Reviewed by Wendy Lipke
For her first novel Brooke Hardwick has produced a story based on her fascination with psychological killers. Her book, The Fog, like all previous novels and films of the same name is a story of hidden threats. The book cover sets the tone with a solitary building on the edge of a cliff with dark menacing clouds above. The title gives the appearance that it is disappearing into the fog. The feeling of dread is continued with a very brief Prologue describing someone being strangled.
The following pages are set out like a personal diary. Kate, a lone woman is waiting for a boat to carry her across the Irish Channel to an island where she has enrolled for a ten-day Therapeutic Retreat – guaranteed to heal trauma and cure writer’s block. This is her story.
When a boat eventually arrives, she crosses the rough sea to the island. On arrival the skipper, a Viking in a kilt, transports her away from the only signs of civilisation to the Manor up on the edge of the cliff. Her companion, she learns, is also the cook at the manor and seems to know a lot more about the participants at the retreat than would be expected of an employee. She realises that she is about to put herself into the hands of people she knows nothing about, in a very isolated location.
She discovers that she will be one of four clients at this retreat. All have their reasons for being there. For ten days the participants are subjected to the unusual therapies of their host during which many strange things occur creating danger, suspicion and fear. As they bond and take part in strange rituals, their emotions are heightened. Gradually, repressed memories begin to surface and tensions increase. With the wrong move, the situation could implode.
For Kate, who has lost her daughter and whose husband has left her, she needs to understand why. Through her flashbacks she begins to see past incidents in a new light. It is difficult for Kate, and also the reader, to determine who in the present situation can be trusted.
For a debut novel this story is well crafted, but the storyline is confronting. The writing is graphic. Relationships become quite volatile. There are many twists and turns that keep the reader guessing. The title is apt. True feelings and actions are shrouded. A sense of danger undermines individual confidence.
Brooke Hardwick trained as a teacher before becoming a novelist. Born in North Queensland she has travelled the world and is now based in the Netherlands. Her novel, The Fog, could be called a destination thriller or a gothic thriller as the island of Rathlin, off the coast of Ireland, is certainly isolated and at times completely cut off from the mainland by the fierce weather. The location with its brooding landscape and sheer cliffs provides the perfect setting for sinister actions.
This novel highlights manipulation and coercive behaviours so evident in today’s discourse. Brooke Harwick has created an awareness of these issues in her psychological thriller. The writing is believable, and the storyline is engrossing but worrying. However, Harwick does leave the reader with a lighter ending and some simple beliefs.
The Fog
(2024)
by Brooke Hardwick
Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9-781761-421358
$32.99; 368pp