The Story Catcher by Ann Hite

The Storycatcher by Ann Hite

Shelly Parker never much liked Faith Dobbins, the uppity way that girl bossed her around. But they had more in common than she knew. Shelly tried to ignore the haints that warned her Faith’s tyrannical father, Pastor Dobbins, was a devil in disguise. But when Faith started acting strange, Shelly couldn’t avoid the past—not anymore.

Critically acclaimed, award-winning author Ann Hite beckons readers back to the Depression-era South, from the saltwater marshes of Georgia’s coast to the whispering winds of North Carolina’s mystical Black Mountain, in a mesmerizing gothic tale about the dark family secrets that come back to haunt us.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is simply beautifully written. There are so many passages in this novel that literally take your breath away, at times I found myself a bit stunned. The descriptions alone make this a book worth reading, even aside from all of the other great qualities.

One of the things that can ruin a book for me is when the language and the actions of the characters don’t match the time period the book is set in. You don’t have to worry about that with “The Storycatcher.” My favourite thing about this novel was the amazing way the author used the dialogue to bring her characters to life. You could feel their emotions through the words. The way they spoke and the things they did fit perfectly with the period the book describes.

This novel is at times a bit frightening, but not in a horror type of way. The “gift” that the main character is blessed with is often looked upon as more of a curse throughout the story and the natural flow of the writing aided in making it a supernatural experience for the reader. I enjoyed that the author did not give away too much all at once, and saved the resolution of the biggest mystery until the end. This is a difficult story to figure out, and it kept my interest all the way to the last page.

I found it easy to love the main character and her quirkiness. This is the type of character that resonates with the reader and makes you think of them even when the book is finished and you are on to reading the next. Ann Hite has a true gift for telling a compelling story that people want to read and talk about later.

If you like books that are a bit supernatural, well-grounded with excellent writing and are more complex than most, you should pick up a copy of this book for yourself. This would be a great book club read with much to discuss afterward.

This review is based on a digital ARC from the publisher, Gallery Books.