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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
so while i figured out who did it within the first 20 pages, i was still very interested in the story of fern figuring it all out for herself. i do still prefer being surprised. overall the book was still very well written and enjoyable. i do wish that astrid just would’ve been kidnapped again though, i guessed the faking thing too and i think her actually being kidnapped would’ve been more of a twist honestly
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
So this book kept me hooked for the sole reason of wanting to confirm my theory of who the abductor was. I was on page 18 when I told my husband who I thought it was, then had to keep reading to confirm or deny my suspicions. I felt there were several characters portrayed as red herrings, and I noticed them as such nearly right away. Is this my suspicious nature? Or was it heavy handed? Not a clue.
I do wish that the church plot line was wrapped up better. The priest and the creepy old lady felt pointless, especially the lady. "What's done is done" definitely made me feel like she knew something?
Overall, it wasn't bad. The main character was a little too much like me in her experience of anxiety (which on one hand is nice to see representation, and on the other it makes me wonder how my husband stays with me because that was EXHAUSTING, much like my own internal monologue).
Will I read more by this author? Unknown yet.
I do wish that the church plot line was wrapped up better. The priest and the creepy old lady felt pointless, especially the lady. "What's done is done" definitely made me feel like she knew something?
Overall, it wasn't bad. The main character was a little too much like me in her experience of anxiety (which on one hand is nice to see representation, and on the other it makes me wonder how my husband stays with me because that was EXHAUSTING, much like my own internal monologue).
Will I read more by this author? Unknown yet.
I'm torn on how to review this book. On the one hand, it had very good writing and a nice pace. I found myself rooting for the main character as she tried to figure out what was going on. But on the other hand I figured out pretty early on who did it, and it was pretty glaringly obvious for anyone who was paying attention. So this book only gets 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3. I didnt much like her first book either, so I don't think I'll be reading more by this author.
2.5 rounded to 3.
This book fell in the "just okay" pile for me. My biggest peeves were:
-Fern seemed to think she was part of the kidnapping and then all of a sudden was. There wasn't that much a build up before hand--her questioning if she was there or not. She just questioned it once, had a memory surface that she had repressed, and then decided she was there.
-It was extremely obvious who the kidnapper was within the first third of the book.
-The red herrings were blatant (Cooper, the author with the forgettable name)
-Astrid and Rita doing everything for money was quite obvious from the first conversation that Rita has with Fern.
Overall, I was entertained by some parts of this story. I would recommend this to someone who is new to the thriller genre--I think they would appreciate the twists and reveal at the end.
I wonder if I would have enjoyed this more if Ted had done something else after the reveal. If he had actually turned out to be some type of psychopath and not just someone studying psychology. If he had kidnapped her or had kidnapped Astrid again and was using her in some way.
This book fell in the "just okay" pile for me. My biggest peeves were:
-Fern seemed to think she was part of the kidnapping and then all of a sudden was. There wasn't that much a build up before hand--her questioning if she was there or not. She just questioned it once, had a memory surface that she had repressed, and then decided she was there.
-It was extremely obvious who the kidnapper was within the first third of the book.
-The red herrings were blatant (Cooper, the author with the forgettable name)
-Astrid and Rita doing everything for money was quite obvious from the first conversation that Rita has with Fern.
Overall, I was entertained by some parts of this story. I would recommend this to someone who is new to the thriller genre--I think they would appreciate the twists and reveal at the end.
I wonder if I would have enjoyed this more if Ted had done something else after the reveal. If he had actually turned out to be some type of psychopath and not just someone studying psychology. If he had kidnapped her or had kidnapped Astrid again and was using her in some way.
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Behind the Red Door is dark and deeply disturbing. Fern is a school social worker on summer break who has always had a complicated relationship with her parents. Mara is an artist, and Ted is a psychologist and professor rejected by Ivy League schools and legitimate journals. They never hid the fact that they didn't plan to be parents from Fern. Growing up, Fern received little guidance, supervision, or nurturing. Ted was physically abused by his own father and reminds Fern regularly, "I never hurt you. Never laid a hand on you." But Ted has always been obsessed with conducting experiments about the fear response, studying what triggers fear in his subjects, how long the fear lasts, how they react to it. And over the years, he has demanded that Fern serve as his subject. Fern has struggled to overcome anxiety for many years, with Eric sometimes having to talk her through situations she is unable to handle on her own. Now she is back at home with her parents, searching for answers about Astrid's disappearance and memories seem to be seeping back. Ted again wants Fern to participate in what he calls his "Experiments." Eric, a physician, discourages Fern from being bullied by her father into participating because he recognizes that Ted's experiments are not actually scientific but are, in Eric's estimation, nothing more than cruel pranks.
Behind the Red Door is atmospheric, with Fern's small New Hampshire hometown, surrounded by dense woods, providing an ideal backdrop for the shocking plot twists and developments that Collins includes at deftly-timed intervals. She also provides numerous suspects who could have kidnapped Astrid when she was a young girl, among them a Catholic priest and Cooper, the older brother of Fern's best friend. And there's a mysterious stranger who walks along the road outside of town wearing all black and disappears into the woods whenever someone approaches him.
Fern's journey to the truth takes her to the neighboring town from which Astrid was abducted -- and where she deduces she was spending time with her friend's family on the very day Astrid disappeared. Her search also takes her to the Catholic church where Astrid had just been confirmed when she was stolen away, and the home Astrid now shares with her wife. Each step Fern takes and each page of Astrid's memoir Fern studies help her recover her memories of a hand over her mouth, and a man wearing a welder's mask, gloves, and waders. A room. For years, it has been believed that there was no witness to Astrid's abduction. But there was. In her memoir, Astrid wrote about another girl being held captive with her whose real name Astrid never knew. Astrid dubbed her Lily. Even though Astrid's therapist thinks Lily was an imaginary friend Astrid manufactured in order to bring her comfort and help her survive the ordeal, Fern wonders if she could have been Lily. But that's ridiculous, of course. She assures herself "there's no way a person can forget being abducted, being locked for days in a basement, or even a red door as bright as the one on the memoir's cover."
Behind the Red Door is a riveting exploration of a dysfunctional family, a daughter who has always accepted her parents as they are because she has never known any other way of life, and the recovery of repressed memories. With Ted and Mara, Collins has created two characters who are shockingly flawed and mesmerizingly fascinating. Collins illustrates how Fern's upbringing has affected her and her relationship with her loving and supportive husband, Eric, who was raised in family that functioned normally, with spectacular finesse. Fern is frequently gullible and naive, but her instincts are impeccable and Collins credibly demonstrates her growing willingness to trust them. Collins portrays Fern's pilgrimage from being oblivious to the truth to being fully informed and aware, and her emotional reactions to what she learns, with compassion and empathy. The fact that Fern is likable and sympathetic amplifies the dramatic tension, especially the revelations of what really happened to those two young girls so many years ago, including the identity of the kidnapper, the motivation for the crime, and how the experience shaped Astrid's life.
Collins does not answer all questions posed in Behind the Red Door. Rather, once Fern uncovers the whole truth about not only what happened twenty years ago, but also recent events, she faces difficult decisions that will have far-reaching consequences. Collins leaves it to her readers to imagine what Fern chooses and supply their own resolution to her story.
Behind the Red Door is both horrifying and poignant, populated with fascinating, well-developed characters, and featuring a fast-paced plot surrounding a decades-only mystery. It's a captivating and emotionally layered family drama that will haunt readers long after they finish reading it.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.
Behind the Red Door is atmospheric, with Fern's small New Hampshire hometown, surrounded by dense woods, providing an ideal backdrop for the shocking plot twists and developments that Collins includes at deftly-timed intervals. She also provides numerous suspects who could have kidnapped Astrid when she was a young girl, among them a Catholic priest and Cooper, the older brother of Fern's best friend. And there's a mysterious stranger who walks along the road outside of town wearing all black and disappears into the woods whenever someone approaches him.
Fern's journey to the truth takes her to the neighboring town from which Astrid was abducted -- and where she deduces she was spending time with her friend's family on the very day Astrid disappeared. Her search also takes her to the Catholic church where Astrid had just been confirmed when she was stolen away, and the home Astrid now shares with her wife. Each step Fern takes and each page of Astrid's memoir Fern studies help her recover her memories of a hand over her mouth, and a man wearing a welder's mask, gloves, and waders. A room. For years, it has been believed that there was no witness to Astrid's abduction. But there was. In her memoir, Astrid wrote about another girl being held captive with her whose real name Astrid never knew. Astrid dubbed her Lily. Even though Astrid's therapist thinks Lily was an imaginary friend Astrid manufactured in order to bring her comfort and help her survive the ordeal, Fern wonders if she could have been Lily. But that's ridiculous, of course. She assures herself "there's no way a person can forget being abducted, being locked for days in a basement, or even a red door as bright as the one on the memoir's cover."
Behind the Red Door is a riveting exploration of a dysfunctional family, a daughter who has always accepted her parents as they are because she has never known any other way of life, and the recovery of repressed memories. With Ted and Mara, Collins has created two characters who are shockingly flawed and mesmerizingly fascinating. Collins illustrates how Fern's upbringing has affected her and her relationship with her loving and supportive husband, Eric, who was raised in family that functioned normally, with spectacular finesse. Fern is frequently gullible and naive, but her instincts are impeccable and Collins credibly demonstrates her growing willingness to trust them. Collins portrays Fern's pilgrimage from being oblivious to the truth to being fully informed and aware, and her emotional reactions to what she learns, with compassion and empathy. The fact that Fern is likable and sympathetic amplifies the dramatic tension, especially the revelations of what really happened to those two young girls so many years ago, including the identity of the kidnapper, the motivation for the crime, and how the experience shaped Astrid's life.
Collins does not answer all questions posed in Behind the Red Door. Rather, once Fern uncovers the whole truth about not only what happened twenty years ago, but also recent events, she faces difficult decisions that will have far-reaching consequences. Collins leaves it to her readers to imagine what Fern chooses and supply their own resolution to her story.
Behind the Red Door is both horrifying and poignant, populated with fascinating, well-developed characters, and featuring a fast-paced plot surrounding a decades-only mystery. It's a captivating and emotionally layered family drama that will haunt readers long after they finish reading it.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.