Darkened Wings Flutter: Lou Yardley
Reviewed By Steve Stred
Have you seen the cover of this book?
That is what immediately caught my attention over on Instragram. Lou and myself have followed each other on Instagram and Twitter for a bit now, and when I saw that cover, I was immediately drawn in. The synopsis snagged me and I made sure to grab a copy and bump it up my TBR.
What I liked: ‘Darkened Wings Flutter‘ is a unique mix of creature-feature with coming of age with mystery-thriller. We open up with our friendly neighbor, Chuck. Living in an apartment block next door to a family. The mother and father seem to have domestic issues. They have twins – Ryan and Imogen. Ryan he gets on with, but Immy creeps him out.
Once some odd events begin to happen, we get a pairing of Chuck and Beth, a school teacher.
From here, Yardley goes full dark. This book is brutal, devastating and unflinching. At times, you’ll have a firm grasp of what is about to happen, but even when it does, you’ll be fully repulsed in the best way possible.
I found Chuck to be a great character, Beth to be a worthy addition to how the narrative moved along and Ryan and Immy were really well done, especially when we get to the end.
What I didn’t like: For how essential they are to the story, the parents Kev and Shirley felt far too under-utilised for the first half of the book. As well, I often struggled to remember just how old Ryan and Immy were as their actions/language went from really young to early adult. It wasn’t too offputting, but for the sake of them needing to be “young and innocent” sometimes it would catch me off guard.
Why you should buy this: Did I mention at all just how dark and brutal this thing is? How about this; you go to see a band perform. You’ve heard intriguing things about their live show. The lights drop, the smoke machine starts, and when they take the stage – total chaos erupts and you’re mesmerized. That is exactly what you’ll get with ‘Darkened Wings Flutter.’ Can’t wait to dive into more of Lou’s work!
Darkened Wings Flutter
“The end is nigh when darkened wings flutter…”
The small town of Crow’s Foot Hollow is thrown into turmoil when a local boy called Dwayne goes missing. For teacher Beth Harwood, it soon becomes clear that the nearby forest is connected to his disappearance. Clouded in mystery, scary stories and haunting nursery rhymes, that forest seems like just the kind of place to swallow a young boy whole.
But the forest isn’t the only thing you have to worry about in Crow’s Foot Hollow. Sometimes the dangers are much closer to home. Chuck Graves lives next door to a family with their share of problems – a couple that always argues, a little girl called Imogen who creeps the hell out of everyone – but they appear to be held together by little Ryan who keeps on smiling regardless of what’s going on. Everything appears normal, but Chuck can’t help but wonder what’s going on behind closed doors.
Crawling with monsters big and small, “Darkened Wings Flutter” wants to get under your skin.
You can buy Darkened Wings Flutter from Amazon UK & Amazon US
Steve Stred
Steve Stred is the author of a number of novels, novellas and collections. He has appeared in anthologies with some of Horror’s heaviest hitters.
He lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with his wife, son and their dog OJ.
You can follow Steve on Twitter @stevestred
You can follow Steve on Instagram @stevestred
You can visit Steve’s Official website here
Of course I had to order this book! @kimnappi