The Storyteller's Daughter by Victoria Scott
Genre: Historical fiction, Dual timeline
Read: 12th January 2025
Published: 15th January 2025
★★ 2 stars
DESCRIPTION:
A secret buried for decades… A story that will change everything.
1940: When twenty-one-year-old Nita Bineham is offered the chance of independence, away from the high walls of her family’s Surrey estate, she grasps it with both hands. But her new role at a local newspaper coincides with the emergence of a sinister rumour in their quiet village: that there is a traitor in their midst. Nita is determined to prove herself by uncovering the truth, but is she prepared for revelations that could change her life forever?
2008: Following the death of her great aunt, Beth flees London for the privacy of rural Surrey. Within the confines of her family’s dilapidated manor house, she hides from the dual wreckage of her career and her marriage. But when her aunt’s dying words lead her to a stack of old newspaper articles, Beth finds herself drawn into a decades old mystery: about a long-buried secret, and an enemy dangerously close to home.
MY THOUGHTS:
Will a long buried secret change her life...?
1940: Nestled in the Surrey countryside beyond a row of trees lining the drive lay Melham Manor. A vast estate spanning hundreds of acres and a sprawling manor house that has been home to the Binehams for over two hundred years. Twenty one year old Nita Bineham is resisting her mother's attempts to marry her off, grabbing the chance to work at a local newspaper The Bugle. Her mother naturally is horrified as "Bineham women do not work". Her father is just happy to have out from under his feet. Of course the journalists she is working with think of her as a glorified secretary, but for the first time in her life, Nita feels as if she is doing something worthwhile. And soon she is on the hunt for a Nazi spy as reports come in about some unrest in the village. But the deeper she digs, what will she uncover?
2008: With the news that her great aunt Nita is on her deathbed, Beth Bineham dashes to Surrey to visit before she passes away. Beth had always adored her aunt Nita until her parents stopped her visits as a child and she never visited again. Until now. She manages to see her aunt Nita one last time before she passes away. In the wake of Nita's death Beth navigates her own personal crisis, she escapes to Melham Manor away from the wreckage that is her life. Along with her dog Stanley (a Staffordshire bull terrier whom I was thrilled to see portrayed in the loyal loving way that staffies naturally are) and her two children, Raphie and Ella, Beth hides away in the Surrey countryside taking up a part time journalist job at the very paper her aunt Nita had once worked. Her aunt made mention of a box in the attic with many secrets so Beth made that her mission to unravel.
I was drawn to this story by the premise and the fact that it was dual timeline, a genre I love. However, I was sadly disappointed to find it riddled with wicca (which I don't mind mentioned but this book was steeped in it) that wasn't alluded to. I don't have anything against wiccans but I am not interested in books about it. And the title made no sense until the last 15% of the book. It really had so much potential but I found I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped and was disappointed as such.
I would like to thank #VictoriaScott, #Netgalley, #BoldwoodBooks and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #TheStoryellersDaughter in exchange for an honest review.
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