It's 1860 and Elspeth Swansome is alone in the world. Trying to escape painful memories and the ghost of her life in Edinburgh, Elspeth accepts the position of nanny to a family on the remote island of Skelthsea.

When she gets there, though, she discovers that her new charge, Mary, hasn't spoken since the death of her twin, William. A death no one wants to talk about. Soon, strange things start occurring in the house and an eerie whistling can be heard at night... and Elspeth will be left wondering whose secrets haunt the halls, those of ghosts or of the living?

The Whistling is a novel in the best gothic tradition, that kept me glued to the pages and gave me quite a few chills. It's an absolutely perfect read for a dark winter night (or afternoon, if you're like me and need to read spooky stories in the light). The author did a great job in creating a haunting atmosphere with a strong sense of foreboding, while at the same time letting the story eerily play out in the space somewhere between dreams and reality.

I absolutely adored the setting in this. The island and the house were both drawn so well I could almost see them and feel the cold, the fog, the sea... and the whistling. This book is beautifully atmospheric and reminiscent of classic gothic novels in its style and setting.

The characters were also compelling, with Elspeth and Mary certainly being the best ones in terms of characterisation. The bond that develops between the two of them is so tender and adorable that I couldn't help getting attached to them too! The rest of the cast is quite varied, and I enjoyed seeing snippets of island life through them, and the colourful characters that live there. I did occasionally find Elspeth to be a tad too naive, but I suppose that added to her charm somewhat and didn't end up annoying me too much.

Even though I thoroughly enjoyed this, it came just short of blowing me away. Mostly, I think, this was because I had a strong sense of having seen all this before. There are hardly any original elements here, and the story follows pretty closely the template of other ghost/gothic island stories. The author does a fantastic job with it, but it just needed a little bit more for it to go from a really good read to a great one for me. This possibly won't be a big issue for anyone just looking for an entertaining haunting read, but genre aficionados might not appreciate it as much.


I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way. ( )

Overall, this is a highly effective and eerie ghost story, wonderfully atmospheric and relatively difficult to predict. While the premise is not wildly original, the execution is excellent. I very much recommend this to any fan of the classic ghost story and/or Gothic fiction in general. ( )

I adore Gothic fiction and I'm always on the lookout for new tales. I found a fantastic read in Rebecca Netley's debut novel - The Whistling.

Isn't that cover delicious?! Ominously promising...

All the right bits for Gothic fiction are present...a young woman running from her own heartbreak in the big city takes a position as a nanny in a crumbling manor house on a remote island in 1860's Scotland. What else is needed? Unfriendly staff, a secretive owner of the home, a previous nanny who left with no notice, rumors, odd villagers who warn of.....

I'm going to leave it there and let you discover what has happened and is happening through the eyes of Elspeth, our protagonist. Is that truly someone at the attic window? And ears as well.....what is that singing late at night and what is the whistle for?

Netley has created a wonderfully atmospheric setting. She masterfully builds the tension of her story with every page turned. Seemingly innocent items, such as a doll and how a pair of shoes are set by the fire take on an insidious tone. This is much more frightening than an overt event.

The Whistling is a mystery on many levels and a tale that perhaps is home to one or two ghosts. Or is it?

A brilliant book and an easy five stars. ( )

Rebecca Netley’s debut novel The Whistling is an eerie ghost story set in Scotland in 1860. After her beloved sister Clara dies in a tragic accident leaving her with no familial ties, narrator Elspeth Swansome leaves Edinburgh to take up a post of a nanny at Skelthsea, a fictional island off the North coast of Scotland. Like Elspeth, her charge Mary has seen her fair share of tragedies, first losing her parents and then her twin brother William. Mary now lives with her aunt, Miss Gillies, at Iskar, a decaying mansion on the island. Elspeth’s main challenge is to get Mary to speak, since the girl has not uttered a word since William’s death. But things are more complicated than they first appear. Neither the members of the household nor the villagers are keen to speak about what happened to William. To make matters worse, something is definitely “off” at Iskar, and Elspeth is haunted by strange whistling and humming at night and other ghostly manifestations. The nanny might well be the victim of an overactive imagination fuelled by grief, except that she also starts coming across strange-looking dolls and charms suggesting dark magical practices. As winter approaches and travelling to the mainland becomes increasingly difficult, Elspeth’s oppressive sense of foreboding intensifies, and it soon becomes clear that action needs to be taken if further tragedies are to be averted.

