The Scarlet Dress: The brilliant new novel from the bestselling author of The House By The Sea

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As for Marnie, I don’t think I truly connected with her either. Her silence was not convincing, despite Douglas portraying that Marnie’s mutism is a result of the trauma of losing her mother and then Alice’s disappearance. I thought it became a convenient plot method to add tension to communications and show the difference between Marnie in the past and present.

This started off good but the pace was very slow. On top of it, the unsystematic format the author chose to reveal the past story didn’t sit well with me. Story was told from Will and Marine’s perspective in the present day and in between, they drift off to the events/days surrounding the night of Alice’s disappearance. I don’t mind if this reminiscing happens in a few chapters but this continued in every chapter until the last one. This jumping of story from present to past frustrated me. In fact, this part reminded me of The Ring movie (US version) that take place at fairground. I loved this movie too. It is a very effective way to show that what appears harmless and a fun, safe place for kids can also be a sinister environment. Will and Marnie’s lives were entirely shaped by what happened that summer, and now Alice has been found, they must struggle to pin down their memories, to escape the secrets of the past, the lies they told and the unbearable guilt they're both carrying. The Scarlet Dress reels you in, makes you believe one thing and then there's a twist you didn't expect. It is a "then and now" story but is not as clear-cut in that structure as any other novel that I have reviewed. It is this writing style that makes me love Louise Douglas' novels and I felt so immersed. The book gripped me and kept me gripped.To begin with, I enjoyed the author’s style of writing. The story starts slowly but gains momentum midway. I got invested in the plot once Will came into town and met Marnie. The author compellingly writes the story with multiple red herrings with numerous suspects. A word for the book’s setting too – the bleakness and seediness of a seaside town in February, past its prime, sad and neglected, in contrast to the holiday mecca it once was. It’s all part of what creates the book’s unique atmosphere – the mud flats, the shifting sands, the abandoned homes, the sad memories. I can sympathize with Marnie. Apart from her, I don’t connect or feel for any of the other characters. Will is possessed by jealousy, hard to believe he still holds a candle for Alice after all these years, appalled at the way he treats his girlfriends. He pushes them away when he wants but at the end goes to his girlfriend. I was outraged when she accepted him again.

The suspense part of the story worked well for me and I couldn't put down the book till I found out who was the murderer (I did have my suspicions and they proved to be right). The way the author told the story in the point of view of various characters whose lives intertwined with Alice helped to build the suspense well and made the story interesting to read as well.The narration is another aspect which I took some time to get used to. It seemed a bit abrupt initially, the way the narration skips between the points of view of various characters. Still, it doesn't take away anything from the story but rather adds to it's pace. Delivery is on a selected date, you can choose a delivery day of your choice, up to 10 days in advance (Excluding next day delivery. Postcode restrictions apply) In 1995, a young woman, Alice Lang, rents a caravan in a holiday park in Severn Sands, owned by the deVillars family. She befriends sad little Marnie Morahan, whose mother Denise has recently died. Marnie’s father is the caretaker John who gives casual work to young student Will Jones. Will has fallen madly in love with Alice while he and Marnie strike up a sibling-like friendship. The Scarlet Dress is the second novel by Louise Douglas that I have had the pleasure of reviewing after The House by The Sea. Although I have only reviewed two of her books so far, I love her gift for creating sinister surroundings from seemingly normal settings and the depth of character research which makes for a chilling rollercoaster ride. Everything changes when Alice goes missing, presumed drowned after her sequined scarlet dress is found washed up on the shore. It will be another 25 years before the truth of her death comes out when modern developers of the old holiday park dig up her bones.