identity of Pearl’s murderer. Poets Cottage is a clever combination of historical murder mystery, family drama, and Gothic ghost tale – I’d really recommend it.
What I Didn’t Like About This Book:
Poet’s Cottage has a complicated plot line, with lots of mysterious and macabre elements. By the end, when the murderer is finally revealed, the reader has become a little hardened to all the twists and turns and so the surprise does not perhaps have the same impact as it would have had if there had not been so many other strange and spooky happenings. However, this didn’t stop me from really enjoying the rollercoaster ride.
Other blogs on this book you may find interesting:
AustCrimeFiction
Bookgirl at Beauty & Lace
Official Websites:
Josephine Pennicott's website
Official Websites:
Josephine Pennicott's website
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