Yesternight

Supernatural horror + timeless misogyny = a compelling creepshow.

(Full disclosure: I received a free electronic ARC for review through Edelweiss.)

Dreamt I to-day the dream of yesternight,
Sleep ever feigning one evolving theme,
— Of my two lives which should I call the dream?

—George Santayana, “Sonnet V,” 1896

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Alice Lind,
Alice Lind,
Took a stick and beat her friend.
Should she die?
Should she live?
How many beatings did she give?

###

If I hadn’t been a psychologist—if I didn’t find the idea of reincarnation so absurd—I would have wanted Violet Sunday to exist.

A female mathematical genius.

A Victorian female mathematical genius.

What an absolutely delicious idea.

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A school psychologist, Alice Lind spends her days show more traversing the western United States, administering psychological and intelligence tests to children and advising the Department of Education how it can better help students who are being under-served in their communities. While the work certainly goes to Alice's desire to help kids - especially troubled ones like her younger self - too often she feels trapped, suffocated, and bored.

After obtaining her Master's degree, Alice applied to multiple doctoral programs, with the hope of one day studying human memory - and its malleability and resilience, particularly where repressed memories are concerned. Despite her obvious skill and passion, Alice was rebuffed at every turn, only to watch her less qualified peers move on to bigger and better things. The year is 1925, you see, a time when higher education for women was considered a quirky anomaly at best - and a sinful rejection of one's "God given" role as a woman at worst.

Our first glimpse of Miss Lind comes as she steps off the train and into her latest two-week placement at Gordon Bay, Oregon - by the special request of the schoolteacher, Miss Simpkin. Among her pupils is a precocious seven-year-old named Janie O’Daire (to whom Miss Simpkin is also known as "Aunt Tillie"), an exceptionally bright student and apparent math prodigy, who seems to experience memories of another life. A past life.

Ever since Janie learned to speak at the age of two, she's shared memories of her life in Friendly, Kansas - even though she's never traveled further east than the Oregon Coast Range. Janie claims to have been a young woman named Violet Sunday who lived and died, tragically young, around the turn of the century. She tells of a younger sister named Eleanor - who would be in her 50s now - and a dog called Poppy. She has terrible nightmares of drowning, as the "man from the other house" looks on. She scribbles mathematical equations on her bedroom walls and is vexed by the number eight. Above all else, Janie is often overcome with a terrible homesickness for a place she's never been, and begs her parents Michael and Rebecca to take her back to Kansas.

The O’Daires, who are divorced, have drastically different ideas of how best to deal with Janie. Rebecca, fearing that Janie will be institutionalized like her mother, prefers to turn a blind eye to Janie's eccentricities, while Michael believes that the way forward lies in the past. To help Janie, Alice must contend with her warring parents, as well as her own scientific bias against parapsychology - not to mention, her struggle to be taken seriously in a man's world.

This is only my second Cat Winters book - the first being last year's The Uninvited - but I'm quickly becoming a fangirl. Some other reviewers noted that Yesternight is different from her previous novels, but I find it pretty similar in tone and style to The Uninvited. Winters primarily writes historical horror, and she's got a real knack for setting the tone, with a keen eye to period details. True, she is on the verbose side, and this can sometimes make the story drag; but overall it seems to work. Her writing as also atmospheric AF - perfectly suited to supernatural horror.

Every time you think you've nailed down the plot in Yesternight, Winters throws another wrench into Alice's story. It's twisty and turny and will keep you guessing to the very end. Speaking of which, that last chapter? Gave me chills. (I've never wanted to murder a child before, but. Baby Hitler excepted, natch.)

The story's structure left me with the distinct impression that Winters is toying with us. It's divided into four parts, each focused on a character: Janie, Violet, Nell, and John. Janie and Violet are kind of obvious, but Nell and John are guaranteed to be the subjects of much speculation as you plow your way through the book. It's a delicious kind of frustration, okay.

Alice and Janie/Violet are complicated and compelling characters; all share an irrepressible spirit that the world seems hell-bent on quashing. Michael and Rebecca are a little more enigmatic, and I have a real love/hate relationship with the twist that made me reconsider everything I thought I knew about their strained relationship. Did I mention that this book is rife with plot twists and sly little detours?

Winters strikes the perfect balance between realism and the supernatural. Yet, for me, this is less a story about reincarnation than the many ways men screw women: literally as well as figuratively; individually and through the social structures they create and maintain. We see it in Violet's parents barring her from higher education, even as they benefit financially from her mathematical prowess; in the way Alice was forced to "wed [herself] to a 'female-appropriate' stratum of a male career" (i.e., school vs. clinical psychology); in Dr. Osterman's refusal to fit unmarried women for diaphragms (and a general lack of access to contraception thanks in part to the Comstock Laws); in Bea's closeted relationship with Pearl; and in the many double standards regarding sex and pregnancy.

Honestly? I rooted for adult Alice when she flipped her shit. Those guys kind of had it coming. In a world that punishes women for enjoying sex - especially outside the bounds of marriage - and treats unwanted pregnancy as a righteous punishment for "loose" women, her reaction seems, well, reasonable. Measured. The least of what those dudebros deserved. (Especially since both incidents would be considered a form of sexual assault in certain countries circa 2016. See, e.g., Julian Assange.)

