The gist: Ingrid Barker, a well-to-do wife and mother in 19th century London, flees her violent, alcoholic husband with her young daughter. She finds a place as a housekeeper in the Scottish Highlands to an eccentric family where she tries to live a quiet, obscure existence, safe from her husband. But Strathbairn is no safe haven. The McCleod family, consisting of an alcoholic patriarch and his three adult children, cannot abide each other and fight constantly. The staff below stairs are also prickly and full of secrets. Only Susan, Ingrid’s daughter, lives a happy existence oblivious to it all and being doted on by the cook. Ingrid can feel the dark sins of the family’s past in the oppressive atmosphere of the damp old house, and she lives in fear of the day that her husband appears at the door, having tracked her down.

Thoughts: This is a tense, atmospheric gothic thriller with a strong-willed heroine. Ingrid is determined to save herself and her child from the clutches of her abusive husband. She is courageous in her daring escape to the Highlands and in taking a domestic post when she has come from a life of privilege and wealth. It would hardly be possible to find a more appropriate setting for a gothic novel than a dank mansion in Scottish Highlands, with an abandoned abbey nearby, and the frequent misty rainstorms rolling in over the bog. In spite of being surrounded by people, Ingrid feels utterly alone. The family is quarrelsome and unpleasant, and below-stairs is ruled by the temperamental and suspicious cook, who appears to have taken an instant dislike to Ingrid. Moreover, Ingrid is constantly on her guard to prevent the truth about her past from being discovered. If you are a fan of gothic thrillers, all the necessary ingredients are here in this spooky concoction.