Yeah, this one will take a couple more reads for me to digest fully.

Post-read first impression Ee-rie! This story is a cross between Patricia Highsmith's [b:The Price of Salt|52258|The Price of Salt|Patricia Highsmith|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388193744l/52258._SX50_.jpg|50983] (minus the traveling) and a evil kid movie. I can’t say which one because I don’t normally do evil kid movies.

With a book like Pennance, I sometimes question whether or not the plot is believable. Could this happen in real life? Sure, accidents happen, people die, fingers are pointed, and survivors sometimes blame themselves—hence the need for penance. In Lucy’s case, her penance comes in the form of self-isolation and forcing herself to live with her phobias and hang ups. Her guilt, if you want to call it that, is misdirected. Her feelings for Jake and the chilling scenes of the accident are coincidental? unrelated? I’m not sure what word(s) fits her scenario. Lucy is a settler by nature, so with her guilt, she lives in purgatory for over a year. During this time she has unpleasant conversations with Margaret (Jake’s mom), hates the constant pity she receives from the residents of Pennance, and suffers harassment from Tom Riley who is in his own state of suffering (with a helping hand from Margaret).

A year and a half later, in glides Karen Trevithik who, according to Lucy, is “confident, elegant,” and “comfortable with herself.” However, Karen, who is a mystery to Lucy and us as readers, is also living her own form of purgatory (failed marriage, the target of town gossip, etc.). Lucy bonds immediately with Karen’s three-year-old son, George, but not so much with Karen’s preteen daughter, Sophia. That little...girl. (Word meanings crop up here and there in Pennance; therefore, it’s interesting how Ms. Ashton contrasts the meaning of the name Sophia with Sophia the actual character.)

The chemistry between Lucy and Karen doesn’t leap off the pages, but it's there. The beginning of their relationship is reminiscent of the phrase “misery loves company.” In Lucy and Karen’s case, their miseries grow into an intimate bond made of hope, absolution, and possible happiness. There is also a sense of desperation for Lucy and Karen in that their relationship is seen as being dangerous and reckless based on the town’s perceived status quo.

On a side note, Ms. Ashton has a talent for creating and bending the setting to her will. I’m the first to admit I have little patience when it comes to reading the description of a place or scene and skip ahead to the dialogue and action. However, with Pennance, the setting is an integral part of the story, not a separate element. Yeah, there is some telling in the beginning, but phrases such as buildings looked like miserable animals, weak rays of sun, and large dark clouds, which are mentioned throughout the story enhance the drama/conflict and keeps me turning the pages.

Overall, great story. There’s romance, some angst, and a series of mysterious events that’ll have you asking/guessing who, what, when, where, why, and how. ( )

I really loved this book. The story was gothic and sweet and cruel all at the same time. Excellent character development. This is one of the rare books that haunt me. Highly recommended. I would give it 4.5 stars if there were such a choice. Just ordered her next book: After Mrs. Hamilton. ( )

I really loved this book. The story was gothic and sweet and cruel all at the same time. Excellent character development. This is one of the rare books that haunt me. Highly recommended. I would give it 4.5 stars if there were such a choice. Just ordered her next book: After Mrs. Hamilton. ( )

An atmospheric psychological thriller cum drama/romance. This is one of the most effective uses of first person POV in lesfic I've read. The author takes us into the mind of the lead character Lucy and experience first hand her feelings of alienation, dread and guilt as she attempts to recover from a tragic accident.

In the first couple of chapters, Lucy's ruminations may sound like that of someone with paranoid delusion, but as more details are revealed, we start to get why she acts and thinks that way. Things (and Lucy) start to perk up once a neighbor (Karen) arrives and Lucy begins interacting with someone who doesn't look at her like a pitiable creature. Their relationship is well-developed and paced and thru Karen, the real Lucy before the accident occurred slowly emerges again.

There is a sinister presence, however, and hairy things happen. I must say the author managed to lead me astray with her red herrings. So the final reveal caught me way off guard. And Lucy's choice, and later Karen's choice, were heart-rending!

This book reminded me of those M. Night Shymalan movies (the good ones, at least). With just words, the author manages to conjur up for me vivid images of the eerie houses, manor and village and its creepy inhabitants as seen through the eyes of Lucy. But unlike Mr. Shyamalan's works, this book actually has an engaging story to tell.

Reading both of the author's books back to back, I can't help but compare the two. Both involve mysteries, though Pennance is darker. In 'After Mrs Hamilton', there were a great many characters and the plot was fairly convoluted, but I had the 'big reveal' figured out half way into the book. The romances were lovely though. In Pennance, the plot is much simpler, but the mystery worked better. And because there were just two lead characters, the romance was also developed better.

There are some things that the were left unexplained such as Karen and Jake's relationship, Ben's seemingly sudden about-face (from his earlier anti-gay prejudice) which ultimately leads to our heroines' HEA, and an epilogue couldn't hurt either--I just can't imagine our ladies thriving in that soul-sucking place aptly named
Pennance ( )

As I have stated in my other reviews I will leave the discription of the story to those that can do it more justice than I can. I did however enjoy this story very much. It was different in the respect that there was no U-Haul on the second meeting. There was a little bit of a mystery but not very well disguised, in my opinion. I will be looking foward to Ms. Ashton's next novel. ( )