THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD! I could not put this down and here I was going into it thinking I would like it but it wouldn’t be a favorite as its marketed as a psych thriller. Nope, it is not a psychological thriller at all and its odd they marked it that way, it’s a ghost story/mystery and it is one of the best books I have read this year. I cannot wait to go and pick up more of Jennifer’s books. Five out of five stars!
“Madness is always a wonderful excuse, don’t you think? For doing terrible things to other people.”
Goodreads Synopsis
The New York Times bestselling author of Promise Not to Tell returns with a simmering literary thriller about ghostly secrets, dark choices, and the unbreakable bond between mothers and daughters . . . sometimes too unbreakable.
West Hall, Vermont, has always been a town of strange disappearances and old legends. The most mysterious is that of Sara Harrison Shea, who, in 1908, was found dead in the field behind her house just months after the tragic death of her daughter, Gertie. Now, in present day, nineteen-year-old Ruthie lives in Sara’s farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and her younger sister, Fawn. Alice has always insisted that they live off the grid, a decision that suddenly proves perilous when Ruthie wakes up one morning to find that Alice has vanished without a trace. Searching for clues, she is startled to find a copy of Sara Harrison Shea’s diary hidden beneath the floorboards of her mother’s bedroom. As Ruthie gets sucked deeper into the mystery of Sara’s fate, she discovers that she’s not the only person who’s desperately looking for someone that they’ve lost. But she may be the only one who can stop history from repeating itself.
My Experience
I think it is important for people to go into this book knowing that it is not really a horror or overly gruesome. So if you are looking for a very intense horror this may not be for you. That said it is definitely creepy and spooky. The spooky vibes through out the story are so perfectly done and I was legitimately sad any time I had to put the book down because I was just enjoying the ghost story so much.
Set between two different time periods and a few different view points it may be hard to get used to the writing style at first, but after a while I found that Jennifer did a good job with all the transitions. I usually find in these sort of set ups that I like one time period and the characters better than the other, so I only want to read the parts that focus on them. But in this I loved each period and all the different view points. I wanted to know everyones story and how they all would play out. The style, in my opinion, got me to read faster to find out what was going on with each character.
I think a big reason I loved this book so much is because I went into it with the expectation of not really liking it. I didn’t get myself hyped up and in the end I was left with a story that I did not want to be over and an ending I did not see coming. Without giving much away of the ending I will say I almost hope there is a sequel with how this one left off!
The creepy ghost vibes made it an absolute perfect read for October. I already have many other people recommending more of Jennifer’s work and I will be eagerly picking them up!
Katy's Library Blog 