A review by kleonard
Girls of Brackenhill: A Thriller by Kate Moretti

1.0

A gothic novel with all of the trappings: dead children, a spooky house, murky personal histories, sleepwalking, the lot. While the set up--missing girls and young women in a small New England town--is fine and the primary setting of the house and grounds detailed and interesting, none of the characters are very compelling or deep. The author's reliance on the trope of mad women, jealous women, and vengeful women perpetuates stigmas against the mentally ill and the longstanding stereotype of women as unstable, unable to communicate clearly, devious, and two-faced. There are also several inconsistencies and poorly-reasoned aspects to the story that undermine its chances of being successful for careful readers.