All the Murmuring Bones by A.G. Slatter is a historical fantasy that will appeal to those who love morally gray heroines, a gothic setting filled with derelict mansions and creepy creatures, and an abundance of scheming. It’s a slow build at the start, but totally worth the investment of your time to get the lay of the land and understand the family dynamics. From there on out, it’s a wild ride.
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All the Murmuring Bones by AG Slatter
🥭🥭🥭🥭.5
🌶️🌶️
(you can find my rating and spice system here)
POV & Tense: Single POV, First person, present tense.
Genre: Historical Fantasy, Gothic, Horror
Themes: Dark fairytales, witchcraft, mythology
Location: Fantasy world inspired by 19th-century Ireland
Synopsis:
Long ago, the O’Malleys made a deal with the Mer: in exchange for vast riches and safe passage for their vessels, one child of every generation would be cast into the sea.
Miren O’Malley, an only child raised by her grandparents, is the last of the O’Malleys. Unable to keep up with their end of the bargain, their estate is crumbling and their coffers are empty. Following her grandfather’s funeral, Miren believes that once her grandmother has passed, she will finally be free. But the wily matriarch has plans to restore the O’Malley name, and they hinge on Miren—her freedom is the currency.
This is a story of a young woman creating her own fate, finding her place in the world, and coming to terms with the past (all while being stalked by three creepy mermaids).
One for the house, one for the Church, and one for the sea…”
My Review:
All the Murmuring Bones is a fascinating and beautifully written book. The cadence takes a little getting used to as it’s inspired by 19th century Ireland, as do some names (I had to look them up: Aoife is pronounced “ee-fuh” and Óisín is pronounced either “uh-sheen” or “o-sheen”). It’s a bit of a slow start (the first 10% is essentially bringing the reader up to speed with the O’Malley family history and a tour of their estate), but once you get into it, you’ll be fully invested and won’t be able to put it down.
Miren O’Malley is a dutiful granddaughter in the beginning, but she soon turns out to be a deliciously morally grey character with a good heart. I love how resourceful she is, how she learned from her overbearing and conniving grandmother and puts those skills to good use.
There’s an old woman, though, with plans and plots of long gestation; and there’s the sea, which will have her due, come hell or high water; and there are secrets and lies which never stay buried forever.”
Some of my favourite things about All the Murmuring Bones:
~ Miren’s voice. First-person POV can make or break a book, and she has such a strong and distinct voice throughout the story.
~ A wide cast of interesting characters, both kind and villainous.
~ The dark fairytales woven throughout the narrative, from the O’Malley book of tales (complete with a Janus-faced two-tailed mermaid on the cover)
~ Horror and fantasy creatures: corpsewights, ghosts, kelpies, mermaids, a wolf shifter
~ the gothic elements, including two derelict mansions, and run-ins with ghosts
~ the whole storyline of the deal between the Mer and the O’Malley’s, which we’re fed bit by bit throughout the novel, never fully receiving the full picture until the gripping ending
Final Thoughts:
For the last 20% of the book, I held my e-reader with white knuckles! While I do wish there was a little more development between Miren and a certain male character, I recognize this is not a romance. All in all, I loved this book and would highly recommend it if you like dark and twisted stories with light horror elements.
All the Murmuring Bones by A.G. Slatter
More Favourite Quotes:
All the Murmuring Bones is a book filled with good lines. I can’t help but share a few more of my favourites:
The O’Malleys knew the locations of all the inconvenient bodies that had been buried—sometimes purely because they’d put those bodies there themselves.”
Just hang on to whatever’s solid, Óisín would say, but it took me a long time to realise he meant I had to rely on myself: that I was the only solid thing in that angry sea.”
I wonder if everyone looks innocent when they sleep, even though you know what they’ve done in their waking hours?”
Love is a barbed hook and family the line to which it is tied. It digs deep and sometimes trying to remove it entirely does more damage than simply leaving the obstruction beneath the skin for a scar to grow over.”
Author Stalking (but not in a creepy way):
Angela Slatter is an Australian author of Urban Fantasy and Historical Fantasy novels.
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~~If you like books about mermaids, check out my Mermay reclist~~
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