In Darkness Shadows Breathe by Catherine Cavendish

Synopsis:

Carol and Nessa are strangers but not for much longer. In a luxury apartment and in the walls of a modern hospital, the evil that was done continues to thrive. They are in the hands of an entity that knows no boundaries and crosses dimensions – bending and twisting time itself – and where danger waits in every shadow. The battle is on for their bodies and souls and the line between reality and nightmare is hard to define.

Through it all, the words of Lydia Warren Carmody haunt them. But who was she? And why have Carol and Nessa been chosen?

The answer lies deep in the darkness…

Edition:

E-ARC via Net Galley

Other Books by Catherine Cavendish I’ve Reviewed:

Here

My Thoughts:

Cat Cavendish can write about some angry demonic energy like no one else. With In Darkness Shadows Breathe, said demonic energy takes the form of an entity the One and the Many. And this demonic so-and-so is really unhappy. It has decided to torment two separate women in a bid to drag their very souls into the darkness where it dwells.

One, Carol, is a woman house-sitting an apartment which is far outside her own means. She has no real friends and no family to speak of, and thus has nowhere to turn when the One and the Many begins to haunt the her.

The other is Nessa – a woman confined to a hospital bed while she recouperates from surgery stemming from treatment of cervical cancer. Unlike Carol, Nessa has a fairly robust support system. But that doesn’t save her from the terrible visions she initially attributes to a side-effect of her pain medication.

Both of these characters are near polar opposites, so the fact they are plagued by the same entity gives the reader the distinct feeling that in this world, no one is safe. In Darkness Shadows Breathe is almost an exercise in tension building. When no one and nowhere is safe, how do you defend yourself? Especially from an evil you can’t technically see or touch?

“Despite the horror around me, I felt strangely calm. Then I heard a scratching sound. Someone turning the key in the lock. The door creaked as it was pushed open.”

Cat has outdone herself with the atmosphere in this one. It is genuinely creepy, and extremely moody. To the very end I was still trying to fit all the pieces of the puzzle together – why these two women? What’s the deal with Agnes? What is the horrible secret?

This is a relatively complex narrative that I think Cat handles extremely well. At no point did I feel like I was struggling to keep up or keep track.

Rating:

This well crafted tale keeps its answers very close to the vest until the very end.

In Darkness Shadows Breathe
By Catherine Cavendish
Flame Tree Press
ISBN: 9781787585539
Published: January 19, 2021
Hardcover, paperback, e-book
256 Pages
Author's Website