Review: The Evening Spider by Emily Arsenault

Now: new mother Abby Bernacki is still settling into their new home. Barnett's house is a 19th century home, full creaks and moans, its very structure full of history.  She's grown used to the odd happenings around the home, but when she finds a strange bruise on her daughter's face, and swears she hears a voice over the baby monitor in the night, she begins to wonder if there are aspects of the past still within her home.

Then: In 1878, Frances Barnett, is also a new mother. Ordered to a month's "rest" in bed due to a "nervous condition," she becomes fascinated with the trial surrounding a gruesome murder.  The isolation she feels in her role as a mother takes a toll on her and, eventually, she is sent to Northampton Lunatic Hospital.  It is through her journal and letters to her brother that readers learn about the incidents that lead her to become a patient at this infamous medical institution.

Two women, separated by hundreds of years. Fate brings them together, their common role as mother forging a unique bond.

This is one of those books I was instantly captivated by, the premise drawing me in.  I’m all about old creaky houses that go bump in the night.  Even more so, I was drawn to the two characters, Abby and Frances.   Frances was always interested in the unique and macabre and I believe that had she been born a few centuries later, she might have had a better life.  Her husband insisted that new motherhood was taking a toll on her. Instead of getting her help to care for their child, she’s removed completely from her life, kept in a room devoid of any interaction other than a few visits by the family doctor. What she actually needed was more human interaction, support and love.

Abby’s in a similar situation, but what I found frustrating with her is that she had help, but didn’t really want to seek it. Could it be that she thought she’d be considered a bad mother if she had someone stay with her daughter while she rested? Instead. she continued with the stress of relatively new motherhood with the challenges of living in a home that was likely haunted. Abby, too, has an experience with a death in her past, yet I don’t feel as though that story-line was fully fleshed out. I felt as though we know more about Frances’ character, thanks to Abby’s research, than we do about Abby.

What I appreciated most was Arsenault’s exploration of postpartum depression and mental illness (genuine or not) and how that has (or has not!) improved over the years.  Though I would have liked a little more detail in some aspects (and a little less in others), overall, this was a very enjoyable (and slightly chilling) read! Recommended!

Thank you to TLC Book Tour for providing me the opportunity to take part in this tour!