Susan Barker

Old Soul

Jake and Mariko, two grieving strangers, meet fortuitously when they both miss their flight in Osaka and, over drinks, they uncover an unsettling connection; Jake’s best friend Lena and Mariko’s twin brother Hiroji both died in the same disturbing, incomprehensible circumstances thousands of miles apart. Lena and Hiroji each encounter an eccentric, enigmatic, dark-haired woman who befriends them and strips away their sanity days before they die. After years of harbouring his loss and guilt, Jake is compelled to discover more after Mariko’s revelations, sending him weaving between continents and centuries, talking to those left behind who are perplexed, disbelieved, yet resolute regarding what they saw. Old Soul consists of poignant testimonies from those who witnessed the phenomenon while alternating to the mysterious immortal woman preying on her next victim.

This folklore-esque tale is an intriguing literary horror with a beguiling entity at the centre, guaranteed to leave you unsettled.

This book has an interesting premise and starts well, but the more I read, the more I became disengaged. The different perspectives are simultaneously unique and repetitive, meaning I did not connect to any of the characters, and it became extremely predictable. The lack of speech marks is also something I dislike in books, but having read a couple of books with no quotation marks recently, I have become slightly accustomed to it. Overall, if it maintained the same momentum throughout as it did at the start, it would be a good book.  2.5 ⭐️

Eleanor 

Jake and Mariko, two grieving strangers, meet fortuitously when they both miss their flight in Osaka and, over drinks, they uncover an unsettling connection; Jake’s best friend Lena and Mariko’s twin brother Hiroji both died in the same disturbing, incomprehensible circumstances thousands of miles apart. Lena and Hiroji each encounter an eccentric, enigmatic, dark-haired woman who befriends them and strips away their sanity days before they die. After years of harbouring his loss and guilt, Jake is compelled to discover more after Mariko’s revelations, sending him weaving between continents and centuries, talking to those left behind who are perplexed, disbelieved, yet resolute regarding what they saw. Old Soul consists of poignant testimonies from those who witnessed the phenomenon while alternating to the mysterious immortal woman preying on her next victim.

This folklore-esque tale is an intriguing literary horror with a beguiling entity at the centre, guaranteed to leave you unsettled.

This book has an interesting premise and starts well, but the more I read, the more I became disengaged. The different perspectives are simultaneously unique and repetitive, meaning I did not connect to any of the characters, and it became extremely predictable. The lack of speech marks is also something I dislike in books, but having read a couple of books with no quotation marks recently, I have become slightly accustomed to it. Overall, if it maintained the same momentum throughout as it did at the start, it would be a good book.  2.5 ⭐️

Old Soul

Reviews