When two sisters and their aunt are found dead in their suburban Dublin home, it seems that the secret behind their untimely demise will never be known. But then Niall, a young mailman, finds a mysterious diary in the post office’s dead-letter bin. From beyond the grave, Fiona Walsh shares the most tragic love story he’s ever heard—and her tale has only just begun.
Niall soon becomes enveloped by the mystery surrounding itinerant storyteller Jim, who traveled through Ireland enrapturing audiences and wooing women with his macabre mythic narratives. Captivated by Jim, townspeople across Ireland thought it must be a sad coincidence that horrific murders trailed him wherever he went—and they failed to connect that the young female victims, who were smitten by the newest bad boy in town, bore an all too frightening similarity to the victims in Jim’s own fictional plots.
The Walsh sisters, fiercely loyal to one another, were not immune to “darling” Jim’s powers of seduction, but found themselves in harm’s way when they began to uncover his treacherous past. Niall must now continue his dangerous hunt for the truth—and for the vanished third sister—while there’s still time. And in the woods, the wolves from Jim’s stories begin to gather.
Shelly's Thoughts: I picked this up from the library after a friend recommended it to me. I'd really give this 3.5 stars, but I decided to round up. The story unfolds gradually, backwards. The reader is introduced to a postal worker, who finds a letter and a diary. From there the reader is introduced to three sisters, a wolf in story teller's clothing and an aunt who is also swept up in the fray. As a reader I felt for the sisters, and though they too did something horrible, it was justifiable. The horrible realization that the three share later on when they're reconnected with their aunt is undeniably disturbing. It's a good read, a bit challenging in it's disjointed narrative (there's three narratives overall) and the ending is a bit frustrating for me, because I want to know the third sister's story.
Rating: ★★★★☆
Total Length: 320 pages
Format: Hardcover, Paperback, EPub, Kindle, Audio book.
Publication Date: March 31, 2009 (Henry Holt and Co)
Kind of like a pied piper, no?
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