by Ronnie Turner
SYNOPSIS
Evil runs through this cursed island
And these wicked sisters are about to make it burn...
When sisters Lily and Della Pedley are persecuted for the shocking murder of their parents, they flee from their home in Cornwall to a remote and unnamed island in Scotland – an island known for its strange happenings, but far away from the whispers and prying eyes of strangers.
Lily is terrified of what her sister will might do next, and she soon realises that they have arrived at a place where nothing is as it seems. A bitterness runs through the land like poison, and the stories told by the islanders seem to be far more than folklore.
Della settles in too easily, the island folk drawn to her strangeness, but Lily is plagued by odd and unsettling dreams, and as an annual festival draws nigh, she discovers that she has far more to fear than she could ever have imagined. Or does she…?
Chilling, atmospheric and utterly hypnotic, Small Fires is a contemporary gothic novel that examines possession, generational trauma, female rage, and the perilous bonds of family – an unsettling reminder that the stories we tell can be deadly…
Midsommar meets Midnight Mass in a folk horror, modern gothic masterpiece.
REVIEW
Sisters Della and Lily were accused of murdering their parents and to escape all of the prying and morbid fascination, they head to the most remote and unlikely place - an island known as The God-Forgotten. Not even the locals from the mainland dare to cross the water to this place, they have grown up hearing the horrific stories about the things that happen on the island and have been traumatised by them since they were young. But, what the people from The God-Forgotten don't know, is that they are the ones who should be scared...
I have never been completely stumped when trying to write a review before, but Small Fires was such a fascinating and unusual story of witchcraft, rituals, the power of persuasion, trauma and the evil within people that I honestly don't know where to start!
It's very hard to describe exactly what this book is about and give the full picture, but the opening scenes where the sisters arrive and meet the locals in the pub were, in my opinion, very reminiscent of An American Werewolf in London. That sense of alienation and outsiders entering into something they don’t quite understand was the kind of atmosphere I felt the entire way through this story.
What I do know for sure is that this book is exquisitely written. So much thought has gone into every single sentence and it’s just so surprising as you read. Normal, everyday things and occurrences are described in a way that I would never have thought of to describe them.
I'm not normally the type of reader who annotates or highlights books but this was an exception. You can literally open this book to any page and find a complete gem - "They look on their children differently once they have looked on us. We change their eyes, we condemn them to wonder."
"I draw back my hand and see a smudge of black on my finger. The body in the drawing is stretched now, ruined. I have hurt their Devil. And now I have him on my finger."
"The blood has spread out from her – a red shadow. Only, when she moves it remains where it is, a tattoo on the earth."
The folk tales told within the story are so powerful - in particular the story about the boy eating his books! They really give a sense of history and beating heart to the terrifying island. As a Welsh speaker I could pick out some similar words in Cornish and that again added to the reality and sense of place, it really made it come alive for the reader.
The story wasn't all about the creepiness though - I just loved the podcast chapters. They broke up the heaviness of the story and gave some much needed lighter relief!
If you are looking for something different to read in 2025 then this is the book! Small Fires is a haunting and atmospheric novel, full of gothic horror and pure rage - it was wild, and I loved every second of it!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ronnie Turner grew up in Cornwall, the youngest in a large family. At an early age, she discovered a love of literature. She now works as a Senior Waterstones Bookseller and barista. Ronnie lives in the South West with her family and three dogs. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling and taking long walks on the coast.
Thanks to Ronnie Turner - @Ronnie_Turner, and Orenda Books - @OrendaBooks for the opportunity to read and review
Fiction: Gothic Fiction / Folk Horror
Publisher: Orenda Books
ISBN: 978-1916788473
Pages: 300pp
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