Gwenda Bond’s debut novel takes one of American history’s most durable mysteries — the disappearance of the Roanoke colony in 1590 — and builds a YA thriller around the idea that the colonists are still missing. Not dead, but taken. And the taking is happening again.
Miranda Blackwood lives on Roanoke Island and has always been considered strange — a magnet for bad luck, the kind of person that small superstitious communities regard with the ambient suspicion they reserve for people who don’t fit. When 114 people go missing from the island in a single day, it echoes the original 114 colonists who vanished four centuries earlier, and Miranda finds herself at the center of it.
Phillips Rawling arrives from off-island, the son of a criminal — which is its own kind of outsider status — with the ability to hear the voices of the dead in his head. The two of them are the obvious pair to figure out what’s happening, which Bond handles without making the pairing feel mechanical.
What Bond does well: the Roanoke setting is genuinely creepy in the way only real historical mysteries can be. The novel doesn’t over-explain its mythology, which is often the right choice with paranormal fiction. The relationship between Miranda and Phillips develops at a pace that feels earned rather than accelerated by plot necessity.
First novels sometimes feel like the author working out how to use their tools. Blackwood doesn’t feel that way. Bond knew what she wanted to write and wrote it.
Published: 2012 · Genre: YA paranormal mystery
Frequently Asked Questions
What historical mystery does Blackwood build on? Gwenda Bond’s debut novel is built around the disappearance of the Roanoke colony in 1590 — one of American history’s most durable mysteries. The novel’s central premise is that the colonists are still missing (not dead, but taken), and this taking is happening again to 114 people on Roanoke Island in the present day, echoing the original 114 lost colonists.
Who are the main characters in Blackwood? Miranda Blackwood lives on Roanoke Island and has always been considered strange — a magnet for bad luck, viewed with ambient superstition by her community. Phillips Rawling arrives from off-island, the son of a criminal, with the ability to hear voices of the dead. The two are the obvious pair to investigate the new disappearances.
How does Blackwood handle its paranormal mythology? The review praises Bond for not over-explaining the mythology, describing this as ‘often the right choice with paranormal fiction.’ The Roanoke setting is described as ‘genuinely creepy in the way only real historical mysteries can be,’ and the novel’s restraint in exposition contributes to its atmospheric effectiveness.
Is Blackwood a strong debut novel? The review offers a pointed endorsement: ‘First novels sometimes feel like the author working out how to use their tools. Blackwood doesn’t feel that way. Bond knew what she wanted to write and wrote it.’ The character relationship between Miranda and Phillips is specifically praised for developing at a pace that feels earned rather than accelerated by plot necessity.
Further Reading from Authoritative Sources
- Roanoke Colony disappearance — Wikipedia’s Roanoke Colony article is the authoritative reference for the historical mystery at the center of this novel’s premise, providing readers with the documented facts and theories that Bond’s fiction transforms into supernatural thriller material.
- Gwenda Bond — Wikipedia’s Gwenda Bond article provides biographical and bibliographical context for the author whose debut is being reviewed, allowing readers to explore her subsequent work and understand her development as a writer beyond this first novel.