Snake Ropes by Jess Richards

This novel is honestly one of the most bizarre books I have ever read.   It is about a remote island community whose only link to the mainland is when traders visit monthly to exchange goods with them.  As boys start to go missing from the island, the women seek their own form of justice.  There are shades of traditional fairy tales, psychology and magic which do not always blend together particularly well and which sometimes lead to a slightly confusing read.   I am really not sure if I loved it or hated it.  I loved the idea but hated the way it often became too surreal, particularly as this made it harder to identify with the characters.  Overall, this is a dark fairy tale which is excellent conceptually but is let down slightly by the execution which, whilst good, is not a match for the complexity of what the novel is trying to achieve.