Megan Melvick has spent years avoiding her inheritance, the dark and disquieting family estate Benbrae, now home only to her distant, aristocratic father, and her sister Melissa, dying quietly in an upstairs bedroom. Trapped behind her unreliable hearing aids and vulnerable to what others want her to see, Megan is unable to find the answers she wants: why is there a new woman on her father’s arm? And why has their absent mother not returned to say a final goodbye to Melissa?

Benbrae has always been a place of loss and misfortune for Megan, but as the Melvick family diminishes still further, she must ask one final question. If there is a curse on the house, will she be its next victim?

Firstly a huge apologies for not posting this yesterday. I had a manic day at work and I had 40 pages left of the book which I could not read until this morning and wanted to review in full

Secondly. Thank you to Anne for organising the tour. Always a pleasure!

The book is an absolute belter of a psychological thriller. I sometimes find that they can be very similar. But this book is original

The book is told from different viewpoints of Carla and Megan; two best friends.

This book is extremely fast paced, once you have got through the large amount of characters.

It was a dark read, which grabbed my attention.

I really enjoyed how the author left subtle hints throughout the chapters and seeing how things pieced together with the Melvick family.

I’ve never read Caro Ramsey before. But this is one of the best domestic, psychological thrillers that I’ve read.

A fast paced novel that keeps you on the edge of your seat. A well constructed story line, with a cast of dysfunctional characters, makes this a very good read.
My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

(Originally published as Mosaic). On my list of “most favourite reads for 2019”

The book opens with Megan Melvick remembering her fourth birthday in 1994. Her sister Melissa is allowed to light the birthday candles as she’s eleven. Before she has a chance to open her presents, her parents suddenly rush out of the room. Wanting to know what is more important than staying with her while she opens her presents, Megan follows and all that Megan can remember after that is seeing her grandfather swinging from a rope over the faerie pond. This memory comes to Megan as she starts her journey back to her home on the Benbrae Estate.

She’s been summoned to return as Melissa is dying from anorexia and her father has pleaded with her to return to bid her farewell. As she drives up to this magnificent home called “the Italian House” memories not only of this disastrous birthday accompany her, but also her friendship with Carla who was tragically killed on Melissa’s wedding day.

Once home Megan can’t help but keep going back to the memory of her best friend Carla’s murder. Nor can she stop thinking about her mother who simply walked out of the home the year Megan turned seventeen.

Megan is deaf and supposedly also suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder. But besides being deaf can this DID be real?

Carla’s sudden death seems to have caused her spirit to linger and with Megan home, Carla can once again “come to life” telling us her story alongside Megan’s.

Caro Ramsay is one of my favourite authors. This book is totally different to her previous novels and in my opinion, has one of the most brilliant storylines with unique, very much alive characters who will not leave you long after you reach the final page.

Bravo Caro, you’ve absolutely won my “novel of the year”. Thank you for allowing us to meet characters like Megan, Carla, Drew and Melissa.

Treebeard

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review.

A highly original storyline, packed to bursting with unexpected events from the very beginning. Dark and twisty, building suspense, the plot gathers pace throughout, hurtling along to the final shock ending.

The main character was unusual, unpredictable and brilliantly drawn, with lots of layers and plenty of complicated relationships.

This one takes you through a dizzying range of emotions, from deeply disturbing to truly touching, with a large dash of humour to lighten it up.

All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable read.

The Cursed Girls by Caro Ramsay is a stand alone psychological thriller and one that had me at the cover never mind the synopsis.
Megan Melvick is going back home to visit her extremely ill sister, who is at death's door. Megan had not been home or seen Melissa for three years. This is her first time back and the memories begin to flood her mind as she arrives. As Melissa is dying she says something to Megan she can't fully understand but it was an apology. Megan is confused as to what she is sorry for. During her time at her childhood home the memories become stronger and more frequent. She begins to think that her past is returning to haunt her.
Five years previously Melissa got married and it was a dark day in the Italian House as it is known. A bridesmaid died and their mother Beth disappeared. There were rumours she ran away with another man but nothing concrete. Megan's dad is now seeing another woman too. The death was recorded as an accident by the police but the case has been reopened and Megan begins to fall apart. She is having memory loss and even blackouts, her dad's doctor has prescribed medication but they don't make a difference to her health. Does Megan remember correctly as she faces up to her past?
A dark and sinister story of a toxic house that holds so many deep secrets that are guaranteed to keep you wanting more and a family whose ancestry has mental illness running through it as much as it has class prejudice too.
Caro Ramsay has skilfully created a tightly woven plot that has echoes of Agatha Christie stories from back in the day. Her characters are so clearly defined and such an eerie atmosphere that you almost feel as confused as Megan as you read along. A book that is overflowing with secrets, sadness, twists and turns that I was unwilling to put down for any length of time.
Thanks go to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours, BlackThorn books and NetGalley for my copy of this haunting tale.

