Do you like books about apocalyptic blood cults awaiting the return of a serpent to cleanse the world of sin? What about an isolated house on an island in the Scottish Highlands in the 1920s? Do you feel you can only enjoy a book if you know exactly what is going on at all times? If you answered yes, yes, and no—this book just might be for you!

Two things you need to know about me are that I am terrified of snakes and eye violence makes me incredibly squeamish. Two things you need to know about this book are that it features a snake and it features eye violence BUT I still enjoyed it. 

The book opens with the local butcher discovering the mutilated bodies of the island’s inhabitants laid out in a ritualistic design, all dead, except for Dinah who is clinging to life. The only resident of the island who is unaccounted for is Evelyn, the titular Little Eve. As the story unfolds, we learn about Dinah’s struggle to come to terms with her survival and her adopted sister’s violent betrayal and apparent escape. Through shifts in time and perspective, the story unfolds at a very compelling pace, with twists untwisting at a solid pace until the emotional gut punch ending. 

I would classify this book as more thriller than straight horror, although there is a bit of “the real horror is men” where things get quite unsettling.

Overall, this was a very entertaining read, and I was quite surprised by the most of the twists. This is the first of Ward’s books I’ve read, and I enjoyed her style and the story was just right. I will be looking for some of her other books to read.

Hillary H