About the Book

What happens when you fall in love with the wrong person?

The consequences threaten to be far-reaching and potentially deadly.

Bone Deep is a contemporary novel of sibling rivalry, love, betrayal and murder. It is a dual narrative, told in alternative chapters by Mac, a woman bent on keeping the secrets of the past from her only son, and the enigmatic Lucie, whose own past is something of a closed book. Their story is underpinned by the creaking presence of an abandoned water mill and haunted by the local legend of two long-dead sisters, themselves rivals in love and ready to point an accusing finger from the pages of history.

 

My Thoughts

Bone Deep is a stunning novel that explores the relationship between siblings, and the betrayals in romantic relationships. The novel is narrated by two characters – Mac who is determined to keep her secrets buried whilst writing a short story collection about sibling rivalry; and Lucie who arrives to be Mac’s Girl Friday and has secrets of her own.

The audio book is wonderful, I found myself engrossed in this novel from the opening chapter and it had me spellbound. I was so intrigued by both Mac and Lucie and felt equally invested in both their stories. I was also so drawn to the setting with the abandoned mill and the way it looms large over the characters in this book. Mac and Lucie are each voiced by a different narrater (Una Mcdade and Emma Hartley-Miller) which made it easy to keep track of whose story I was listening to, which I always appreciate in an audio book.

Bone Deep takes two women who are in different stages of life and also on opposite sides of the coin that is affairs of the heart. Mac is becoming confused and her past and present are beginning to get mixed in her mind, she is also obsessively writing and then withdrawing from her story about two sisters. This all melds together as the novel moves towards its final stunning conclusion. Lucie is looking for an escape after she’s done wrong by her sister and is somewhat ousted by their mother who knows what she’s done. Mac is initially kind towards Lucie, although she doesn’t feel she needs her help, but as the past pulls on her more and more she starts to see Lucie in a different light.

The pain that runs through this novel is palpable and even though Lucie has done wrong I could only feel sympathy for her. She has made a terrible mistake but she’s not the only one and yet she is paying the biggest price for it. I was willing her to face up to things and to try and make it right but she can’t help but retreat further into herself. I could see echoes of her in Mac to start with and worried that she may end up like Mac but in the end Mac’s secrets go way darker and deeper than Lucie’s ever could.

There is something indefinable about this novel – it’s heart-wrenching and yet also magical. There is so much beauty amongst all the pain and the darkness. Sandra Ireland beautifully weaves together the strands of Mac and Lucie’s stories along with the story that Mac is writing and it’s simply breathtaking – the mysteries, the connections and the ultimate conclusion! Bone Deep is a book that grabs hold of you and it doesn’t let go, even after you’ve finished listening to it. I feel haunted by it, it’s still going around in my mind and I already want to read it again! I highly recommend this book, it really is a stunning novel!

Many thanks to the Kelly at Love Books Tours for my copy of the audio book and my blog tour invitation. All thoughts are my own.

Bone Deep is out now and available here.

 

About the Author

Sandra Ireland was born in Yorkshire, lived for many years in Limerick, and is now based in Carnoustie. She began her writing career as a correspondent on a local newspaper but quickly realised that fiction is much more intriguing than fact. In 2013 Sandra was awarded a Carnegie- Cameron scholarship to study for an MLitt in Writing Practice and Study at the University of Dundee, graduating with a distinction in 2014. Her work has appeared in various publications and women’s magazines. She is the author of Beneath the Skin (2016) and Bone Deep (2018), and her third novel, The Unmaking of Ellie Rook will be published in July 2019.

 

You can find the rest of this tour at the following blogs: