The Lighthouse Witches is set on a remote Scottish island embroiled with folklore that has endured four centuries. Stormy weather, a derelict lighthouse, and frequent power cuts ensure an eerie Gothic vibe to the setting.

Liv drags her three daughters, Saffy, Luna and Clover, to the island when she is hired to paint a mural, but is confused by the client’s brief – a sketch of interwoven geometrical shapes, which lead her to fear she might be working for a Nazi. The truth is older and stranger, and spans three timelines: the 1660s witch trials, the arrival of mother and daughters on the island in 1998, and 2021 when Luna and her sister Clover are reunited.

Theirs is a dysfunctional family. In addition to the usual teenage rebellion, the sudden move and the recent death of her beloved stepfather causes a rift between the eldest child, Saffy and her mother. Until the children go missing, Liv struggles with motherhood and seems emotionally distant. Eventually, we understand her motives better, but it’s difficult to empathise with her at times.

The novel is, essentially, a mystery that is told from multiple perspectives in first and third person, past and present tense. Parts of it feel painfully real, especially Saffy’s encounter with an older boy, a confusing and humiliating romance that goes further than she wants because of her desire to feel loved and the difficulty of communicating her reluctance with words.

In many ways, the novel is about love and what people will endure to obtain it, but it is also about a family going missing; the persecution of women; the murder of children who are believed to be fae changelings or “wildlings”, and fear of inherited curses.

Initially, I found the multiple points of view and the jumps between tenses jarring. It becomes easier as the story progresses but creates an additional barrier to immersion for the first hundred or so pages. The ending ties up the mystery neatly but in ways that require a suspension of disbelief that I’m not sure the writing really earns.