C. A. Mackenzie

Catherine A. MacKenzie's first novel is filled with the characters that make her short stories and poetry so piercing and involving. It's not a story for the weak of heart. There's abuse here - sexual and emotional - and the leftovers from same. There are damaged families, scary atmospheres, a feeling of creeping evil. Even the language is crisp and sharp.
The tangled mind of Miranda, the main character is up front throughout the book, a constant reminder of the damage that has been done to her. She is neither adult nor child, but a troubled in-betweener, unsure of where her head and heart should focus. At times, she's frustrating. At other times, the reader can't help but sympathize with the dark tangled forest of her thoughts. She's not likeable, but then, who would be, kidnapped and repeatedly raped, escaped and doubted, untrusting and not trusted. She IS compelling.
The plot has twists and turns and tosses the reader about like a branch in a strong wind. Sometimes it can be difficult to hold on. There are times I wished for strongly different character names so I could keep everyone's thoughts straight. The shifting between perspectives caused me some trouble in following the story, and sometimes words chosen were distracting from the text. That said, I kept finding myself picking the book up again and again.
There's a lot of grief in this book, between the lines and throughout the characters. This makes it a challenging read - but a worthwhile one.
This book perhaps needs a trigger warning - not so much because of the depiction of scenes of abuse, but of the accuracy of the portrayal of grief and post-trauma damage. Don't read it at night before bed. Or maybe, maybe, those wolves WILL come knocking...
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