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Starlings' Yard
Set in the 1970's, Mark Kemp - a troubled artist - seeks to escape his past by moving to the seedy tenements of Edinburgh. Little does he realise that the other tenants of Starlings' Yard keep a dark secret. A secret that traps them all in a world of fear, inescapable ghosts and the sect known as Occulus. As he gets drawn deeper into the lives of the people around him he falls in love with Cassie, a wild and beautiful girl, whom he decides to paint. However, there are tragic consequences. Finding himself yet again in a situation of wanting to run, he understands - perhaps for the first time - that this is where he needs to be in order to lay his own ghosts to rest.
This is an amazingly sensitive and beautifully written book, with great depth and belief in the spirituality that it seeks to understand.
Part ghost story, part thriller, part art. It endeavors to explore the aspects of ourselves that can make us truly wicked or truly great. If you enjoy a bit of thought provoking escapism, this is one for you.
This is an amazingly sensitive and beautifully written book, with great depth and belief in the spirituality that it seeks to understand.
Part ghost story, part thriller, part art. It endeavors to explore the aspects of ourselves that can make us truly wicked or truly great. If you enjoy a bit of thought provoking escapism, this is one for you.
245 pages, Paperback
First published April 21, 2014
220 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Jackson
322 books5 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 27, 2014
(I received this book for free as part of Goodreads First Reads giveaways).
(This review may contain spoilers).
I felt that this book was a really fascinating read. I'm not sure I could see I liked everything about this book, or that I'd read it again, but it was certainly intriguing.
I did like some of the storyline. At the moment, I really like ghosts in fiction. I think they fall by the wayside too many times and demons, angels, vampires and werewolves have become too overused in the paranormal genre.
The character of Cassie was quite an intriguing one, even though I think the 'ethereal damsel in distress' is kind of an overused trope. Mark was also a fascinating character, even though I wasn't really sure I liked him. There were certain things that didn't really endear him to me as a character.
I liked the thing with Hannah. I would have liked a bit more of an exploration of certain aspects to do with her, but on the whole, I liked the way her storyline was handled.
I wasn't very keen on Penny and Cissy as characters. I'm all for strong female characters, but neither of them came across as very nice people.
Rosso was a really interesting character, but I didn't think something in particular worked about him. There wasn't really enough foreshadowing for one of the things that was revealed about him.
Although there were some parts of the ending that weren't really closed, I felt that it ended about the best way it could have done. And although there were times the changing motives of the characters made me feel almost dizzy, I still found this book entertaining and easy to read.
As I said above, I don't think I'd read this book again, but I would definitely check out other books by this author at some point in the future.
(This review may contain spoilers).
I felt that this book was a really fascinating read. I'm not sure I could see I liked everything about this book, or that I'd read it again, but it was certainly intriguing.
I did like some of the storyline. At the moment, I really like ghosts in fiction. I think they fall by the wayside too many times and demons, angels, vampires and werewolves have become too overused in the paranormal genre.
The character of Cassie was quite an intriguing one, even though I think the 'ethereal damsel in distress' is kind of an overused trope. Mark was also a fascinating character, even though I wasn't really sure I liked him. There were certain things that didn't really endear him to me as a character.
I liked the thing with Hannah. I would have liked a bit more of an exploration of certain aspects to do with her, but on the whole, I liked the way her storyline was handled.
I wasn't very keen on Penny and Cissy as characters. I'm all for strong female characters, but neither of them came across as very nice people.
Rosso was a really interesting character, but I didn't think something in particular worked about him. There wasn't really enough foreshadowing for one of the things that was revealed about him.
Although there were some parts of the ending that weren't really closed, I felt that it ended about the best way it could have done. And although there were times the changing motives of the characters made me feel almost dizzy, I still found this book entertaining and easy to read.
As I said above, I don't think I'd read this book again, but I would definitely check out other books by this author at some point in the future.
July 20, 2014
What I like about winning books on Goodreads, is that I end up reading novels I might usually not. Starling's Yard being one of them, which would be seriously unfortunate. The descriptions were so thorough and vivid I felt a part of me was Mark, so much so that for a few days I started thinking I had a secret painting talent. I really enjoyed this book. Great read.
December 7, 2015
It started off a bit slow, but I really got into it after the first chapter. The writing is excellent and paints a clear picture of the characters and environment. I definitely recommend this book.
July 19, 2014
A thrilling novel that explores some quite inappropriate subjects. At times I was not sure if I could continue on the journey, but in the end it was worth hanging on!
May 28, 2014
I love this book.
All I can tell you without giving too much away, is that it is an amazingly sensitive and beautifully written book, with great depth and belief in the spirituality that it seeks to understand.
Part ghost story, part thriller, part art. It endeavors to explore the aspects of ourselves that can make us truly wicked or truly great. If you enjoy a bit of thought provoking escapism, this is one for you.
All I can tell you without giving too much away, is that it is an amazingly sensitive and beautifully written book, with great depth and belief in the spirituality that it seeks to understand.
Part ghost story, part thriller, part art. It endeavors to explore the aspects of ourselves that can make us truly wicked or truly great. If you enjoy a bit of thought provoking escapism, this is one for you.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews