It is the 18th century and the Reverend Thomas Murray has been sent to the isolated and remote Scottish island of Eilean Eòin to ensure the islanders are practicing the correct religion, there to be met by a hostile population. Flora McKinnon is one of the islanders, an aging woman whose son has been lost while at sea trying to scrape a living with the other men. When an unknown young woman is washed up on the shore, the two form an uneasy alliance to protect her from accusations of witchcraft after crop failures, famine and disease begin to haunt the island. Their own secrets and pasts turn their protectiveness into an obsession that threatens them all.

It's a fascinating story, with the mystery of the girl’s identity not revealed until the end and always seen through the lense of the superstition of the islanders. But what really set it apart for me was the setting of the remote island and the haunting atmosphere the author manages to create for her entirely believable characters. The hardships and precariousness of life there are obviously meticulously researched and beautifully described, the harshness of the tight knit community making sense in the light of the lives they have. The tension builds throughout the novel and had me completely gripped from start to finish. It’s historical fiction in its best, most immersive form and I look forward to reading more by the author.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

This book gripped me right from the start. Samantha York has created a truly wonderful work of literature.

From the very beginning of the book the sense of isolation and the hardships of everyday life on a remote island are so sensationally described that as a reader, I felt that I was a background character of the book watching what was happening rather than reading it.

The disdain that Reverend Murray has for the islanders' paganistic beliefs and their point blank refusal to even entertain his Christian ethos is brilliantly written and a major part of the story.

The mystery of whom the young woman is and why the island is seemingly on the receiving end of a blight keeps you happily turning the pages. The book is fast paced and thankfully doesn't take that dip in the middle that so many books fall victim to. It does have strong undertows of grief, which as a parent are sometimes emotional to read, but it is very fitting to the time the book is set in.

I absolutely devoured The Foreshore as I will do with anything else that Samantha York writes. After reading her novel, I'd quite happily read anything that she writes, even her supermarket shopping list.

A very easy 5-star read.

this is such a haunting and compelling novel. you cant easily put it down as you feel the need to just sit and absorb it all and want to find out just whats happened or will happen next. its got an unease and darker shading threaded through it so your left yourself feeling a little uncertain without knowing quite why, and this is skill from an author.
you find yourself amongst a close, tight, almost claustrophobic for outsiders community. but its not through care or friendship and more out of " the way things are" kind of living. no questions, no outside the box, just do as you know and as you are told.
so when someone new comes into the mix its not the best, nor is the feelings when a lost woman is washed up on shore.
its all unsettling, its all bad omens, its all a foreshadowing. isn't it?
well read to find out and find yourself for the whole book in this little bubble of grey and jitteryness but in the best of book reading ways.

I love the setting of this haunting novel: a remote Scottish island. I should admit that I’m not a huge fan of historical fiction, but this novel, set in the 18th century is so compellingly written that it offers much to admire. York writes about the poverty and mistrust in this superstitious community into which the body of a young woman is found washed up on the shore. A brilliant premise that drives the narrative’s undercurrent of foreboding. Highly recommended, and huge thanks to Salt Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is not a book that can be consumed in passing. You will have to immerse yourself into this harsh, stark landscape of a remote Scottish western island in the 18thC.
Close-knit the community may be - a necessity rather than a cosy social group - but it is governed by superstition, xenophobia and distrust in anything out of the ordinary. Abject poverty and the death of loved ones are never too far away and even basic human needs usually have to be wrenched from a barren land.
Thrown into this volatile mix is the Reverend Murray, sent there to guide the spiritual life of the islanders.
When the elderly islander Flora MacKinnon finds a young woman close to death on the shore, the gaggle of islanders see this arrival as a bad omen, a “reckoning”.
Haunting and unsettling!

The feeling of claustrophobia clawed at my throat as I found myself on the tiny island of Eilean Eòin. And like the freezing fog on a winter's day, this story enshrouded me, burying itself deep into my heart and mind.

As I was reading, I could smell the sea, feel the salt on my skin, and hear the waves crashing into the shore.

Each chapter is narrated in turn by reverend Thomas Murray, newcomer to the island, and Flora McKinnon island native.

I adored Flora. She is flawed in so many ways, yet it is her flaws that make her so relatable, and have you rooting and caring for her. Flora is a mother, a grandmother, a loving wife but also a woman with a secret that haunts her.

Thomas Murray has a mission: to weed out religious dissent and purge the island in the name of progress. When a strange young woman is found washed up on the foreshore, Murray recruits Flora to help him find out the truth of who she is and where she came from.

Illness and famine start to blight the island and I found myself inside an islander's home; the heat of the flames in the hearth on my skin, and my eyes and throat burning with smoke, as I watched in horror as yet another life was cruelly extinguished.

I read nervously... hoping for certain outcomes, but terrified that tragedy would inevitably strike.

Samantha York has written a stunning novel. Immersive, beautifully written, with characters that will stay with you for a very, very long time.

What happens when an outsider meets a closed community.

In the 1700’s a priest is sent to a remote Scottish island and finds the locals are hostile to him. A young woman is then found on the beach and again the locals are hostile to her. I loved how this showed how groups behave to protect themselves but can also divide when times are challenging.

This looks at power through several lenses which change over the course of the book. How the men tried to solve problems in contrast to the women was very topical.

This was incredibly atmospheric and completely captured the feel of the island. I could smell the saltwater as I turned the pages.

I loved this, the island setting is so well evoked and I could almost feel the salt spray on my face as I read. Fantastic characters who were not at all times likeable but made them al the more real and engaging. Loved the reveals as the story unfolded and without spoilers, the ending felt right.

The description of the Scottish island where this novel is set reminds me very much of the numerous books, fact and fiction, that I have read about life on St Kilda, prior to being evacuated . It is very evident that the author has thoroughly researched life on the islands, with vivid descriptions of the bleak hard desolate life, farming the seabirds from the cliffs for their meat, feathers and oil and the superstitions and beliefs of the islanders. I found this historical fiction to be very well written and compelling. Yes, it’s a bleak story but the exploration of human nature amidst descriptions of island life and community has been done extremely well, and I wish the author every success on publication. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this review copy.

A rare gem! I found this novel incredibly human, with characters extremely vividly drawn. Their relationship to nature, the tremulous and traitorous sea, the elements connecting them to the natural and superstition world show an exceptional quality of the writing. I found extremely fascinating and angering the arrogance and self-importance of Thomas of the man of the clothes wanting to convert the inhabitants of the isle. With no practical knowledge of what their life is like, Thomas tried to force his religion onto the natives of the island, with no understanding of their culture and traditions. Can he reach his aim? Can he reach the people? Thomas has his own demons as well. Can he help himself? A beautiful, yet tragic portrait of human nature in a time when Enlightenment seemed to be the word....
Highly recommended!
I received a digital copy of this novel from NetGalley and I have voluntarily written an honest review.

3.5 ⭐

Unsettling and claustrophobic, the setting of this small isolated island sets the tone well.
Whilst the inhabitants believe in their old ways, the new Reverand does not.
Throw in the mystery of a girl seemingly found out of nowhere, and it's all very intriguing.
The story picks up surprisingly towards the end.
Really good story.