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PALE AS THE DEAD

Fiona Mountain

Orion £16.99 hbk

Reviewed by Lizzie Hayes


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Genealogist Natasha Blake is retained by Bethany Marshall to research her family history. Their initial meeting takes place in the Cotswolds where Bethany is on a photo shoot. Here Natasha meets Adam Mason, the photographer, who is creating a series of photographs for an exhibition in Oxford, in the style of the Pre-Raphaelite paintings, and with whom Bethany is having a relationship. Natasha is struck by Bethany's fragility and fascinated by the girl's obvious obsession with Lizzie Siddal, the famous Pre-Raphaelite model and artist, and wife of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. When Adam Mason asks Natasha if he can photograph her for his series she reluctantly agrees, but when they meet, Adam tells Natasha that Bethany has disappeared, but has left behind an old and valuable diary, in which Natasha's address has been loosely pinned, and Natasha feels compelled to find her. Recovering from the break up of a recent relationship, Natasha is both fascinated by, and distrusting of Adam. Aware that he attracts and disturbs her, she is drawn to him, but suspicious. As the story unfolds, Natasha's need to delve into the past, is in part explained, by the mystery of her own ancestry. The setting and atmosphere of the book was haunting, as Natasha's need to find Bethany takes on an urgency, the more she learns of the girl's obsession with Lizzie Siddal, and Lizzie's tragic death . I loved this book, it draws the reader on, giving promise that on the next page all will become clear, but the next page is as tantalising and full of shadows as the one before. A quirky mystery. Highly recommended.