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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
Not sure what to say about BEHIND THE RED DOOR other than the marketing team deserves a raise. The premise was interesting but it could have been so much more. This book had so many familiar elements - the anxious MC, unnecessary repetition and an ending the was unsatisfying and dare I say ridiculous.
I'm going to be blunt this book didn't work for me. It sounded interesting, a woman goes missing near the anniversary where she was kidnapped years ago. Fern starts to have memories of Astrid, the missing woman, that seem to be from Astrid's original disappearance. No one had a connection between Fern and Astrid prior to her new memories. Are these really memories or is this Fern's anxiety on overdrive.
Although the synopsis for this novel sounded interesting the pieces didn't come together for me. It felt rushed and not as polished as I'd liked. I didn't connect with any of the characters either which didn't help. Although this novel didn't work for me maybe it will work for you.
Thank you to Atria and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Although the synopsis for this novel sounded interesting the pieces didn't come together for me. It felt rushed and not as polished as I'd liked. I didn't connect with any of the characters either which didn't help. Although this novel didn't work for me maybe it will work for you.
Thank you to Atria and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
3.5/4
Have you ever had a strange feeling that something happened in your past, but you can’t remember the event? Fern Douglas has learned news of a missing woman whose face she can’t help but find familiar, however, she has no recollection of ever meeting the woman. Astrid Sullivan was abducted when she was young. Twenty years has passed and Astrid has just released a book about her experience. When news that Astrid has been abducted once more reaches Fern, she feels drawn to the woman and a passion to find out the truth of what has happened to Astrid. Does Fern have a connection to Astrid?
BEHIND THE RED DOOR dives into the unique premise of repressed memories. Could someone possibly completely forget about someone or something that happened to them? Has this happened to Fern Douglas? Does she really know Astrid?
Megan Collins does an excellent job of crafting together a tense story revolving around our main character, Fern Douglas. As Collins takes the reader on Fern’s search we are given a glimpse into not only Fern’s childhood, but also snippets of what happened to Astrid through the use of book excerpts. I absolutely love when crime fiction includes a book within a book element as a way to show more than one narrative. I would have enjoyed reading more from Astrid’s perspective via her book, but I can see why Collins shied away from that with the way the story unfolded.
BEHIND THE RED DOOR may limit the number of perspectives it gives the reader, but it does not leave the secondary characters lacking. These characters feel fully realized and some of them play just as important of a role to the story as our main character, Fern, does. Unfortunately, I ended up disliking most of the characters, including Fern. I know they were meant to be flawed, but I just could not handle how Fern is constantly trying to please others and repeatedly talks about wanting to make other people happy. Yes, it plays into her backstory, but dang it if it wasn’t annoying! I will hand it to Collins that despite my dislike of the characters, I was fully invested in finding out where the story would take me.
If you’ve read this one, I would love to discuss the ending! I really enjoyed the first reveal and then the second reveal just annoyed me. I thought it took a character and changed their personality into something completely not what I would have expected. I know that’s vague, but I don’t know how to describe my irritation without spoilers!
Overall, I think BEHIND THE RED DOOR is a strong addition to the crime fiction genre that will keep a lot of readers on the edge of their seat.
A huge thank you to Atria Books for my gifted copy!
Have you ever had a strange feeling that something happened in your past, but you can’t remember the event? Fern Douglas has learned news of a missing woman whose face she can’t help but find familiar, however, she has no recollection of ever meeting the woman. Astrid Sullivan was abducted when she was young. Twenty years has passed and Astrid has just released a book about her experience. When news that Astrid has been abducted once more reaches Fern, she feels drawn to the woman and a passion to find out the truth of what has happened to Astrid. Does Fern have a connection to Astrid?
BEHIND THE RED DOOR dives into the unique premise of repressed memories. Could someone possibly completely forget about someone or something that happened to them? Has this happened to Fern Douglas? Does she really know Astrid?
Megan Collins does an excellent job of crafting together a tense story revolving around our main character, Fern Douglas. As Collins takes the reader on Fern’s search we are given a glimpse into not only Fern’s childhood, but also snippets of what happened to Astrid through the use of book excerpts. I absolutely love when crime fiction includes a book within a book element as a way to show more than one narrative. I would have enjoyed reading more from Astrid’s perspective via her book, but I can see why Collins shied away from that with the way the story unfolded.
BEHIND THE RED DOOR may limit the number of perspectives it gives the reader, but it does not leave the secondary characters lacking. These characters feel fully realized and some of them play just as important of a role to the story as our main character, Fern, does. Unfortunately, I ended up disliking most of the characters, including Fern. I know they were meant to be flawed, but I just could not handle how Fern is constantly trying to please others and repeatedly talks about wanting to make other people happy. Yes, it plays into her backstory, but dang it if it wasn’t annoying! I will hand it to Collins that despite my dislike of the characters, I was fully invested in finding out where the story would take me.
