Isobel’s life has just been turned upside down. Her parents are divorced, and her mom has just married a new man named Richard (aka Dick) whom she met on the Internet. Dick has a creepy gothic mansion on a tiny island, and Isobel’s mom is forcing them all to move there right before her senior year of high school. A cute new stepbrother, Nathaniel, is also part of the mix, but he’s made it clear that he and Isobel will not be friends. (Romance develops. Naturally.)
The moment Isobel steps into her new home, things start heading south for her. After being told she could have any room she likes in the huge place, she has the misfortune to choose Nathaniel’s dead sister’s room. Dick’s previous wife and their daughter both died in a boating accident under mysterious circumstances. Naturally, this being a ghost story, Isobel is haunted by this dead sister.
Of course, it may not be a haunting at all. Isobel’s father is schizophrenic and Isobel’s behavior becomes so erratic that her mother and Dick fear she may be mentally ill as well. (They handle it so poorly it’s borderline malicious.) Soon, Isobel starts to believe it may be true too.
I was pleasantly surprised by Unraveling Isobel. It’s not so much a ghost story as it is a thriller, and that’s part of the reason I enjoyed it so much. My interest in ghost stories has waned since I was a teen, but this one has a solid mystery that anchors it so it’s not just about the ghost (or the illness). I also thought Isobel’s potential schizophrenia was handled nicely by Cook. She doesn’t sensationalize it for the sake of the story, although the potential for it is blatantly there.
The biggest reason why I found the book so enjoyable, though, is Isobel’s voice. She’s understandably upset at being uprooted the summer before her senior year and moving to a completely new place with a man (Dick) she doesn’t like. But she’s not just bitter, she’s snarky-bitter. She’s got some great one-liners and a way of looking at her situation that made me chuckle. Her voice is somewhat similar to Clare’s in Clarity, although this book is much darker.
The subplot featuring the nasty queen bee of Isobel’s new high school fell a little flat for me. I expected it to tie in some way with the main mystery, but it never did. There’s nothing inherently wrong with a subplot that doesn’t relate to the main plot thread, but high school bitchiness doesn’t really do much for me, so it was certainly the part I enjoyed least.
Unraveling Isobel isn’t spectacular, but it’s definitely a worthwhile read if you’re into this type of story. The writing is tight, the voice is engaging, the plot moves quickly, and it’s a great way to spend a lazy evening. I’d be happy to read more like it.
Review copy provided by the publisher. Unraveling Isobel is available now.
I am pretty much on board with everything you said here, though I would have really liked more development of Dick and the house. I wanted a little more of the creep factor. I've read a lot of books in this style in the last year, but I didn't guess where it was going right away because, as you said, Isobel's potential schizophrenia was handled well.
I agree, too, that the social stuff felt a bit unnecessary. I think it was meant to give a feel that the island was small and the history went back, but it didn't QUITE work for me.
A fun read, for sure. I sat down and read it straight through, which says something.