I was drawn to this book by the brooding, Gothic cover and blurb, then realised whilst reading that it was inspired by Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw – I won’t give away how, but readers of that story will spot the link!

However what makes this different in the gothic genre is the character Marta who is so unlikeable, usually we connect with the main character wanting her to overcome what life has thrown at her however it's difficult with Marta as she is conniving, arrogant, uncaring,. I highly recommend reading The Turn of the Screw, or at least a summary of it before starting this book.

As holidays are rare things in my life, that can mean I sit on a longed for book for ages sometimes. Whilst Marta is certainly questionable, it’s her strange little charge, Grace, who I wondered about the most. There are ghostly and witchy vibes, turbulent weather, a creaky old estate house, family secrets and more that you would expect in a book of this genre.

Dark, heady and bold, Fyneshade is a seductive treat, with a protagonist who is both wicked and irresistible. She quickly learns all in the beautiful house is not what it seems and is intrigued to find out what is really going on. Kate’s ‘Kitty Peck’ series is so fabulous, that as soon as I heard she had a new book out, I was determined to read it. Grace, the little girl she is sent to look after is, in Marta’s eyes, a pathetic, unlikeable soul she makes very little effort to get to know. Marta’s attitude and behaviour towards children and animals was particularly disturbing and could trigger sensitive readers.Marta experiences the house as a ‘maze of stone'; the house exudes an unusually hushed, and suffocating atmosphere. Marta is tough as nails, self-assured and witchy in a wicked sort of way, which is just so much fun.