Isis, by Douglas Clegg
Douglas Clegg became one of my favorite authors after I read his first e-serial novel, Naomi, in 1999. Since then, I have read several of his books that centered on a haunted mansion called Harrow. Isis is a prequel to his earlier novels, told in the first person POV of Iris Villiers, a girl who grew up in an isolated mansion in Cornwall.
The first half of the book centered on the girl’s life, as she grew up with a cruel governess, an absent father, an emotionally distant mother, and a crazy grandfather. She takes solace in the company of her older brother, Harvey, who brightens her world with his lightheartedness. Clegg builds on his backstory of the occult by telling the legend of Isis and Osiris, a story of a sister so grief-stricken by the death of her brother that she summons him back from the dead.
I was starting to wonder if this story was going to go anywhere, when Iris catches Harvey’s twin brother with the governess and flies into a rage. The events that unfolded happened so fast that I barely had time to imagine the scene in my mind. One moment, Harvey is holding onto Iris’ legs while she is dangling from a window. The next moment, both are lying on the flagstone. Harvey is dead, and Iris barely survives the fall.
The rest of the story involves Iris’ grief and the chilling way in which she handles it. Clegg has a writing style that has always drawn me into his stories. Isis was no different. Highly recommended.
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