Book Review – The Black Feathers by Rebecca Netley

Pages: 337
Published: 12th October 2023
Genre: Historical Fiction

When Annie marries widower Edward Stonehouse and arrives at Guardbridge, his estate on the Yorkshire moors, she thinks she has finally put darkness behind her.

She is mistaken.

Edward’s sister, Iris, still lives in the family home. A taxidermist and medium, she urges Annie to watch out for black feathers – claiming that they mark the spot where a spirit has visited.

At first, Annie dismisses her warnings. But, before long, she begins to feel haunted.

What exactly happened to Edward’s first wife? Why is Iris so disturbed?

And should Annie really be watching for signs from the dead – or is she the one being watched?

On paper, this book seemingly has all the attributes to flourish. There is a creepy atmosphere that oozes foreboding; the haunting imagery of mysterious black feathers, taxidermy, and ghostly encounters, and a looming sense of danger. However, all this build-up does not quite deliver the goods in a plot that fizzles out into something underwhelming.

The vibes are what truly draw you in here, for the author is exceptional at building up the tension and convincing us that evil lies beyond each turn of the page. Permanently Gothic in tone, it adds to that by introducing flashes of the paranormal and these are well realised, although the story just is not as absorbing or investable as Rebecca Netley’s wonderful debut The Whistling.

That said, the beginning is really strong. The scene is well set and once introduced to the characters you immediately detect that something is not right in the household and there are complicated dynamics at play, with Annie finding herself right in the middle of it. From there, the doubt that seeps into her mind is like a constant companion that can never be shaken off.

The central problem lies in the fact that most of the plot’s main threads are ideas that are simply not developed enough. For so long we are told that Edward is a threat and Annie becomes scared of him, but on closer inspection the reasons she has for believing this are fairly tenuous. Iris’ refusal to leave the house could have been stretched a little further too. But most noticeably of all, the black feathers that give the book its title are mentioned so briefly that they seem like an irrelevance.

When you get to what probably counts as the main twist, it does not rank as the most surprising turn of events and there is nothing truly original about it. In other words, it is quite easy to guess who the villain of the piece is, which again fails to lift the book to anything above ordinary – even if it is still interesting to see how that entire scene and the ending plays out.

There is more than a hint of Daphne Du Maurier about this story and as a main character, Annie is not dissimilar to the unnamed narrator of Rebecca. She has a mild-mannered, genteel personality that makes her likeable, but not particularly memorable either. Most of the time she rarely veers from her default state of wariness, so she can come across as somewhat one-note.

All we really see of Edward is a few tense conversations where Annie is pressing him about his late first wife, but for a lot of the story we are told why he must be dangerous without actually seeing any indication of it. Iris was perhaps the most fascinating character as while supposed spirit mediums in Gothic fiction are relatively common, her agoraphobia was explored in an arresting manner and all the warnings of disaster raised the stakes.

The mostly close relationship between Annie and Iris was nice to read, especially as they were two characters who lived rather lonely existences. Iris could be enigmatic though, and she was difficult to get a total grasp on with some scenes where she became unexpectedly hostile to Annie. In addition, we have Iris’ matronly attendant Mrs North, who is responsible for providing the reader with most of the information about the household and its backstory.

While the blurb does emphasise the fact that the book is set in the Yorkshire moors, we do not really get much of a feel for it considering almost the entire story takes place indoors. The few outside scenes we do get do provide us with the bitter atmosphere of hostile terrain and it would have been nice to have more of that. The house itself is suitably creepy and the unpredictability of Iris and fear that Annie feels when Edward is there keeps you on edge.

Due to the plot not being able to follow most of the ideas through, the pacing suffers and there are times where it drags, leaving us waiting for the dramatic moment that never truly arrives. However, the writing is always engaging and just like she did in The Whistling, the author has a lovely warmth to her prose that makes you want to enjoy the book more.

Overall, there is nothing to criticise about the writing style or the atmosphere here, but the plot does leave a little to be desired. The characters do not totally stand out and so many of the concepts we are introduced to have merit but barely seem to flicker before fizzling out, those black feathers becoming as woolly as Iris’ spiritual credentials. It definitely leaves you wanting more, but not in the positive sense.

I had high expectations for this after loving The Whistling, but they were not met. It just lacked substance and the characters were not interesting enough.

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