Megan Melvick has returned home after a three-year absence to visit her dying sister, Melissa, for the last time. As she approaches the grand Scottish country estate where she grew up, the memories come flooding back. Just what did happen on the night of Melissa's wedding five years before? Where has Megan and Melissa's mother disappeared to? And why does Melissa whisper that solitary word before she finally slips away: Sorry.

This is a standalone thriller and is a riveting read from start to finish about a dysfunctional family who appears to have gone through more than most but some of it they brought on themselves. The author has done a wonderful job at building mystery and suspense.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

“I had learned early that it was better to drown in silence than to swim in a world of noise. Noise is nothing but a painful distraction from the truth.“ - Megan.

My thanks to Canongate/Black Thorn for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Cursed Girls’ by Caro Ramsay in exchange for an honest review.

This proved a satisfying mystery set primarily on a grand family estate overlooking Holy Loch in Scotland. Its main protagonist is twenty-year-old Megan Melvick, who has been summoned home after a three-year absence to visit her dying sister, Melissa.

Memories come flooding back to her of the night of Melissa's wedding five years previously and the tragedy that ended the evening. Then three years ago Beth, their mother, disappeared without explanation and soon after Megan left home. Just before she dies Melissa whispers ‘Sorry’ to Megan. Yet for what?

Megan feels that to overcome her demons that she needs to confront her painful recollections of that terrible night. Yet can she trust her memories? Megan is assisted by DS Andrew (Drew) Murray, who is looking into the sensitive cold case associated with the wedding tragedy.

Megan was an appealing protagonist. She may come from privilege but her family is clearly dysfunctional. In addition, Megan is deaf though uses hearing aids and has good language skills. She also has been diagnosed with mental health issues and has blackouts.

I did feel a little disappointed about how Melissa’s decline and illness was depicted though it did happen away from Megan and the sisters were not close. Melissa was a difficult young woman, who Megan describes as having had “a wee touch of the Ophelias”. Aside from bullying her younger sister, Melissa was a Bridezilla and her reported behaviour in the run up to the wedding was appalling.

I loved the descriptions of the estate and especially the woods, the Benbrae pond and the dangerous faerie pools beyond. Megan describes the area as “borne from Tolkien fantasy, as dark and dense as Mirkwood”. Again, Megan’s quiet bookish nature was easy for me to relate to as well as her desire to shut out the distractions of the world,

Overall, a dark, atmospheric mystery with a touch of Agatha Christie that proved a satisfying read.

Whilst this book is a bit of a difficult story to get into, it is worth running with as really gets good with so many questions. I had theories that were unfounded but left me guessing towards the end too...

Thank you to NetGalley, Canongate and Black Thorn for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of The Cursed Girls by Caro Ramsay.

What is the Melvick Curse? It seems that lives begin to deteriorate for anyone who gets involved with the Melvick family. Melissa is the eldest daughter, and she’s dying, Megan, the youngest, is deaf and people think she’s mad. Their mother disappeared. And whatever happened to Megan’s best friend?

Megan returns to her childhood family home, the Melvick Estate, to say goodbye to her dying sister. But once there she finds it hard to leave, people around Megan are doing their utmost to make her stay, but why?

I found The Cursed Girls slow, to begin with, but it soon became a book I just couldn’t wait to get to the end of - for all the good reasons! Caro Ramsay is brilliant at keeping you guessing throughout the story and it will keep you guessing as to what will happen next. There were many times throughout the book when I was sure I knew what was coming, only to be thrown in a completely different direction!