In many ways, A. M. Lind is an early, Prohibition-era prototype of another favorite anti-hero of mine: Alex Craft from Mindy McGinnis's The Female of the Species. (If you were firmly Team Alice, you need to read this book!)

Yesternight is a safe bet for fans of supernatural horror, psychological suspense, and feminist fiction. It does drag a little here and there, but it's still a page turner.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2016/10/14/yesternight-by-cat-winters/ show less

Cat Winters does an excellent job blending historical fiction with fantasy in her latest creepy thriller. Yesternight explores the possibility of reincarnation and the ramifications of such on family members as well as the person reincarnated while also showcasing the very real social limitations placed on women, their behaviors, and their options in the early 1930s. It is a hodgepodge that works well together, as both Alice as well as the focus of her research are on the fringes of societal acceptance.

Alice is a terrific heroine. Tough, gutsy, not afraid to flout convention, willing to go the extra mile for the students’ welfare, able to expand her acceptance of what is impossible versus possible – she exhibits a strong empathetic show more vein but also generates empathy within the readers. Women especially can understand the fine line between acting according to social norms while also breaking through a glass ceiling. Alice does so with delicacy and an understanding of the importance of reputation. At the same time, the students within her jurisdiction remain her top priority, and she does what it takes to maintain that.

The situation in which she finds herself is both spooky and intriguing. Ms. Winters presents Janie’s gifts in a manner that is both compelling and believable. This plausibility is particularly chilling as she explores her own personal demons. For underneath that tightly controlled exterior lies a woman troubled by a violent past. The question as to whether her penchant for violence is related to some childhood trauma or something more is a bonus side to the story

Yesternight does not seem like it is a scary novel, and yet the unexplained coincidences between Kansas and Janie and Nebraska and Alice are enough to cause readers to burrow under the safety of the covers just a tiny bit further than normal. However, it is the ending which leaves readers wanting to sleep with the lights on. There is more than a hint of the macabre in the conclusion, and the unanswered questions do nothing but serve as a jumping off point for an already stimulated imagination. In Yesternight, Ms. Winters creates the type of atmospheric Gothic novel which befits the time of year and sets minds racing about the possibilities of unknown phenomenon. In other words, it is an excellent choice for a spooky October novel. show less

Alice Lind,
Alice Lind,
Took a stick and beat her friend.
Should she die?
Should she live?
How many beatings did she give?

As expected Yesternight is another marvelous read from [a:Cat Winters|5351847|Cat Winters|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1402093683p2/5351847.jpg].
Having loved her first adult novel - and her YA's - I had high hopes for this and it did not disappoint.
The writing was phenomenal and the overall story was eerie and atmospheric. I had an incredibly hard time putting it down.

Alice Lind is a child psychologist who travels from town to town administering IQ tests. When she arrives in Gordon Bay, Oregon the last thing she expects is to encounter a child who forces her to question her beliefs about life and show more death.
Seven-year-old Janie O'Daire is a mathematical genius who claims to have been a woman named Violet Sunday in a past life. Alice struggles to accept the idea of reincarnation as doing so could jeopardize her career but it doesn't take long before she finds herself swept up in solving the mystery of Violet Sunday. Her entanglement with the O'Daires eventually leads to some unsettling suspicions about her own past and an old inn called Yesternight.

A twisty plot and chilling ending certainly make Yesternight one heck of a page-turner and a definite must read!

*ARC provided by HarperCollins/Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. show less

What's It About?
A young child psychologist steps off a train, her destination a foggy seaside town. There, she begins a journey causing her to question everything she believes about life, death, memories, and reincarnation.

In 1925, Alice Lind steps off a train in the rain-soaked coastal hamlet of Gordon Bay, Oregon. There, she expects to do nothing more difficult than administer IQ tests to a group of rural schoolchildren. A trained psychologist, Alice believes mysteries of the mind can be unlocked scientifically, but now her views are about to be challenged by one curious child.

Seven-year-old Janie O’Daire is a mathematical genius, which is surprising. But what is disturbing are the stories she tells: that her name was once Violet, show more she grew up in Kansas decades earlier, and she drowned at age nineteen. Alice delves into these stories, at first believing they’re no more than the product of the girl’s vast imagination. But, slowly, Alice comes to the realization that Janie might indeed be telling a strange truth.

Alice knows the investigation may endanger her already shaky professional reputation, and as a woman in a field dominated by men she has no room for mistakes. But she is unprepared for the ways it will illuminate terrifying mysteries within her own past, and in the process, irrevocably change her life.

What Did I Think?
It was a book that you just couldn't put down. Cat Winters weaves this story of a family with a seven year old daughter that is at times old beyond her years, and a school physiologist that struggles to believe that what she suspects isn't happening. Alice Lind tells herself that what she is doing is to help Janie O'Daire and her estranged mother and father but the deeper she digs the more her own troubled past seems to be catching up to her. You hoped that everything would turn out okay but you knew that at some point their world was going to collapse around their ears.

