A novel of gothic horror, this book started out excellently. It is 1816 and Marcus is summoned home from the war after news of his brother, Barnabas’s, untimely death. The new, reluctant heir to the sprawling Penderbrook, the largest pile in England, Marcus is perturbed to find that his father has lost his mind and the land is being overtaken by a strange red fungus. On top of that, his brother’s corpse, held in the basement and showing a mysterious lack of decay, suddenly disappears.
Along with Lucy, his childhood friend and Barnabas’s fiancé, he begins to investigate his brother’s final days, and his experiments with the red fungus. A subtle yet eerie ominousness creeps into the story as they unearth more and more questions that revolve around the weird red fungus, which appears to be slowly infecting the entire area. At the same time, Marcus’s father, James, is deteriorating more and more by the day, transforming the strong Earl into a shambling figure of a man, hidden away in the nursery and surrounded by unexplained shadows and inconsistencies. Early on in the story, we are presented with suggestions of a verbally abusive nature, and an altogether unpleasant man. It isn’t until later in the book that this becomes clear.
Attempting to step into his brother’s shoes, Marcus visits the family cotton mill and becomes acquainted with the workforce. However, upon leaving for Penderbrook, he realises that things at the mill are not as straightforward as they seem. Along with Mr. Abbott, Lucy’s father, he returns to question the staff more closely, and things take a turn for the worse.
The first 60% of this book was amazingly good. Huge, atmospheric mansion, insane father. Eerie goings-on involving an infestation of red fungus that appears to affect people in odd ways. A dead body that disappears from the cellar without any explanation.
But then, things take a turn for the seriously weird. The last 20% of the book was a huge disappointment. What started out as an immensely absorbing gothic horror turned into some kind of fantasy, time travel thing. I’m not even entirely sure what happened in the end, but it wasn’t at all what I had expected. Unfortunately, it ruined it for me, and a book I had enjoyed and had earmarked for a solid four stars became a desultory 3 stars.
Brilliant at first. Puzzling towards the end.
Is it Friday yet? 
That does sound a bit puzzling. I wonder why the author changed to that at the end. Weird. The red fungus thing sounds good – well, not good, but you know what I mean. I wonder if it had anything to do with Covid. 19 lol. I am always looking for good books to reaad.
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It has some really good reviews on Goodreads. It might be something you’d enjoy, but I just didn’t like the ending. Maybe the red fungus is related to Covid 19 – who knows?! 😂
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I know. I was laughing about the red fungus too, but there is something very drawing about the idea of a poisonous red fungus. Hmmm. 😀
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The cover alone would be a reason for me to check this out. But as soon as you mentioned the shift in tone/genre, that definitely makes me less excited to check this out (I enjoy both genres, but consistency is importnat). Considering the title and the year the story is set, I would have figured the circumstances of the ‘Year Without a Summer’ would be a big part of the story.
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If you enjoy both genres, I would suggest giving it a go. You may like it. I thought it was really good… until it all got a little crazy. I was enjoying it as it was and didn’t appreciate the change. There is a reason behind the lack of a summer, which is explained towards the end of the book.
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