If you’ve read this one, I would love to discuss the ending! I really enjoyed the first reveal and then the second reveal just annoyed me. I thought it took a character and changed their personality into something completely not what I would have expected. I know that’s vague, but I don’t know how to describe my irritation without spoilers!
Overall, I think BEHIND THE RED DOOR is a strong addition to the crime fiction genre that will keep a lot of readers on the edge of their seat.
A huge thank you to Atria Books for my gifted copy!
Thank you NetGalley and Atria for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This book starts off fast and intriguing, capturing your attention almost immediately. Unfortunately for me, that didn't last throughout the whole book. I found the book just repeating itself over and over, following the exact same steps, repeated again and again.
I'm really not sure how to even write a short synopsis without giving anything away. Fern Douglas catches the news that Astrid Sullivan is missing again, 20 years after she was originally taken. Her dreams start becoming more and more vivid, making her believe there's more to then than just a dream. When Fern has to return home to help her father pack up his house, her dreams turn into memories. Fern's past quickly comes back to haunt her, but who can tell what is real and what is a lie?
None of the characters were likeable for me. Fern was a leaf shaking in the wind, constantly on edge and triple guessing herself and it got old fast. The addition of the underlying part of the story (I won't mention in case it's a spoiler) I felt was so wildly unnecessary and added nothing to the story, but instead make it another annoyance. A lot of the twists weren't that surprising, but the ending totally caught me off guard and I didn't think it was all that great. Unfortunately this wasn't a win for me.
I'm really not sure how to even write a short synopsis without giving anything away. Fern Douglas catches the news that Astrid Sullivan is missing again, 20 years after she was originally taken. Her dreams start becoming more and more vivid, making her believe there's more to then than just a dream. When Fern has to return home to help her father pack up his house, her dreams turn into memories. Fern's past quickly comes back to haunt her, but who can tell what is real and what is a lie?
None of the characters were likeable for me. Fern was a leaf shaking in the wind, constantly on edge and triple guessing herself and it got old fast. The addition of the underlying part of the story (I won't mention in case it's a spoiler) I felt was so wildly unnecessary and added nothing to the story, but instead make it another annoyance. A lot of the twists weren't that surprising, but the ending totally caught me off guard and I didn't think it was all that great. Unfortunately this wasn't a win for me.
BEHIND THE RED DOOR, by Megan Collins, gripped me from the first pages. Throughout this book we follow Fern as she grapples with the idea that as a child, she witnessed an abduction. As she unravels the mystery of how she doesn't recall the details of that particular incident, we get to know her unconventional upbringing with her parents. Literally every person in this book was a suspect in my mind, and I found myself reading into the night to get further entangled in Fern's life. I really loved this book, and I'm looking forward to more by Ms. Collins.
Really great writing and atmosphere, but found this one to be predictable from early on. Full review to come.
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.
The opening of Behind the Red Door will grab you immediately (I believe I emitted a "holy sh*t" before I finished the first page). It's dark. It covers some traumatizing topics, kidnapping being the least horrific, honestly.
Fern Douglas is a social worker with pretty intense anxiety (not the best mix...). Her past is a bit fuzzy, but we know she has a very strange relationship with her parents (i'll get to that in a second). The story really kicks into gear when we learn that Astrid Sullivan, a woman who was kidnapped as a child but was returned after a brief period of time relatively unharmed, has gone missing again. Did the original kidnapper take Astrid again? Will she be returned this time? Does her disappearance have anything to do with her recently released memoir detailing her kidnapping 20 years ago? And why does Fern think she's met Astrid?
We do get to read a few chapters of Astrid's memoir throughout the course of the book, and we slowly learn what really happened to her.
Fern heads back to her hometown to help Ted (her dad, but she calls her parents by their first names) pack and move to Florida. Oh boy. Ted. Ted is an academic psychologist who can't focus on anything beyond his Experiments (yes, with a capital "E"). We slowly learn that Fern's parents were incredibly neglectful, and downright horrible people. Fern can't see that she's a victim of extreme parental abuse. Ted has often drawn the line between physical (what he considers "real") abuse and other varieties - and they're all so blind to it that it's incredibly frustrating as a reader. But maybe it's rooted deeply in reality. Victims of abuse often block or downplay their experiences because they refuse to see themselves as just that - victims.
Fern decides to investigate Astrid's disappearance and uncovers some incredibly horrific truths. I had an idea of where this book was headed right from the jump, and I was (mostly) right, but the experience of uncovering the mystery of Astrid's disappearance and Fern's history was more than worth the read. I was SO ANGRY for parts of this book - it takes a great writer to elicit that kind of experience.