Even though there is a supernatural flavor throughout the story line it is also a story of how society viewed the roles of males and females during the flapper era and how thankful we should be that those times are past...but it seems that nothing may really remain in the past. Historical and paranormal fans will love the book. show less

The items that drew me towards this book were two-fold. First off, I have a deep fascination with stories that center around children who glimpse things that adults don't. The possibilty that there are things I'm not privy to, hidden in the world I walk through every day, is intriguing. Cat Winters also wrapped the concept of reincarnation into this story, which fully sealed my need to read it. I sincerely hoped for something with gothic tones, and a deep simmering sense of tension.

Which is actually what I was given a fair amount of throughout the first half of this book. Alice's arrival, heralded by a storm of massive proportions, started things out excellently. As she began to navigate the small town of Gordon Bay, and meet the rather show more interesting inhabitants, I was enraptured. Small towns tend to hold interesting secrets, and when Alice met Janie I felt sure that I was correct in assuming that was coming around the bend. With characters that were generally not at all agreeable, I felt sure there was something hiding beneath it all.

Then, the second half of the book began. Let me just say, I spend the first two chapters of this part flipping back and forth with confusion. It was as if this was a whole new book, although I knew it wasn't because Alice was still present. In fact, Alice is the main focus of this portion of the book and, quite honestly, the reason things started to unravel. Suddenly I was reading a story focused on rage, and an uncomfortable discussion of sexual agression. I missed Janie's story, and wanted to go back to it.

From that point on, things just got weirder and weirder. Alice's story felt cobbled together, and spiraled toward an ending that had me shaking my head in disbelief. I'm definitely not one to turn away from a surprise twist, or unexpected ending. In this case, it felt more misplaced than anything. It's not that I expected a happy ending, not at all! It's more that I couldn't comprehend the reasoning behind the particular ending that Yesternight offered up to me.

I'm on the fence, regarding this book. Yesternight showed me a lot of the parts of Cat Winters' writing that I love, but it just didn't live up to what I hoped for. I think if the second half of the story had felt as polished as the first portion, I would have been head over heels in love. Winters has made me crave more about Janie, and her past lives. That, in itself, is impressive! So I'll offer up three stars for this book, and a warning that the ending might not be quite what you expect it to be. show less

Alice Lind is a trained psychologist who is hired to administer IQ tests to students. The very first school she goes to, she meets Janie O'Daire... a 7 year old mathematical genius. Something else is different about Janie. She talks of a life in Friendly, Kansas as someone named Violet. Alice has to put aside her prejudices against reincarnation and evaluate the child without bias. I could not put this book down.... I thoroughly enjoyed it. The storyline is refreshingly different, the characters are believable, and you feel immersed in the story. I hope to read many more by this author.

First – isn’t that cover just gorgeous? It’s one of those covers that would stop your forward progress in a book store and make you pick up the book to read the synopsis. I will note it has absolutely nothing to do with the book other than it rains a lot in the locale but there is no particular mention of an umbrella. Or a beautiful burgundy dress. But who cares when it’s so pretty?

Alice Lind is a psychologist who specializes in children with difficulties so she travels from school to school in the Pacific Northwest. As the book opens it’s 1925 and she has been sent to a very small town on the coast of Oregon. There she is to ostensibly test the children to see if their needs are being met but in reality she is there to meet show more one girl named Janie who has been telling stories of about someone named Violet since she was 2 years old. She also happens to be a math prodigy. There are no plausible explanations for Janie’s behaviours so her father is anxious for answers. Her mother is less inclined to want help.

Janie’s parents are divorced and differ widely on how Janie should be handled. Her mother just wants to ignore the problem and her father, Michael wants to pursue whatever clues they have to a conclusion. Miss Lind does not believe in the reincarnation theory being put forward but when everything she has been taught fails to bring an answer she starts an investigation that leads her to the possibility of proving its existence.

Miss Lind has her own reasons for questioning reincarnation as she gets deeper into Janie’s life for she has some unexplained events from her own childhood. She wonders if she and Janie are somehow connected. As she finds the answers that Janie’s family seeks will it lead to her own?

This book was so much more than I was expecting. It was a page turner that I really didn’t want to put down and in fact, I really didn’t. I read it on one rainy afternoon. The mood set by Ms. Winters was pretty much mirrored in my real world as the rain and wind battered the windows of the yurt. I suspect it helped make the reading experience all the more real as I heard the rain as I read about the weather. The author really knows how to set a gothic mood – that mildly creepy undertone bubbling through in unexpected places. I was disappointed in that with all of the focus on Janie and her tale that when the denouement finally came and most of the questions were answered Janie pretty much gave way to Alice and her search. But there were still things I wanted to know about Janie!

The section on Alice – and I can’t say much without giving things away – was the weakest part of the book. Fortunately it was not a large part of the tale. I understand the need for part of it as it set up the totally “what the heck” ending that made me go back and read the last couple of pages again. Alice Lind is truly a complex character – a woman in a man’s world with a woman’s needs yet not seeking a husband. This was not accepted at this time in history. I found her fascinating, yet challenging. This is certainly a book you don’t want to read before going to bed. show less