I wasn’t sure which characters I could trust in this book and even right until the end, the only one I believed was the protagonist, Megan Melvick. Certainly, strange things were happening to her, some of which she couldn’t explain, Megan but for me, she was a likeable character who only wanted to discover the truth.

If you like a mystery/thriller then check out The Cursed Girls, I need to find myself some more Caro Ramsay novels to read.

love Caro Ramsay’s Anderson and Costello series, so I was keen to read The Cursed Girls, a stand-alone psychological thriller.

Megan Melvick is heading back home to Benbrae in Argyll after a three-year absence to visit her dying sister, Melissa. Approaching the Scottish country estate where she grew up, memories come flooding back and they are not happy ones. Megan always lived in the shadow of the headstrong and beautiful actress, Melissa.

Megan only had one childhood friend, the wild and in your face Carla, ostracised by the rest of the family as highly unsuitable, and it is these two voices whose guide the story, switching from past to present. Carla’s brutal take on events is scathing and she really tells it as it is. Megan misses her friend terribly. Megan is hard of hearing, though she wasn’t born that way,and she can’t remember when she became so. She likes the silence, though. There’s a history of mental instability in the Melvick family which has caused everything from suicide to sleep-walking and indeed the hanging tree in the gardens is a permanent reminder of just how toxic this house can be.

The history of the Melvick family is laced with tragedy and it seems that this aristocratic lineage is cursed. Megan herself will be the sole surviving heir to the estate once Melissa passes and she really doesn’t want to live in the Italian House, as it is called; this evil house which she finds unpleasant and full of terrible memories.

Melissa and Jago got married in this house five years ago and now Melissa is dying. It was at her wedding that tragedy struck and a bridesmaid died. Megan’s mother Beth also disappeared that night and no-one has heard from her since. Speculation is that she ran off with another man. Ivan Melvick, the Lord Lieutenant of the County and Megan’s father, now has a new woman in his life.

Megan does not know what happened the night of Melissa’s wedding, but she does know that the police at the time said it was an accident. Now there’s a new investigation underway. Megan is further unsettled by Melissa’s last word to her, as she sits at her dying sister’s bedside, Melissa tells her she is sorry…and then dies.

As Megan begins to unravel, we question just how reliable a narrator she is. She is suffering from memory loss and blackouts, and the drugs her father’s doctor prescribes do not seem to help. As she tries to confront what happened in her past can we rely on what she remembers?

Caro Ramsay delivers a beautiful dark and gloomy atmosphere of a toxic house laced with poison where secrets as dark as bitter chocolate prevail and class prejudice runs through this family like Blackpool through a stick of rock. Tight plotting and vividly drawn characters make this complex, layered and ultimately sad tale spring to life. There’s a fabulous Christie-esque feel to the book too with class divides and a terrific final revelatory scene.

Verdict: The Cursed Girls is a taut psychological thriller of a cocktail made with murder and madness, wrapped in secrets, sprinkled with red-herrings and chilled with suspense. It slips down easily and left this reader giddy with delight.

On the fence with this book...I was interested enough to finish it, but just felt a little deflated by the experience. Loved the setting though, and also liked the writing style. Many thanks to Netgalley.co.uk and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an ARC of this tome.

The atmosphere and setting of this book is incredibly strong and well crafted, but I found the plot overly complex and confusing, and the reveal at the end felt far too much like a bad murder mystery. I’m also didn’t enjoy the treatment of mental illness in the book as a plot device - I felt it was insensitive, but perhaps that’s a personal thing as someone who has suffered from anorexia herself. All in all, I can’t say I enjoyed this book behind the general atmosphere of it, but I’m grateful to have been given the opportunity to read and review it.

Megan returns home after an absence of three years to say goodbye to her sister Melissa. Having left the huge rambling manor after the unexplained disappearance of her mother, uncertain and unhappy memories of her childhood come flooding back.
The story is told through the voices of Megan and her teenage friend Carla, moving back and forth from the present day to their teen escapades. This novel has a pleasant informal style to it, but is vague and ethereal and takes a long time to establish what the story actually is, which I guess is an attempt to explain both the unfortunate events on the day of Melissa’s weeding some years back and the disappearance of Beth, the mother. The context of both these is the untimely ends to which some of Megan’s ancestors came and whether the curse carries on in this generation. The atmosphere murky, dank and dark and the suspense is assisted by the apparent disabilities, both mental and physical, suffered by Megan.
While I quite enjoyed reading it, I was left with a slight ‘what was that all about’ feeling.

