To say that this is a dark book is a gross understatement ... The symbolism of the daughters' names is apparent and powerful ... While this novel is certainly not about abortion per se, it's clearly about the loss of control that women have suffered through, often with fatal results and always with psychological harm. If a woman dares to experience emotions that aren't in line with those of her husband's or society's, the simple and expedient solution is to have her committed to a sanatorium. For her own good, of course. It's not a coincidence that the only women who survive to any degree are those who really aren't interested in men at all. Walker's premise is powerful and horribly depressing.
With The Cherry Robbers, Walker has concocted another slyly subversive feminist fable, this time in the form of a grief-laced gothic thriller that takes on weighty topics such as marriage, women’s health and generational trauma ... Exquisitely tense and satisfyingly spooky, The Cherry Robbers masterfully blends psychological and supernatural horror. In sensual yet spritely prose, Walker conducts a darkly erotic exploration of female desire, duty and destiny via an ensemble of nuanced female characters, each with distinct personalities and rich inner lives. Readers know the grisly fate that awaits the Chapel girls, but Walker still manages to maintain a high degree of suspense and intrigue that will keep readers frantically flipping pages ... For fans of Diane Setterfield and Shirley Jackson, as well as readers who relish multilayered, thought-provoking family sagas, The Cherry Robbers is not to be missed.
Walker’s take on the classic Gothic tale fairly shimmers, titillating with a heady concoction of terror and desire, frothy with fever-pitched emotions, and dark with smothering melancholy and macabre spectres.
Delightfully eerie ... A mix of bildungsroman and ghost story, the narrative gains strength as it illuminates its characters’ power of intuition, especially when they’re not afraid to use it. This uncanny tale of dark origins shines brightly
Walker makes it clear—through heavy-handed symbols and explicit thematic statements—that she considers this a feminist story ... Distinctly drawn characters make the book readable, but it lacks the ambiguity and intensity of really good gothics.
