Darker Ends

by Alex Nye

DARKER ENDS is the third title by Alex Nye, again inspired by the landscape and history of Scotland. This time Glencoe is the background setting, and the ghosts of the recent past mingle with the dark events of 1692, when the leader of Clan Campbell authorized the genocide of a whole community as they slept in their beds before dawn...Those who survived - women and children - struggled their way up into the lowering mountains of Glencoe, but what happened to them? Did they live to tell the tale?Two children, a brother and sister, wait in a lonely inn for their parents to come home, while a storm closes in. They have only lived at the inn for three days. Maggie, the eldest, seeks to reassure her younger brother, who is asthmatic and nervous. When a stranger's car is marooned in the river below, and he knocks at their door for shelter, the long night darkens. All is not what it seems, and Maggie and Rory are about to learn what became of the so-called 'survivors' of Glencoe.

288 pages, Paperback

Published October 26, 2015

About the author

Alex Nye is the author of EVEN THE BIRDS GROW SILENT, and is a Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund at the University of Glasgow. She grew up in Norfolk by the sea, but has lived in Scotland for most of her adult life where she finds much of her inspiration in Scottish history. At the age of 16 she won the W H Smith Young Writers' Award out of 33,000 entrants, and has been writing ever since. Her first children's novel, CHILL, won the Royal Mail Award. Previous titles include FOR MY SINS about Mary Queen of Scots, ARGUING WITH THE DEAD, a novel about the life of Mary Shelley, WHEN WE GET TO THE ISLAND, DARKER ENDS, and the classic Kelpies series CHILL and SHIVER. She divides her time between walking the dog, swimming, scribbling in notebooks in strange places, staring at people without meaning to, and tapping away on her laptop. She also teaches and delivers atmospheric candlelit workshops on creative writing/ghost stories/Scottish history. She studied at King's College, London more years ago than she cares to remember.

Reviews

[Liz Barnsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed Darker Ends - for a start it's a beautiful looking book with a spot on cover that just draws you in, inside the pages is a gorgeously atmospheric and creepy tale for a younger audience that is really very gripping.

Maggie and Rory are alone in in their new home, an inn that is isolated and without near neighbours. A storm is raging and they are beginning to fret, when a stranded stranger knocks on the door looking for shelter...

This is a real "things that go bump in the night" book and as such will absolutely enthrall it's target audience - heck it absolutely enthralled me. Some beautiful writing that will endure well with both young and old, Alex Nye has a great touch when it comes to characters and an even better one when it comes to painting a stark and haunting landscape to pit them against. Terrific imagery and a real sense of menace plus a hefty hit of emotion that is enough but not too much made this a really really good read.

Excellent stuff - I shall be searching out more. Defninitely recommended for kids who love a bit of a scare and adults who love a really good yarn well told. Watch out for that ending though - it may get you!

Happy Reading Folks!

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

*****SPOILERS*****
Alex Nye's latest book Darker Ends has done a very hard thing. It topped Chill and Shiver. I loved everything about this book, especially the complexity of the plot and characters. I am pleased to say that I did not expect the ending at all.
Regarding the characters, I couldn't help but feel incredibly sorry for Maggie and Rory, after all they went through. Particularly Maggie, as she seemed so desperate to protect Rory, and to do as her mother asked. However, they were not my favourite characters. For me, Ivan had the most depth, and at the end you could really connect with him and understand him.
The plot and setting in this story was fantastic. Having visited Glencoe I could see every scene in my head and found it very easy to imagine the story was real. The plot kept me hooked from the very first chapter, and my favourite scenes were the ones in the mountains. I also loved how you could never be sure if the children were hallucinating about the people in the mountain, if they were real ghosts, or if they were simply figments of their imagination
All in all this was a fabulous book, and I recommend it to anybody who enjoys ghost stories. I was lucky enough to meet Alex and get my copy signed.

[Annemarie Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trapped by snowstorms in an isolated inn, Maggie and Rory feel as though they have been waiting forever for their parents to return. But it is not just the weather which threatens them - Glencoe itself has a dark and violent history. When the arrival of a mysterious stranger breaks the boundaries between past and present, the two children gradually begin to understand that all is not as it seems.
Alex Nye’s ‘Darker Ends’ is a spooky, atmospheric read that keeps the tension rising right to the very last page.