The Story Keeper: A twisty, atmospheric story of folk tales, family secrets and disappearances (Paperback)

Our summary description

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In 1857, Audrey Hart arrives on the Isle of Skye to gather the folk and fairy tales carried by its people. The work feels urgent. The Highland Clearances have hollowed out communities, leaving poverty, suspicion, and grief in their wake. Stories here are not entertainment but a way of holding on to what has been taken.

When the body of a young girl is found on the shore, Audrey’s task shifts. Another child has vanished only weeks before, and the crofters speak of restless spirits that return as birds, claiming the living in times of upheaval. Fear spreads quickly in a place already fractured by loss.

Story Keeper moves between folklore and lived experience, attentive to how belief takes root when official explanations fail. Set against the stark beauty of Isle of Skye, the novel explores who is listened to, who is dismissed, and how stories can both protect and endanger. As Audrey listens more closely, she begins to understand that recording the past may come at a personal cost, and that some truths resist being safely preserved.