Review: All the Murmuring Bones by Angela Slatter

When I learned that multi-award-winning author, Angela Slatter, had penned a mermaid fantasy novel, I knew it would be a gripping read. Even with its cover and title, All the Murmuring Bones evoked the gothic and spawned dark visions of an ocean underworld. I was also curious about the secret pact between the O'Malley family and the merfolk: safety for their merchant ships in return for a child of each generation. A plot that promised danger, magic, sacrifice and likely, evil deeds. All the Murmuring Bones delivered all this and more. I've not read a story that so artfully depicts sea-folk as ghoulish sinister forces. As it turned out, this young adult novel comes with more than one mystery to unearth and it's a well-paced fantasy adventure along the way to answers.

Miren, the descendant of a long line of O'Malleys whose fortune has fallen into ruin despite a prosperous past, was abandoned as a child by her mother and raised by her grandparents. Upon her grandfather's death, she inherits the decrepit castle at Hob's Hallow. We get a sense quite early that Miren is curious, feisty and thinks for herself. That latter trait will come in handy when her destitute grandmother has in mind that Miren will wed her wealthy cousin, Aidan Fitzpatrick. Grandmother thinks there's much profit to be made from this scheme. Not so innocent Miren watches herself get pampered and gifted with numerous frocks, along with a magical quilt that will have disastrous effects. This passage of the novel is effective at giving us Miren's point of view as a conflicted young woman who sees her world collapsing and is confronted with choices. I personally enjoyed all those dress descriptions even if they came with a dangerous deal. For Miren can't shake the fact that there's a strong sense of menace in marrying the devious Aidan Fitzpatrick. That, along with her burning desire to find her mysterious mother, Isolde, will see her flee from the family home and set off on an adventure.

Along the way, merfolk, witches, rusalki, corpsewights— this novel has its share of bone-chilling encounters. After all, this is a world where witches are not burnt and where the Queen of Thieves, a cunning business woman, rules them all. I thoroughly enjoyed the horror aspects of this novel. Earlier, the creepy scene at the port's Weeping Gate where Miren is attacked underwater by mermaids and learns that she is cursed with her family's debt, sets the pace for what is to come. Then as Miren journeys to find her mother, one memorable tense scene sees her strike a bargain with three revenants. The courageous Miren must solve their riddle or else suffer what may.

But horror has no need of fantasy to inject fear, and one of the darkest sections in this deliciously gothic story borrows from traditional themes— secret identity, crime, hidden rooms and family lies. Once Miren arrives in the mining village of Blackwater, there's more than one eerie passage, and Angela Slatter is adept at creating an atmosphere of the uncanny while building up the tension. Miren will discover the stunning truth about her mother but before that, she'll need to apply her clever wits to untangle the mysteries at Blackwater.

One of the strengths of this novel is Angela Slatter's masterfully crafted lyrical voice. It really is beautiful. Right from the first chapter, the spellbinding prose creates a sense of place that transports. Throughout the book, as Miren reflects on her family's secret history, the author artfully weaves in short fantasy fables where witches and merfolks come alive through her skilled narration. There's never a feeling, though, that the plot is scattered, and these short tales serve as hints to solving the main mystery.

The theme of family stood out for me. All the Murmuring Bones suggests that family is not always kind, and often family members cannot be trusted or at least they require us to keep a sceptical eye. It is a refreshing and daring message. It also carries lessons about how we choose to treat one another despite our past. While in the story, a supernatural curse is passed on within the family over many generations, in the real world, there are curses of another nature that families tend to pass to one another...betrayal, hurt, or even abandonment. With this in mind, I held on to Miren’s insight:

"Some folk make a point of not visiting pain on others when it's done to them; most people though, think it's their due to inflict a little of their own agony."

Miren does learn from this lesson in the way she comes to treat others. Meanwhile there's also plenty we can learn from her non-materialistic decisions at the end of the story.

I highly recommend All the Murmuring Bones for its deep levels and its gripping, entertaining story. I believe it is likely to please adults as well.

A huge thank you to Titan Books for sending me a review copy of this novel.