The Wicked Deep: Review

For two centuries, the town of Sparrow has been home to a curse. On the first day of summer, a song in an unidentifiable language sounds from the water in the harbour and it does not stop until three long-dead witches have taken over the bodies of local girls. The witches have until the summer solstice to enact their revenge against the town by using their unknowing possessed hosts to lure boys into the water and drown them.

This book was incredible. The atmosphere of the town was wonderful; from the island and lighthouse shrouded in fog to the shipwrecks littering the harbour I was immediately hooked on the setting. The ghostly singing of the witches calling girls to the water in order to possess them seemed right at home amongst the picture of Sparrow the author had already established in the opening chapters. There were just enough flashbacks and information given about the origins of the Swan sisters to keep the story interesting and not so many that they detracted from the story of the main characters; Bo and Penny.

Penny was such an interesting character and was incredibly likeable. When she meets Bo she doesn't want anything to do with him but she caves when she realises that there is no one else to protect him from the curse if she doesn't. It is admirable that she takes on another charge in light of the fact that her father has disappeared and she, an 18 year old, has become responsible for the entire island and lighthouse that is her home. Her mother is fragile emotionally and Penny feels a great sense of responsibility to stay in the cursed town to look after her instead of going away to college and escaping like many of her peers.

I did guess the plot twist but I wasn't entirely sure until it was revealed and I still think it was a great twist. My favourite thing about it is that it is foreshadowed to a certain degree earlier in the book and the fact that we as readers don't notice acts as proof that Penny is right.

The writing in this book was lovely, the pacing was great and it is a true testament to how intriguing the plot was that I couldn't put it down until I had finished it and found out what had happened. All the questions I had were answered and both mysteries that ran through it were satisfactorily addressed. I really can't think of anything negative to say about this book at all except maybe that the ending could have been a little happier. I'm a real sucker for happy endings and whilst the ending wasn't too devastating I would have liked a little more closure.

Other than that, I will say that I agree that the book isn't as dark as it maybe could have been but that's one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much. If you're a fan of Practical Magic then I think you'll absolutely adore this book.