Blood Harvest by S.J. Bolton (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"Now you see her

Gillian is haunted by the disappearance of her little girl two years ago. A devastating fire burned down their home, but she remains convinced her daughter survived.

Now you don't

Ten year old Tom lived by a neglected church. Is he the only one who sees the strange, solitary child playing there? And what is she trying to tell him?

Now you run

There's a new vicar in town - Harry. But menacing events suggest he isn't welcome. What terrible secret is this town hiding?"

My Thoughts:

I am completely convinced that this author can do no wrong in my eyes.  Easily, this will one of the best thrillers that I have read in 2014, and I am always sad to think that not enough readers have found the amazingness that is this author and her books.  I shall just continue to spread the love myself, shall I?  

In this book we are introduced to a young boy named Tom and his family, who have recently moved to a secluded village near the moors.  Tom is struggling with his new home though as he is having a hard time making friends and keeps having strange occurrences happen to him.  He soon becomes convinced that someone is watching him and his family....but it isn't until some of the town's ugly history is revealed that the reader realizes how much danger he just might be in.  And by then you will be beyond well and truly hooked!  This is not a small book by any means but I managed to fly through the pages.  I kept telling myself just a little further which turned into chapters (and then huge chunks of the book).  I couldn't put it down!  I needed to know what was going to happen to Tom and his family which made it even harder to stop reading.  Although this book is a standalone, it did feature Evi Oliver who also shows up in the Lacey Bolton series.  I loved how she managed to connect the books without really making it an issue for those readers who have only read one or the other. I wonder if her other standalone books connect characters at any point as well.  It will be interesting to find out!  

This book was an intense thriller and had such a great setting for the storyline.  I loved the sense of isolation that came from the village.  It made this a much creepier read for me!  Add to that an old church graveyard, the moors surrounding the village, and a secretive community of villagers, and you had a gothic novel in the making.  Love!  These are pretty much all of my favorite things rolled into one when I want a spooky read!  The overall storyline was filled with suspense and kept me reading late into the night.  And the ending didn't disappoint whatsoever!  I will admit to picking up on pieces of it but not enough to really ruin the surprise of the ending.  In fact, I was reading so fast by the end that I had to back up and reread to make sure that I didn't miss anything. 

If you can't tell by all my gushing this was an amazingly good read for me that will easily be on my top reads list for 2014.  At this point, I already know that I will read everything/anything that this author has written.  I'm just taking my time on them so I have books to look forward to!  If you are a fan of mysteries, suspense, or thrillers, then I cannot recommend this author and her books enough!  Highly, highly recommended!

Bottom Line:  This gothic tale kept me reading late into the night!  One of my favorite books of the year!

Disclosure:  Checked out from my local library.  Thoughts are my own!