Pine by Francine Toon review – a chilling gothic thriller
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jan/23/pine-by-francine-toon-review
The empty house, the dark forest … an atmospheric ghost story set in the Scottish Highlands feels spookily familiar
In the dead of winter, along comes a literary gothic thriller to chill the marrow. Francine Toon, a poet and editor, has drawn on memories of growing up in the Scottish Highlands to create a twilit ghost story that inhabits the woods and fells like a secretive wild animal.
At the heart of the story is Lauren, aged 10 and a half, living with her father, Niall, in a tiny village near the Moray Firth. Her mother disappeared shortly after she was born, leaving Niall with a painful weight of betrayal that can only be eased with whisky. Lauren keeps catching sight of a gaunt, bruised woman wearing just a white dressing gown against the cold. Others see her too, but forget her the instant she’s gone, leaving Lauren isolated and scared. Toon builds on this setup slowly for about two thirds of the novel, then accelerates into thriller territory. It’s an abrupt shift of gear, but the work she has put into developing the characters ensures that we never lose interest.
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