Content warning: abusive parent/child relationships (one with a religious undertone), abduction of a child.
Thank you Atria Books for the NetGalley ARC of Behind the Red Door!
Fern Douglas is a social worker with pretty intense anxiety (not the best mix...). Her past is a bit fuzzy, but we know she has a very strange relationship with her parents (i'll get to that in a second). The story really kicks into gear when we learn that Astrid Sullivan, a woman who was kidnapped as a child but was returned after a brief period of time relatively unharmed, has gone missing again. Did the original kidnapper take Astrid again? Will she be returned this time? Does her disappearance have anything to do with her recently released memoir detailing her kidnapping 20 years ago? And why does Fern think she's met Astrid?
We do get to read a few chapters of Astrid's memoir throughout the course of the book, and we slowly learn what really happened to her.
Fern heads back to her hometown to help Ted (her dad, but she calls her parents by their first names) pack and move to Florida. Oh boy. Ted. Ted is an academic psychologist who can't focus on anything beyond his Experiments (yes, with a capital "E"). We slowly learn that Fern's parents were incredibly neglectful, and downright horrible people. Fern can't see that she's a victim of extreme parental abuse. Ted has often drawn the line between physical (what he considers "real") abuse and other varieties - and they're all so blind to it that it's incredibly frustrating as a reader. But maybe it's rooted deeply in reality. Victims of abuse often block or downplay their experiences because they refuse to see themselves as just that - victims.
Fern decides to investigate Astrid's disappearance and uncovers some incredibly horrific truths. I had an idea of where this book was headed right from the jump, and I was (mostly) right, but the experience of uncovering the mystery of Astrid's disappearance and Fern's history was more than worth the read. I was SO ANGRY for parts of this book - it takes a great writer to elicit that kind of experience.
Content warning: abusive parent/child relationships (one with a religious undertone), abduction of a child.
Thank you Atria Books for the NetGalley ARC of Behind the Red Door!
3.5 stars!!
Thank you atria books for the gifted copy!
This book had me hooked right from the beginning, which is one of my favorite things in thrillers. Collins has a great way of building the suspense and atmosphere and I love that about their writing! I felt a genuine connection to the main character and felt her confusion and fear right along with her. There were definitely many dark moments that kept me wanting to read to see what happens next.
Unfortunately I felt like this book was very predictable and I had the main twist figured out right from the first few chapters. To me it just felt so obvious and I didn’t get that shock value that I am always looking for in the thrillers I read. I still feel like this was a great book for someone just beginning with thrillers! I will still definitely be picking up Collins next work because I love the writing style and the improvements from The Winter Sister. Can’t wait to see what they put out next!!
Thank you atria books for the gifted copy!
This book had me hooked right from the beginning, which is one of my favorite things in thrillers. Collins has a great way of building the suspense and atmosphere and I love that about their writing! I felt a genuine connection to the main character and felt her confusion and fear right along with her. There were definitely many dark moments that kept me wanting to read to see what happens next.
Unfortunately I felt like this book was very predictable and I had the main twist figured out right from the first few chapters. To me it just felt so obvious and I didn’t get that shock value that I am always looking for in the thrillers I read. I still feel like this was a great book for someone just beginning with thrillers! I will still definitely be picking up Collins next work because I love the writing style and the improvements from The Winter Sister. Can’t wait to see what they put out next!!
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Predictable! Knew the twist by the 3rd chapter. Fern's an idiot
I don't know what it was about this book that compelled me so much. It was predictable, formulaic, and just like most mysteries. However, I could not put it down. Early on I guessed the twist in the story but something about the character development continued to make me read and compulsively so. Everything about this book should not have worked and yet, it was amazing.
I was spellbound by the descriptions of the main character's anxieties, and could not stop reading this book even when it was WAY too late at night.
Collins deftly weaves a story that will keep you up late, and sincerely makes you wonder if you are also lost in the story with Fern.
The plot revolves around Astrid, who was abducted as a child, and is suddenly abducted once again as an adult after the release of her memoir about her kidnapping.
The writing is superb, though the story is somewhat rote. This book will keep you occupied, which is something I think all of us are looking for - a little bit of escapism.
This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was spellbound by the descriptions of the main character's anxieties, and could not stop reading this book even when it was WAY too late at night.
Collins deftly weaves a story that will keep you up late, and sincerely makes you wonder if you are also lost in the story with Fern.
The plot revolves around Astrid, who was abducted as a child, and is suddenly abducted once again as an adult after the release of her memoir about her kidnapping.
The writing is superb, though the story is somewhat rote. This book will keep you occupied, which is something I think all of us are looking for - a little bit of escapism.
This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.