Emma's Review: Greyfriars House by Emma Fraser

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

On a remote Scottish island sits Greyfriars House

1939
Nine-year-old Olivia Friel is delighted to be spending the summer at Greyfriars House, a place where her parents, their family and friends are always happy. But this year there's an underlying tension that Olivia doesn't understand. Then one night she sees something she's not meant to, and accidentally lets slip a devastating betrayal.

1984
Charlotte Friel gets a call from her ailing mother, asking something she's never asked before: for Charlotte to come home. There are things Olivia needs to tell her daughter before it's too late, secrets to be shared about forgotten relatives and a mysterious house.

Left reeling by recent events, Charlotte is unsure what path to follow. But eventually her curiosity, and a desire to escape her own life, lead her to Greyfriars House.

Will she find the answers she needs to make peace with the past?

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Many thanks to Little Brown Book Group UK via NetGalley for my copy of Greyfriars House to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.

Several years ago I stumbled across Emma Fraser's début novel When the Dawn Breaks as I was looking through the shelves of my local library for something to read. The author turned out to be a gem of a find as her books are enthralling as you are so easily transported to which ever era the author is writing about. Greyfriars House is Emma's fourth book although I still yet have to read book three The Shipbuilder's Daughter but I will rectify that soon. This new book is big in scope and takes the format of a dual time line story. For the author there must have been a lot to keep track of given I felt there was two distinct parts to this story which took on very different tones. It was almost like their were two separate stories which combined to make one splendid and thought provoking read which would be perfect book club choice.

When I got to the second half of the book and the attention focused on the story of another character, initially I did wonder were we going a little bit backwards with the overall plot instead of forwards? But the more I read the more I understood that Olivia sharing her story of her experiences at Greyfriars House was essential to a much bigger picture. That in fact Emma Fraser was very clever in the way she wove every strand of the story, she laid the foundations so well that it is only when you reach the final pages that you truly realise and understand what a magnificent story she has written making this book quite possible her best yet.

Right from the prologue as Charlotte wanders through the woods near the house late at night, tension, mystery and suspense are apparent with virtually every turn of the page and new chapter. Throughout the book there is an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia, of a haunting atmosphere where the secrets of a family are swirling around threatening to break out into the open after so many years being kept locked up. This haunting, dark sense doesn't make the book feel bogged down and difficult to wade through instead it just adds more tension and urgency for Charlotte to fulfil her quest and uncover just what has been kept secret for so long. I didn't feel the book was all doom and gloom despite the harsh nature of some of the subject matter instead it felt very visual and descriptive and I could see everything playing out so clearly in my mind in particular when it comes to Georgina recollecting her story. In fact I do think this book would be ideal for a drama on the television or even for the big screen.

Part one as I like to call it even thought the author did not split the book into distinct sections rather several chapters was focused on modern day and then we moved back to the past. First of all we meet barrister Charlotte who was so very driven and dedicated to her job. She thrives on the long hours of research culminating in a win in the courtroom. She has won several big cases and is on the cusp of very big things when she receives an unusual call from her mother Olivia to come home to Edinburgh. Charlotte wonders what can she want and whether she can afford the time away from her job? She decides to go and in doing so she is taken on a journey back through the history of her family but also it is a time for her to come to terms with something which has been niggling at her with regard to a previous case of hers. It's now the time to take stock as she has reached a crucial point in her life. When she arrives home she can tell instantly that everything is not right and it soon becomes clear through Olivia's own admission that she is ill and has not much time left. A letter has arrived for Olivia from the small island of Kerista off the Scottish coast. Two Aunts Georgina and Edith, previously unknown to Charlotte, live there in Greyfriars House and now they are summoning Olivia as they need her help.

What follows is Olivia's recollection of her past. At first I thought that taking us back to 1939 and the years that followed leading up to the birth of Charlotte seemed so very long ago and how could the Aunts still be alive and all the various time lines work but it did because Charlotte's aspect of the story was set in 1984. This made Olivia only 54. Normally a dual time line will be set in the past and modern day so it was great to see a different time period for the more modern day setting and it was interesting that the author was able to slip in about no phones and various other things we take for granted. I enjoyed reading Olivia's recollections of her childhood and the times she spent on the island at the house before war changed everything. It only served to ramp up my interest and helped me form more of an overall picture of what road the story was venturing down. So many questions were constantly thrown up and there was no way the author was giving the reader any answers quickly as the intrigue and mystery just grew and grew.

The island was isolated and had an atmosphere of loneliness and sadness, of things unspoken and needing to come out in to the open. As Olivia tells Charlotte the story of the past and of her two aunts whose lives changed because of the war she tasks Charlotte with going to the island to see what do they want. Sadly as Olivia leaves us Charlotte takes up the request and what followed was an amazing story that left this book very hard to put down.

Once Charlotte arrives in Scotland the book once again took on another very different tone and that's what I enjoyed about this book there was so much light and shade. At times Olivia's story offered light and relief but then as Charlotte arrives at Greyfriars to meet two women she never knew existed more dark and harrowing undertones made themselves known. I admired Charlotte for going to the island. I thinks she felt she owed it to her mother and even though she was 100% dedicated to her job she knew she was at an important juncture in her life where the next steps she made would determine her path for the rest of her life. Charlotte needed to take some risks, step outside of her comfort zone and to seize the day but by doing this was she opening a can of worms best kept in secret on the island or was now the time for numerous shocks and surprises to be revealed? As Charlotte gets to know the intricacies and quirks of Edith and Charlotte's lives she begins to question why did they return to the house after the war and never leave? There had to have been a reason for spending forty years in a house that is falling down around them with the surrounding grounds threatening to take over the house with each passing year.

Slowly bit by bit Georgina reveals her story and what an incredible one it was. All I will say is the sisters were taken prisoner during the war and their lives could never possibly have been the same again. This part of the book was so strong and had me rapidly turning the pages as I was as eager as Charlotte to find out everything and to see why the summons to the island had appeared after so many years of radio silence. Such research was undertaken by the author and not one detail spared which made for at times a harrowing and heartbreaking read. So much cruelty, suffering and torture but I was glad Emma Fraser gave a voice to this aspect of the war because it is often forgotten in books with so much attention being focused on events in Europe. I was horrified at what I was reading and just when you think things can't get any worse they do and a more dangerous, evil path is ventured down. But Georgina needed to finally share her story to help make things more clear for both Charlotte and the reader. Towards the very end I did question one last surprise, it felt slightly throw in there in order to establish connections between one thing and another. I had all the story clearly established in my head and then timelines were altered. I still wonder whether it was necessary but it didn't detract from how brilliant this story was.

Greyfriars House is a tour de force of a read from Emma Fraser and I just cant think why she doesn't get more attention as an author and why I don't see much chat about her on social media etc. Hopefully this book will change all that and she will get the recognition I feel she deserves. Each character was so wonderfully crafted and every little element was vital to the overall coming together of the story. The setting and descriptions were excellent and despite the wide scope I think the author carried off everything to perfection. An important message that comes across is that of a fierce need to protect those we love and how despite arguments, frustrations, estrangements and hurt that we can come together and make sacrifices for those we love in their time of need. The power and bond of friends, family and siblings are ties that can never be broken no matter what the world throws at us. Emma Fraser took me on an exhilarating, emotional journey and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute I spent reading this fantastic, remarkable book. Long term fans will be thrilled with the calibre of this story and I hope Greyfriars House will attract many new readers to the authors work.

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