The cover is so beautiful and the premise sounded really good (a creepy father-in-law with powers of hypnosis, a dreadful secret and a mysterious boy). I started reading and then the negative reviews started to flow in.

I try not to get influenced by reviews while I'm reading a book, but since I was having trouble to stay focussed on the book, I was glad to read I was not the only one. I felt there was a lot of potential to really make this a creepy read, or at least one with more of a mystery to it. Now, it bottled down to one of clumsiest murder attempts ever, together with -surprise, surprise- revenge.

About halfway the novel, there is a 12 year jump in time, and we meet young Alastair. At first it looked like it was getting better at this point, like maybe this was the real beginning of the story, but there is a lot that remains unexplained, or is not explained enough. In the end, I just couldn't connect with any of the characters, who acted stiff throughout the whole story, and I felt a lot of potential for the story was lost somewhere. I didn't like it, it certainly wasn't for me, and I wouldn't recommend it.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The premise of this book sounded so promising: Theodore Stubbs, an entomologist who is also a master hypnotist who is lusting after his daughter-in-law who has just returned from a sanatorium where she spend two months after losing her son. 

I just couldn't get into the story. I found no flow in the writing and it was a constant struggle for me to focus on the story. The idea of the book was so interesting and I love the cover. But I just couldn't find myself enjoying the story. I spent most of the time reading fighting to stay focused on the story, but the dialog and the descriptions just didn't appeal to me. It got a little better when the story moved 13 years forward in time. But, I felt that towards the end the book slipped back to being uninteresting for me. 

It was just not for me. Apparently I'm part of the minority that just didn't like the book. But if you like a quirky story is this perhaps something for you. I probably just wasn't the right reader for this kind of book. 

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy for an honest review.