Cape Fever by Nadia Davids- Publishes 12/9/25

 

Cape Fever is a story about a creepy old house, ghosts, a manipulative older woman, and a girl just trying to help her family get by.  Set in the 1920s in South Africa, Soraya is a maid to an English woman who lives in a large but dilapidated home. She has a son who provides for her but he is in London.  He fought in WWI but has not been home in a very long time. Soraya at first doesn't mind her job but is upset because her employer, Mrs. Hattingh won't let her live at home.  As time goes on Mrs. Hattingh increasingly restricts Soraya from leaving the house.  Soraya wants to quit but she needs the money and can't risk losing her job.  Mrs. Hattingh does let Soraya write letters to her fiance.  Soraya pretends that she can't read or write so Mrs. Hattingh is the one writing the letters.  Soraya is extremely grateful as she has not seen her fiance in a long time.  However not all is as it seems.

This book was a shorter novel, less than 250 pages and honestly this is why I decided to give it a four star rating.  If it had been longer I think  I would have lost interest.  As it stands now, it was the perfect length for the mystery of what was really happening to play out and capture my attention.  The other aspect that really made this book stand out was the setting in South Africa.  I really enjoyed reading about Soraya's gifts and her culture.  If the entire book had been set in England it would have lost this dynamic and wouldn't have had the same spark.  The writing was also superb.  I loved how the author weaved in the historical details with some fantasy elements.  This was definitely a darker story but it was thrilling to read. 

4/5 stars