I felt instantly drawn in to this story from the Prologue which immediately makes it obvious that Megan, aged 4, is not a priority with any of her family. The writing is so descriptive I can imagine Megan's silent world, the ancestral home she returns to, the Estate, Tentor Wood and the rooks circling the property - watching, waiting!
I found the whole story very engaging and was not disappointed at any point. The characters were interesting and I found myself studying them to glean who was telling the truth and who was leading everyone astray.
My first title by this author, not my last.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Caro Ramsay/Canongate/Black Thorn for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

It took me quite a while to get into this book as the backdrop was provided for the story, but then the pace picked up in the book and it then kept me wanting to read on. This is very cleverly written and tells the story of Megan, who is deaf and suffering from a mental health condition, returning to her family home after three years for the death of her older sister. Whilst there events from the past resurface as a new take and new evidence is discovered about events in the past.

This is a cleverly written story told from two viewpoints, Megan and her childhood friend Carla. Rather like an onion, one layer of the story is revealed at a time and this all builds to a captivating end to the story as events lead to a great reveal, almost Agatha Christie in style. Great suspense is maintained through the book as events from the past are revealed.

Happy to recommend this book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing a copy of this book for me, for an an open and honest review.

This is a very clever story, with great attention to plotting, so that it’s difficult to second guess what’s going to happen next and where the truth lies. The narrative switches between two viewpoints, each with a very different take of life and events. But which voice is to be trusted and where are the deceptions?

The Scottish island setting gives the dark tale real atmosphere and adds to the suspense and sense of darkness. It’s a great standalone from an author whose series of detective stories is very different. I enjoyed this and my thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

Terrific read. This is a classic Caro Ramsay thriller full of twists and turns. The first Caro Ramsay I have read in ages - no idea why as she’s always a go-to author - but I’m now going to go back and reread all her books and catch up on the ones I missed.. She’s just so good.

The Cursed Girls is a standalone thriller revolving around the Melvick family and the plethora of terrible incidents that have happened to them over the years. Megan Melvick still remembers her fourth birthday and not for joyous, happy reasons. She had followed her beloved grandfather down to the pond at the end of a dark path and found that he'd tragically hanged himself but someone else was there too and they had given him some help it seems; what a terrible image for a child to see. Megan has returned home after a three-year absence to visit her dying sister, Melissa, for the last time as she is about to pass away from complications caused by anorexia. As she approaches the grand Scottish country estate where she grew up, the memories come flooding back. Just what did happen on the night of Melissa's wedding five years before? Where has Megan and Melissa's mother disappeared to? And why does Melissa whisper that solitary word before she finally slips away: Sorry.

In order to overcome her demons, Megan must confront her painful recollections of that terrible night, the night of Melissa's wedding when Megan slept with Melissa's new husband, Jago, on their wedding day. The night somebody died. But can she really trust her memories? And who is so determined that she should forget? This is a riveting read from start to finish about a dysfunctional family who appear to have gone through more than most but some of it they brought on themselves. Between the Melvick’s, their staff and other people frequently around them, there is a large cast of characters and with most of them being minor, so not as developed as the others, you need to get them straight in your head. Once you have you fly through the pacy story and become so immersed and compelled to read on that it's tough to put down. Alternating between Megan and friend Carla, who died 3 years ago, this is a compulsive, absorbing and well-written thriller.

Loved this one. I was a little unsure at first thinking that I wasn’t keen on reading about someone dying but, I’m really glad I read this one. It was a real edge of your seat book and I felt at times that I couldn’t red quick enough as I really wanted to find out what happened in the end. A brilliant book.

Didnt have any expectations and this book didn’t disappoint. It took me a couple of chapters to be able to get into it, but after that couldn’t stop reading. Full of family secrets and mystery. Highly recommend