In Victorian Scotland, Bessy flees from her past in Glasgow and takes a job as a housekeeper in a country manor house. As Arabella, her mistress, starts to behave strangely, and strange things happen, Bessy worries that she might be caught up in something sinister.

Bessy's course, crass, unintentionally funny, and always unreliable voice steal the show. The story is a nice Victorian thriller that will keep you guessing, and is a fair comment on the role(s) of women during that time, but Bessy is what makes this an exceptional read. ( )

This book was a little difficult to read at first because of the uneducated dialect of Bessy the narrator. However as the book progressed the flow felt more natural, and maybe it grew a little easier because the narrator had a little more education.

Bessy grew on me as the book progressed. At first some of her crude sayings kept me from liking her even as she interested me, which kept me reading.

The mistress Arabella also intrigued me. As I read I couldn't help thing of _A Room of One's Own_ by Virginia Woolf. Her narration of how she married Mr. Reid and returned to her father illustrated the difficulties that women had to face. Arabella continues to run through my mind several days after I have finished the book. Did the loneliness or the secret of Nora push her?

The ghost plot was well planned. Harris did excellent work with timing the information she gives to the reader. This twist could have felt trite and familiar but Harris did not let it. After the Reids take their trip, the story almost pulled me to the end.

I recommend this book if the reader will stick with it through the first fifty pages or so. ( )

The Observations is the story of Bessy Buckley, a young girl who is running from her horrible mother in Glasgow. Bessy's mother, having found a way to use the girl to provide an income, squanders the girl's money in drink and debauchery. When Bessy escapes from her mother, she begins a journey hoping to become a housemaid in a local mansion, but she is waylaid at a small estate where she is eventually employed by the lovely Arabella Reid. Working for Arabella is a strange undertaking for Bessy, for one minute Arabella is unusually loving and solicitous, and the next she is distant and penalizing. Although Bessy doesn't understand this behavior, she soon comes to regard Arabella, or "Missus," very highly and wishes only to please her and make her happy. One day, while snooping for clues about her Missus' odd behavior, Bessy finds a strange book locked in a desk drawer. She discovers that it is filled with descriptions of strange experiments that the woman is performing on the maids in her employ. Even more unsettling is the fact that Bessy herself and some rather unkind things about her are mentioned in the book. Hurt and angry at this unusual betrayal, Bessy decides to take revenge upon Arabella. Though Bessy does not intend it, things begin to get out of hand rather rapidly and soon Arabella is in serious danger. Though Bessy tries her best to repair the damage she has caused, Arabella continues a frightening downward spiral. Confused and scared, Bessy must use all her wits to save Arabella and herself from eventual destruction.

I found this book to be completely gripping. The plot was extremely well rendered and taut with psychological suspense and the author showed an amazing attention to detail. Causal references and plot points, when read carefully, began to shed a bright spotlight on situations in the house, and it was only at the conclusion of the book that I was able to examine the myriad of pieces and see the whole picture that had emerged.

There was also a good amount of satire and irony in this story, which I found delicious and perfectly at home within the context of the narrative. The perplexing behavior of Arabella seemed to push Bessy into heights of confusion and curiosity that were easy for me to share and understand, and as the clues to this mystery began to pile up, the darkness of the story intensified. There was no doubt that the author had an undeniable sense of atmosphere, and she painted her scenes with such a perfect mix of gloom, suspicion and dread, that it was easy to get caught up in from very early on.

The brilliant portrayal of the closeness and secretiveness of the Reid house was very symbolic of the relationship between the two women, and the scenery and the women worked and fed off each other in frightening and startling ways. Both the environment and the characters had a sense of coldness and remoteness about them, and I found the utter symmetry between the two to be a great touch.

I found Bessy to be a very intriguing character. At times she was totally repugnant and snide and at others very emotionally frail and accommodating, she was at once a walking contradiction. Hers was a very convincing voice that imbued the story with a good deal of credit and believability. It was interesting that as the book progressed, Bessy turned from confused and fawning servant into Arabella's merciless tormentor and finally, wracked with guilt, a most caring and attentive conspirator. Her shifts in these roles seemed very genuine and natural through the artistry of the narrative.

Though there were real villains in this book, they were not found where one expected, and were casually revealed, which I found to be a winning ploy. I spent most of the book wondering where the evil was to be discovered, only to realize that it had been somewhere unexpected all along. The point of this, I think, was to cloak both Arabella and Bessy in suspicion, to make them both seem villainous, when the truth was much more complex.

Unfortunately the book really fell apart at the ending. It was completely unexpected and seriously impacted my enjoyment of the story. The author opted for an undeserved happy ending which I felt was not remotely plausible. The conclusion of the book took something away from the story for me, and it almost made the entire journey seem unimportant. I found it to be such a shame not to be able to close this book with the satisfaction I had hoped for.

This was a riveting book in terms of character, plot and atmosphere that has not been widely publicized. Despite the contrived conclusion, I thought that there was a great dark energy about it and its twists and turns were exceptionally well delivered. If you are in the mood for a book that will sweep you away into its cluttered and close world and has a really unique ambiance, I would suggest this book to you. If you can deal with the substantially lumpy ending, I think it makes for an engulfing read. ( )

Rather strange tale of a young girl who unwittingly becomes a participant in a strange experiment of sorts. The first person narration was both interesting and irritating at times. Overall, an interesting if not fantastic read. ( )

Very intriguing book that kept my interest from beginning to end. The heroine, Bessy, is one of the more original heroines I've read in historical fiction in a while. She had some meat to her, some oomph, if you will. All the characters had their own original voice and were all interesting, even the smallest of characters.

Very good mystery that I didn't have worked out until sometime into the story. ( )