Awakening by Sharon Bolton

Awakening

Sharon Bolton

Veterinary surgeon Clara Benning is young and intelligent, but practically a recluse. Disfigured by a childhood accident, she lives alone and shies away from human contact whenever possible. But when a man dies following a supposed snake bite, the victim’s post mortem shows a higher concentration of venom than could ever be found in a single snake.

Assisted by her softly spoken neighbour, and an eccentric reptile expert, Clara unravels sinister links to a barbaric ancient ritual, an abandoned house and a fifty-year-old tragedy that left the survivors fiercely secretive. Then the village’s inventive attacker strikes again, and Clara’s own solitary existence is brutally invaded.

review

Awakening is set in a remote English village with a heroine who is practically a recluse due to facial scarring from childhood. Self conscious, Clara avoids human contact where possible, devoting herself to her career as a wildlife vet, but when an influx of snakes appears in the village, Clara’s expertise draws her unwanted attention. Uncomfortable, Clara tries to retreat, but finds it harder as the the snakes put everyone in danger and Clara is determined to get to the bottom of it. Clara also finds herself receiving attention from two very different men, Sean North, an eccentric wildlife expert, and Matthew Hoare, a police detective.

As if this wasn’t enough for Clara to deal with, her alcoholic mother dies, forcing her to come to terms with events from the past which led to her disfigurement. Bolton deals with Clara’s emotions sensitively as she tries to push aside her grief, deal with her new unwanted attention, while uncovering a near fifty year tragedy. It’s a lot for one person to endure but Clara isn’t as alone as she seems to think. Out of the two men vying for her attentions, I really like Matt who refused to let Clara retreat into her shell while being respectful for her needs. However, this book is not a romance, mainly because Clara isn’t ready to take that step yet and I’m glad it was not pursued as it would’ve seemed false to the character.

The mystery behind the snakes is well plotted and Bolton keeps you guessing almost to the very end, some twists were easy to work out while others were kept well hidden. The chapters dealing with the snakes are absolutely chilling and on more than occasion, I found myself looking at dark corners in my house with some trepidation even though the chances of finding something were remote. The setting in the rural village lends itself to maintaining the creepy atmosphere with endless tunnels and scary old houses all adding to the sense of paranoia.