Secrets in the Mist

Secrets in the Mist (2016) Anna Lee Huber (Gothic Myths)

Set in England in 1812.

Ella Winterton has been struggling since her brother died. Her mother’s death troubled her father, but after her brother died fighting France, her father descended into alcoholism–an open secret that Ella can’t admit even to her best friend.

Why could he not stop? If not for himself, then at least for me. I knew how much he loved Mother. I knew how much it devastated him when she died, and then to lose Erik so soon after. But what about me? Was I of so little account? After all, I had lost them, too.

As she travels from her home to Greenlaws House through the marsh paths, she runs into one of the Lantern Men–the figures that travel the marshes at night in the mists.

Everyone in Thurlton knew about the smugglers. People in Norfolk had been smuggling goods in and out of the country for the better part of 150 years.

One of the arcs I particularly liked was Ella’s relationship with Robert, Kate’s brother and the man she once thought she would marry.

It was balm for my bruised pride to hear him apologize, but it did not change what had happened. The hurt did not miraculously vanish, nor did the discomfort his presence caused me.

Robert isn’t a bad man, but as the story unfolds you realize he is a very weak one, and although he did hurt her, she was able to forgive him, despite everything.

This book is part mystery and part romance, as Ella learns not just about the Lantern men, but also tries to come to terms both with her father and Robert, and tries to deal with her place in a society that was strict about who was above who.

It was a good escape.

Publisher : Brightstone Media, Inc
Rating: 8/10

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