Reading The Whistling feels like snuggling into a favourite old jumper. The “haunted nanny” is such a well-worn trope it could be considered a sub-genre, and the novel delights in reproposing the familiar elements of the classic ghost story: nightly escapades, spectral visitations, abandoned rooms, Gothic-infused landscapes of cliffs, beach and storm-roiled seas… You name it, and it’s probably there. Even the evocative chiaroscuro book cover fits into this “traditional” aesthetic. But Netley, who won the Exeter Prize with The Whistling, certainly knows how to repackage these ingredients into an enjoyable novel, strong on atmosphere and plot-twists. This is definitely a book to savour during the haunted seasons of Halloween or Christmas!

https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-whistling-by-rebecca-netley.html ( )

‘’As I neared Iskar, my eyes drifted to Hettie’s window, and something against the pane stopped me in my tracks. I pinned my attention to it and was assailed with a spike of disquiet. As I tried to mould what I had witnessed into cloud, whatever it was moved closer to the glass and revealed itself. There in Hettie’s window was Mary herself, her expression solemn as she gazed back down upon me. My heart stilled in relief. Then, as my vision adjusted, another shape appeared behind her, before the light failed and cast the image into darkness.’’

Elspeth leaves Edinburgh and a bitter loss behind for Skelthsea and Iskar, a mysterious house that provides shelter (or does it…) to a young girl whose life has been marred by tragedy. Being a nanny gifted with a special instinct and a deep love for children, she begins to uncover the secrets echoing in the wind, the obsession and despair. A soft lullaby is heard every night, a whistling faint, yet unmistakable, echoes through the old walls, and nightmares haunt Elspeth’s mind.

And this is one of the finest novels you’ll ever read.

‘’The world gives birth to both the viper and the lamb, and there are churches for each.’’

Set in a truly ‘’wuthering’’ corner of Scotland where the wind and the wrath of the sea unite with the echoes and woes of the past, Rebecca Netley’s story will haunt you (in the most exciting manner) long after you turn the last page. Paragraph after paragraph, chapter after chapter, the beauty of her writing, the aura of the setting, the lively characters compose a literary journey that is darkly enticing. The reader is immediately transported to Skelthsea and Iskar. You will feel the salty wind on your face, you will gaze upon the steep rocks under the moonlight, you will listen to frail steps and the murmuring of a haunting lullaby, you will wander in abandoned rooms, trying to distinguish the shapes in the windows, you will lose yourselves in a maze of vices, lies and pain. And you will turn to look behind your shoulder more than once.

‘’I had been dreaming, running through the streets of Edinburgh, my dress aflame, and yet the fire did not warm me and then I was on the ridge, with Skelthsea below, a ruin of ashes. Only the headstones in the graveyard jutted from the scorched earth. A crow, huddled on Hettie’s plot, regarded me with a preternatural gaze and opened its beak.
It was not song that fell from its throat but a whistle that soured and sickened on the air and wound like a shadow over the island.’’

With traces of witchcraft, paganism, and spectres, and guided by an earthly, complex, fascinating heroine, The Whistling reads as the beautiful, proud child of The Turn of the Screw although it doesn’t need the comparisons blurb writers adore to make. It shines on its own and it is bound to become a classic of the genre.

‘’As bedtime drew ever nearer, the night came turning its key upon my fear and all I could hear was the wind on the ridge and how it howled across the graves, graves that had not closed the eyes of those that lay there.’’

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/ ( )