Review by TeachinTeens -- House of Eire by June Gillam
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Review by TeachinTeens -- House of Eire by June Gillam
[Following is a volunteer review of "House of Eire" by June Gillam.]
Exploring Ireland with her close-knit family was Hillary’s dream. She hoped to uncover the mysteries of her Irish heritage, putting to rest her haunting fear that she would follow in the footsteps of her absent mother. Through the ghost stories and tales of woes, Hillary’s heart goes out to the people who suffered in silence so many years ago. Similarly, her friend Bridget works tirelessly to bring Irish history to the spot-light even if that means working against merciless developers set on building a theme park on Irish soil. The vacation gathers ghosts of its own though when Bridget is murdered, leaving all of her research and its danger to Hillary. Hillary must decide between bringing justice to Bridget and the other forgotten souls or protecting her family.
Though at first glance House of Eire reads like a mystery or thriller novel, it is truly a story of discovery and redemption. The danger of these undisclosed politics only arises at the end of the story while the majority of the story is spent developing the complex character of Hillary. She is a strong woman driven by love for her family, consistently fighting her broken trust in the mother who disappeared in her childhood. This level of complexity remains completely relatable without distracting from the overall plot, which is a challenge for most authors. Further, June Gillam layers the narrative with a beautiful metaphor of ghosts, ranging from Hillary’s career as a ghost-writer to literal ghosts believed to wander the Irish countryside.
The action of the story truly comes to a head as Hillary decides to remain in Ireland to solve the murder of her friend. However, the conclusion is confusing. Throughout, there is never any question as to who is ultimately behind the deaths though the character remains faceless. The character of Seamus reads as a completely sane man who got in over his head with the wrong type of people. However, to remove Hillary and her family from harm, he suddenly becomes an entirely different character, capable of murder in the name of preventing murder. The development, which I will not describe to avoid spoilers, comes out of nowhere and leads to revelations that are unnecessary to the storyline. Rather Gillam builds them into the story to offer unexpected twists since the mastermind himself can come as no surprise.
Before reading House of Eire, I read several reviews that indicated this would be a who-dun-it mystery. I looked forward to the action and the thrill. However, the mystery does not come into play until at least the last half of the novel. Those who enjoy nearly poetic writing with deeply flawed and thus relatable characters will indeed enjoy the story of Hillary’s journey through the history of Ireland. However, any reader truly searching for an enthralling mystery had best look elsewhere.
Read as a novel regarding the growth of one woman, House of Eire deserves 4 out of 4 stars. The editing is superb. However, Gillam elevates her simple plot of a woman grieving to the next level with her ability as a writer. Each sentence is emotional, relatable, and poetic. Even without the hints of mystery, Gillam maintains interest and momentum with Hillary’s thoughts, feelings, and interactions.
******
House of Eire
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Exploring Ireland with her close-knit family was Hillary’s dream. She hoped to uncover the mysteries of her Irish heritage, putting to rest her haunting fear that she would follow in the footsteps of her absent mother. Through the ghost stories and tales of woes, Hillary’s heart goes out to the people who suffered in silence so many years ago. Similarly, her friend Bridget works tirelessly to bring Irish history to the spot-light even if that means working against merciless developers set on building a theme park on Irish soil. The vacation gathers ghosts of its own though when Bridget is murdered, leaving all of her research and its danger to Hillary. Hillary must decide between bringing justice to Bridget and the other forgotten souls or protecting her family.
Though at first glance House of Eire reads like a mystery or thriller novel, it is truly a story of discovery and redemption. The danger of these undisclosed politics only arises at the end of the story while the majority of the story is spent developing the complex character of Hillary. She is a strong woman driven by love for her family, consistently fighting her broken trust in the mother who disappeared in her childhood. This level of complexity remains completely relatable without distracting from the overall plot, which is a challenge for most authors. Further, June Gillam layers the narrative with a beautiful metaphor of ghosts, ranging from Hillary’s career as a ghost-writer to literal ghosts believed to wander the Irish countryside.
The action of the story truly comes to a head as Hillary decides to remain in Ireland to solve the murder of her friend. However, the conclusion is confusing. Throughout, there is never any question as to who is ultimately behind the deaths though the character remains faceless. The character of Seamus reads as a completely sane man who got in over his head with the wrong type of people. However, to remove Hillary and her family from harm, he suddenly becomes an entirely different character, capable of murder in the name of preventing murder. The development, which I will not describe to avoid spoilers, comes out of nowhere and leads to revelations that are unnecessary to the storyline. Rather Gillam builds them into the story to offer unexpected twists since the mastermind himself can come as no surprise.
Before reading House of Eire, I read several reviews that indicated this would be a who-dun-it mystery. I looked forward to the action and the thrill. However, the mystery does not come into play until at least the last half of the novel. Those who enjoy nearly poetic writing with deeply flawed and thus relatable characters will indeed enjoy the story of Hillary’s journey through the history of Ireland. However, any reader truly searching for an enthralling mystery had best look elsewhere.
Read as a novel regarding the growth of one woman, House of Eire deserves 4 out of 4 stars. The editing is superb. However, Gillam elevates her simple plot of a woman grieving to the next level with her ability as a writer. Each sentence is emotional, relatable, and poetic. Even without the hints of mystery, Gillam maintains interest and momentum with Hillary’s thoughts, feelings, and interactions.
******
House of Eire
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Soul Seeker by Kaylin McFarren
