Review: The Island at the Edge of Night by Lucy Strange

The Island at the Edge of Night is a dark, suspenseful, gothic mystery that completely captured me as I was swept into an absorbing adventure on a remote Scottish island where danger lies and secrets unfold.

Something happens to 12-year-old Faye Fitzgerald one fateful, stormy night, a night in which she creeps towards an ancient yew tree guarding a graveyard, a night in which she hears a scream … but Faye’s memories of that night are buried deep within her. 

The events of that night are the reason that Faye finds herself on a ferry boat to a newly opened boarding school on a bleak, isolated Scottish island, a place where wicked children are sent to be reformed.  What wickedness could Faye have perpetrated to lead to her being sent away from her family? 

The school on Auk Island is run by Dr Lighter and his wife, Nurse Violet, who run it more like a prison, keeping the children locked in their rooms at night for their own safety and ensuring that they work hard for their board.

The island is a desolate place, with no trees, so Faye feels she must be mistaken when she hears an owl.  Having been surrounded by nature when she lived in the Forest House with her botanist father, Faye yearns to have the freedom to roam the island and feels drawn to its towering mountain, the Knife.  Instead, she is kept indoors, locked in her room and is supervised on outings to exercise. 

Until one night Faye finds her room has been left open by someone who needs her help, someone who the children have been told has died on the island … and he has access to secret passages and keys to locked doors.

And so begins the most gripping mystery as Faye finds herself embroiled in uncovering family secrets, in discovering a seam of dark treachery within the school and in keeping the children on the island safe.  This is an incredibly atmospheric, intricate read where there is a genuine sense of endangerment and threat that kept me on a knife-edge as I learned truths alongside Faye and was left stunned by the unexpected twists and turns.

Faye is an incredibly sympathetic young girl who had been brought up by a loving father until his experiences in the First World War and his own disappointments lead to him turning away from his home to move in with, and rely, on his sister.  Faye feels a visceral affinity to nature and is determined to connect with the natural environment, and the freedom and release it brings her, when she is taken to Auk Island.  I loved the otherworldliness of this deep connection which felt raw, wild and life-affirming for Faye.  I really admired Faye’s fearlessness, resilience and determination in fighting to help others on the island, in uncovering the island’s sinister secrets whilst, at the same time, trying to find the courage to face the secrets she keeps deep within herself.

A masterfully written, breath-taking and gripping mystery rooted in family, friendship and the healing power of nature that richly deserves to become a classic of gothic literature.   

Thank you to Lorraine Keating and Chicken House books for a copy in exchange for my honest opinion.