Please Note:  I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Travis Wren has an unusual talent for locating missing people. Hired by families as a last resort, he requires only a single object to find the person who has vanished. When he takes on the case of Maggie St. James—a well-known author of dark, macabre children’s books—he’s led to a place many believed to be only a legend.

Called Pastoral, this reclusive community was founded in the 1970s by like-minded people searching for a simpler way of life. By all accounts, the commune shouldn’t exist anymore and soon after Travis stumbles upon it… he disappears. Just like Maggie St. James.

Years later, Theo, a lifelong member of Pastoral, discovers Travis’s abandoned truck beyond the border of the community. No one is allowed in or out, not when there’s a risk of bringing a disease—rot—into Pastoral. Unraveling the mystery of what happened reveals secrets that Theo, his wife, Calla, and her sister, Bee, keep from one another. Secrets that prove their perfect, isolated world isn’t as safe as they believed—and that darkness takes many forms.

Hauntingly beautiful, hypnotic, and bewitching, A History of Wild Places is a story about fairy tales, our fear of the dark, and losing yourself within the wilderness of your mind.

Review:

Shea Ernshaw is known for writing complex  characters in unusual settings.  I really enjoyed The Wicked Deep with it's supernatural elements, peopled with characters who had many dimensions.   I mostly enjoyed A History of Wild Places, the author's newest offering.  There were a few supernatural aspects to the story, but it wasn't strictly needed.  This is, at its heart, a novel about how people in power use fear to control others.  No matter how you feel about politics, it's obvious that leaders use this tactic effectively in real life.  This book just presents an extreme example.

What I Liked:

Characters:

I really liked the portrayal of Theo and Calla, and Calla's sister Bee.  These are three characters who love living in Pastoral, but keep secrets from each other that put strains on their relationships.

Although he loves Calla, Theo is restless and wishes he could leave Pastoral.  He starts has some risky behavior that could mean brutal punishment, if he is caught.  Plus he worries that Calla will think he doesn't want to be with her, anymore.

Calla loves the security of Pastoral, but also senses that something is wrong.  She knows that Theo is keeping secrets from her, and wonders:  can we ever really know our spouses?

Bee, Calla's sister, is blind, but freer than most of the people in the community,  People often forget she's there and they speak more freely around her. She then gives the leader, Levi, lots of juicy information that he uses as part of his control of the community.  Why would she do this?  Because Bee is in love with Levi.

Themes:

While the leader, Levi,  preaches that the community is based on creating a strong community, with everyone helping each other, he also peddles a healthy dose of fear to keep his flock in line.  He's even gone so far as to convince everyone that there is a terrible illness just beyond the perimeter of the settlement, and if you leave, even for a moment, you will catch it and die.  He has men monitoring the boundaries with guns.  But are they to keep people with the illness out of Pastoral, or to keep the residents in?

Levi uses fear of the outside, and community guilt, to control everyone.  How can you think of leaving Pastoral and put all your loved ones at risk?  When there is severe discipline for some who push back, Levi makes sure that the community feels that it's necessary, in order to keep everyone safe.  These are obvious parallels to issues we face today, with America's boarders, and even with the COVID pandemic.  

What I Didn't Like:

Use of the Supernatural:

One of the characters can touch an object and know things that happened to the people who touched it.  I've seen this device used well in books like The Diviners, by Libba Bray.  But in this story, the character's ability is rarely used.  It could just have easily been dropped from the story with no difference to the outcome of the plot.

Plot Twist:

While I will not give any spoilers away, I was not impressed with the plot twist in the last part of the book.  It didn't make sense to me.  At.  All.  There could have been many other explanations for the cult leader's hold on his flock.  But the reason given is ridiculous.  I was disappointed, because (again), this was an unnecessary stretch.  Given how strong the psychological manipulation was in the cult, several other, more realistic, reasons should have been given.  

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Release Date:  December 7th, 2021

Author:  Shea Ernshaw

Publisher:  Atria Books

Genre:  Mystery/Fantasy

Page Length: 368 Pages

Source:  NetGalley

Format:  E-Book

Recommendation:  Although some of the plot devices may try your reasonable suspension of disbelief, this is a solid thriller about fear among a isolated community.