Set in Newfoundland during brutal winters, this book tells the tale of a brother and sister battling for control of their coastal fishing and mercantile port in the late 1700s.

The story is violent and cruel which is at times hard to read. The characters are well-developed but so unlikeable it was difficult for me to choose to root for either of them (or the other characters for that matter).

The author does a fabulous job with his archaic language usage and descriptive prose which kept this vocabulary lover entranced in the book.

I am looking forward to reading more from Mr. Crummey. Thank you BookBrowse and NetGalley for pointing me toward this book and author.