Sight Unseen

This new book by Carnoustie-based Sandra Ireland offers a fascinating insight into Scottish history with a focus on the practice of witch-hunting.

As an amateur historian with a deep interest in witchcraft and folklore, Sarah Sutherland undertakes the task of uncovering a local historical mystery involving a young woman named Alie Gowdie, the “Kilgour Witch”.

Sarah herself is struggling to cope with the demands of her day job as a supermarket manager, caring for her elderly father who has struggles of his own, and trying to keep tabs on her daughter who is travelling.

As a student Sarah had aspirations to become an archaeologist, but now finds herself alone in her mid 40s with no excitement on the horizon.

However, she finds an affinity with the “Kilgour Witch”, who actually lived in Sarah’s own cottage until her execution in 1648. Determined to find a new focus in her life, Sarah dedicates herself to finding out exactly what happened to Alie, and through her research uncovers hidden secrets that consequently lead to discoveries about sinister activity.

Initially I thought the focus of this book was going to be the supernatural, but the clever links that Sandra Ireland weaves between Sarah’s investigation of the past and her present ensured from beginning to end I could not put this book down; in fact, I was left wishing that it was longer.

The engaging narrative is split between the perspective of Sarah, and her elderly father John, which offers a deeper insight into Sarah as a character and permits the reader to gain a wider perspective of each scenario, which I felt added an interesting twist to this story.

This novel has two concurrent plots which are interwoven together, and prevent the story from becoming too focused on the historical events.

We see the multiple facets of Sarah’s personality and learn her own personal story, which only enhances the story. Sandra Ireland manages to approach difficult subjects such as dementia and relationships for women over a certain age, which she writes about with sensitivity and realism which gives the book a deeply human perspective.

Overall, this gripping tale has left me longing for a sequel, and equally keen to read more from this hugely talented author.

Review by Hollie Bruce.