The Whistling – Rebecca Netley [SPOILERS]

Our Tenth #TsundokuSquad monthly book (October) was ‘The Whistling’ by Rebecca Netley. As usual we split the book into parts and discussed as a group on Saturday evenings.

Week 1

So this weeks part ended on SUCH a cliff hanger, I’m surprised we all managed to stop. We are loving it so far. Perfect read to kick off spooky season!

We are enjoying the setting, characters, mystery and ghostliness. It’s not too silly for us and (so far) it is incredibly realistic. Particularly enjoying Greer and the quirky character, there’s certainly more there…

It was horrible to hear of all the grief and heartbreak but loved it when Mary laughed! We are really hope Mary talks before the end of the book.

Feeling like being watched all the time- very creepy.

Many questions to be answered; Was her brother pushed? Will we find out? Is he really dead or locked in her room? Why did hettie leave so early? Is she really dead? Who is humming?

Our words for this week are below and our group ratings are an even split between 4/5 and 5/5.

Week 2

We are all still enjoying it, weird things are definitely happening and we’re not sure what’s going on!! Ended on another cliff hanger… Two shadows on the beach gave us goose bumps.

Stop so many questions; Who moved the shoes??! Did they see her? Was it real? Did Greer kill William? What’s with the pebbles? Did hettie really leave? Or was she got rid off?

The references to not believing in supernatural things, is making it more believable for us!

think the key to everything lies with Mary, she knows the secrets of the house and is too scared to say anything. I really hope she starts to talk by the end.

A few of us were sceptical about the witchcraft but remaining open minded for the next bit!

Our words for this week are below and our ratings are all at 4/5 stars.

Week 3

So this week still had many unanswered questions and a few of us are wearing thin with it now (but with a fair few still loving it!) We reckon Hettie was murdered but could Greer have been her love interest?? It’s all very suspicious.

The dolls were incredibly spooky and the inheritance letter as interesting.

The main question we have is If Mary is seeing ghosts, or if she is hallucinating? She’s obviously terrified by something… Once again I have so many questions and we honestly don’t know where this will lead

Bit if it are starting to get a little repetitive But it is still very atmospheric and creepy.

One of us wondered as there was a lot of chat about the asylum, I keep wondering if Elspeth is in an asylum & making the whole thing up & Violet is her with the scar after the fire. Too many dream stories. Time will tell…

Our words are as below and our ratings are split between 3.5 and 4/5, with more being at a 4.

Week 4

So this week was super creepy and eery. We can really sense her desperation. We cannot believe she’s still there and hasn’t just fled!

Personally I’m kinda losing interest, which is a shame – but most of the others are still very hooked and felt this week had more going on and that its building for a good finish. Greer is seriously messed up but now we know her history it’s understandable in some ways. Still not sure if she’s responsible for the murders or if that’s too obvious? We think (hope) the final part is going to be quite dramatic and I’m hoping it’ll end with Mary talking. We don’t think she’s evil, just seen too much death and scared.

Our words for this week are all 4’s except for me at a 3.

Week 5/Final Week

None of us saw Bridget as the cuplrit, until she started helping elspeth to leave. We felt that revelation was a little bit of a let down! We liked the drama with the boat journey and how greer stepped in to help them, the conversation between the two women was enlightening. We wish there was a bit more to Bridgets reasons for killing hettie than pure jealousy. Mary speaking was a real moment and we loved the relationship she shared with elspeth and how much she trusted her. It seemed to cement the relationship she had with Elspeth brilliantly.

As a group we have mixed feelings about the ending, didn’t hate it, didn’t love it but we were disappointed it had nothing to do with Miss Gillies.

Our overall group rating: 3.5/4

My individual rating: 3/5

You may love this book, you may hate this book – the only way to find out is to read it (if you want!).

…our November book is ‘The Maid’, we hope you check in to see what we think of it.