The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron is a historical fiction book set in England with some science fiction elements. Katherine Tulman’s aunt gives her the responsibility of sending her uncle to a mental asylum from fear that all her son, the family’s heir’s, inheritance is being depleted rapidly. Katherine, being an orphan under her aunt’s care, dependent on her aunt for her finances, agrees to do so for her secure future. However, when she gets there, she uncovers a whole lot of things that were being hidden. Her uncle may be different, but he is not a lunatic; he is a genius inventor who runs a huge factory employing over 900 people rescued from the workhouses of London. Katherine slowly warms up to her uncle and all the people there, leaving her torn between the decision of protecting her own inheritance and future or protecting the people she has grown to care for deeply, including her uncle’s handsome young apprentice.
Sharon Cameron has done an excellent job with this book. The opening sentence was beyond perfect and instantly got me hooked to the book. The characters are wonderfully crafted and portrayed. The plot is quite slow, especially for the first half of the book. It mostly just focuses on establishing the characters, the setting, and letting the reader get a feel for the issue and storyline. However, the second half of the book is where all the action really kicks in. The conflicts start to really fire up and Katherine also faces multiple experiences that make her question her own sanity. I really liked the book even though I had to be patient in the beginning for the main action to come in. There is also a romantic element to the book, but it too, like the rest of the book, is somewhat slow going and gentle so it doesn’t distract from the main plot. This book also has a sequel to it, called The Spark Unseen. Both books are so well written that they flow together perfectly (Writing this review over a week after finishing the second one, I’m finding it hard to remember where the first book ended and the second began). Overall, a wonderful read. 5 stars!