‘There is something malignant about the place. The blinds are up, its eyes are open, and I wonder if I have made a mistake in coming here’
– So Pretty
[ About So Pretty ]
Fear blisters through this town like a fever…
When Teddy Colne arrives in the small town of Rye, he believes he will be able to settle down and leave his past behind him. Little does he know that fear blisters through the streets like a fever. The locals tell him to stay away from an establishment known only as Berry & Vincent, that those who rub too closely to its proprietor risk a bad end.
Despite their warnings, Teddy is desperate to understand why Rye has come to fear this one man, and to see what really hides behind the doors of his shop.
Ada moved to Rye with her young son to escape a damaged childhood and years of never fitting in, but she’s lonely, and ostracised by the community. Ada is ripe for affection and friendship, and everyone knows it.
As old secrets bleed out into this town, so too will a mystery about a family who vanished fifty years earlier, and a community living on a knife edge.
Teddy looks for answers, thinking he is safe, but some truths are better left undisturbed, and his past will find him here, just as it has always found him before. And before long, it will find Ada too.
[ My Review ]
So Pretty by Ronnie Turner was published January 19th with Orenda Books and is described as ‘a chillingly hypnotic gothic thriller and a mesmerising study of identity and obsession.’
Set in the small town of Rye, So Pretty is the story of Teddy Colne and Ada Belling, both newcomers to the area. Ada moved there with her young son, Albie, with a fresh start in mind. There is no love lost between Ada and her mother and all her life she has felt dismissed and belittled by this woman. With the unexpected arrival of Albie, Ada knew she needed to get away and when a feasible opportunity arose in Rye, she jumped at it. But Ada has struggled to fit in with this closed community. She spends her days walking the town hoping to strike up a conversation, hoping to make friends but the people of Rye just are not that accepting of strangers.
In the centre of the town there is a curiosity shop, Berry & Vincent, that the locals tend to avoid. Their behaviour encourages Ada to check out the shop, and although creepy, she does make return visits to pick up the occasional trinket for Albie. The owner is a crinkled man in his seventies, Mr Vincent. He is an unnerving presence and the locals are aware of the rumours that circulate around him. There is a shadow of darkness around Berry & Vincent and its owner but yet no one really knows exactly what the deterrent is that keeps them away. Curios aplenty line the shelves with some very disturbing objects.
‘Shelves laden with curious curiosities. A tin brimming with bodies, fleas, small as crumbs of bread. A stuffed terrier with two noses. A human foetus lolling in a jar, half-formed eyes like five-pence coins. Rubbery bodies and leathery faces in jars, in buckets’
Teddy Colne is a man looking to disappear in the world. His father was a notoriously evil man, leaving Teddy forever trying to escape his reputation. Always on the move, Teddy arrives to Rye with the hope of another new beginning. After a few days settling in, he sees a poster in the window of Berry & Vincent looking for an assistant and hands in his CV. He is immediately hired by Mr. Vincent , a ‘wordless little fish of a man’, and, although Teddy is very aware of the disconcerting vibes he is picking up, he accepts the role.
Teddy is very hesitant and unnerved at the beginning, with the locals advising him to stay away but something keeps drawing him in. An unanticipated but welcomed friendship develops between himself and Ada, two lonely people in a new town and Teddy soon sees possibilities of a new beginning, a new life for himself.
As the days pass, Teddy and Ada become closer, with Albie delighted to have a new friend who gives him attention and treats but soon things take a very unsettling turn, one that Ada had never foreseen.
So Pretty develops slowly as secrets are gradually spilled and truths uncovered. Rye is a creepy town, with the fear among the locals palpable throughout. The writing is sparse adding to the overall unease of the story. Ronnie Turner is a writer in her early twenties establishing herself as an author, learning the trade and finding her style. There are certain sections in the book that didn’t work for me, parts I felt were missing something but what did work was the build up of tension with its dark and menacing atmosphere. Masterclass defines Gothic fiction as ‘originating in eighteenth-century Europe…explores paranormal and existential themes amid eerie backgrounds‘ and Ronnie Turner definitely captures these elements well.
A dark and uncomfortable story So Pretty is written by an author that is most certainly one to watch, one who is learning her trade, a possible Edgar Allan Poe for the future!!
[ Bio ]
Ronnie Turner grew up in Cornwall, the youngest in a large family. At an early age, she discovered a love of literature. She now works as a Senior Waterstones Bookseller and barista. Ronnie lives in the South West with her family and three dogs. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling and taking long walks on the coast.
Twitter ~ @Ronnie__Turner
