The were moments of brilliance in the writing, but something was definitely missing, and I suspect that this was that I was never able to form a true connection to anyone in the story. The Glass Woman is a retelling of 'Bluebeard': this becomes clearer as the story goes on, though Lea strays from the template in pleasing ways. In terms of more contemporary fiction, it has the intrigue and emotional core of The Miniaturist combined with the setting and atmosphere of Burial Rites. It also reminded me a little of The Silent Companions – both feature a recently married woman travelling to her husband's home, only to find it filled with secrets and things that go bump in the night. I wasn't all that happy with the ending. I felt there were many unanswered questions and I'd have liked Jon to survive. One thing I felt from the beginning is that Jon did not kill Anna. I am glad I was right in that respect. I actually came to like him as a character.

MEMORABLE AND COMPELLING. A NOVEL ABOUT WHAT HAUNTS US - AND WHAT SHOULD' Sarah Moss, author of Ghost Wall Filled with Icelandic saga references and superstitions, this is a story that I found bewitching. The beginning was a bit difficult for me to adjust to with the use of old language, but I could not stop reading. This novel kept me engaged throughout. I was constantly trying to figure out how did Jon’s first wife die? How did he kill her, or did he have someone else do it? What are the mysterious noises in his croft? Will Rosa be safe, or will she run, or will the marriage grow into love? What about her and Pall? Is Petur to be trusted? A group of villagers gathered to watch and talk, but there was one man among them who remained silent; because he knew the who the person under under the ice had been and he knew how that person had come to be there …. My favorite parts of this book were the descriptions of the sea, the village and villagers and the incredible writing in general. But had this story taken place without all that incredible atmosphere I may not have finished it. I was into the atmosphere more then the story itself. Sometimes I wonder if God hears my grief. Prayers fall like pebbles from my lips, and still the Lord is silent. Even the creator cannot unmake the past."The storytelling kept me close to her, and while it moved slowly at times I realised that it had to, to catch the reality of Rósa’s situation.

I thought I might be a retelling of a traditional story, and I might have been in the beginning; but in time that story was subverted quite beautifully, and I found that the truth of this story and its characters were not at all as I had expected. Venture to the wild, beautiful and spellbinding Orkney islands in THE METAL HEART, the compelling new story of freedom and love from Caroline Lea. Some stories she will not tell. She will choose, day by day, which truths to reveal. And, gradually, the tales she tells will become truth. In this way, she will live with who she has become. She is a woman capable of violence. She is a woman who did what was necessary. She is a woman who has survived.

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The darkness is smothering, but I can hear the inhalations of the waves and smell the salt. The sea has been present all of my days, like lifeblood. (c) But such moments of savage contentment are as fleeting as the reflection of the swelling moon blinking upon the surface of the sea. Only ever minutes old, they dissolve with a passing cloud, or a gust of wind.