“Mosaic” by Caro Ramsay – Book Review

Megan Melvick is returning home to say goodbye to her dying sister. At only 28 years of age, her sister Melissa is dying of anorexia. She arrives just in time…

Next thing you know the family is planning Melissa’s funeral – five years almost to the day from the day Melissa was married… It was a magical wedding on the estate’s grounds. Patriarch Ivan Melvick gifted his daughter with a carousel. All was fantastic until an unthinkable tragedy marred the proceedings…

Melissa was always the beautiful sister, an actress, spoiled and headstrong. Megan on the other hand was always the little sister very much in Melissa’s shadow. It compounded matters that Megan was deaf… Then, three years ago, the girl’s mother, Beth Melvick left the estate – never to be heard from again. But surely, everyone thinks… Beth will return home again to attend her daughter Melissa’s funeral.

“It’s a very arrogant thing to think the deaf want to hear.”

The Melvick family are plagued with depression and ironically there is a hanging tree on the grounds – complete with rope. This was last used by Megan’s grandfather on Megan’s fourth birthday.

“The house had a habit of pulling back those that had been born there, driving them to insanity, or suicide by inherited melancholy.”

Now that Megan is back home, she is tortured by memories. It doesn’t help that her father now has a new woman on the scene.

Megan’s most traumatic memories are of her best friend, Carla, who was the daughter of the ‘help’. Not of Megan’s social class, yet the girls had much in common. Both always felt they were ‘outsiders’.

“This was a house of many beautiful views. Weird that none of them are happy.”

Megan has been diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder. That in tandem with her deafness has made her vulnerable.

Now… a policeman in investigating the disappearance of Beth Melvick, the girl’s mother.

There is always one pivotal feature of any book that most attracts certain readers. For me it was the setting of “Mosaic”. Set in Stirlingshire, Scotland on an island…. how much more atmospheric can you get?

Factor in a wealthy family in a centuries old manor house, lots of family tragedy, family secrets, and the ever present class divide and you’ve got yourself an enjoyable read.

Also, although Megan’s friend Carla died five years ago, part of the narrative was in her voice. Curious? You should be.

The author creates suspicion in the mind of the reader. Red herrings lead you astray. I really enjoyed the read – yet… something fell short. Perhaps the story wasn’t resolved quite to my liking? Yet, despite my personal feelings, I must recommend this novel. Others might find it very fulfilling. I did enjoy it enough to rank it four stars.

I received a complimentary digital copy of “Mosaic” from Severn House Publishers via NetGalley. This is no way influenced by rating or my enjoyment of the novel.

Caro Ramsay was born and educated in Glasgow. She was the youngest person ever to graduate from the British School of Osteopathy in London. She has been writing stories since she was five years old, developing a keen interest in crime fiction and a passion for the genre that lead her to write Absolution, her first novel.