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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Ok. Crummy ending in my opinion. Tons of red herrings. Blah. Sorry. That's all I can say.
dark
sad
fast-paced
dark
Arrowood by Laura McHugh is based on a century old home which holds a lot of family secrets and how unreliable our memories can be when we are young.
Arden Arrowood was 8 years old when her 20 month old twin sisters disappeared while they were in her care. Even though there was a suspect he was never convicted of the crime and the mystery of what happened to the twins was never solved. The guilt over the tragic loss followed Arden throughout her life. Her mom and dad separate not long after the disappearance of the twins and while mom tries to find solace by medicating herself, her dad turns to alcohol.
After the death of her father Arden inherits the old family home. There she meets a reporter investigating the mystery and discovers her memory of that day might be deceptive. There are some ghostly appearances, a fortune teller and a needy caretaker adding to the mystery. Will Arden ever be able to find out what happened to her sisters and can she actually trust her memory of the events that occurred that day?
The book started a little slow for me as there were a lot of attention given to details about the house and its architecture. The book though is very well written and picks up pace half way through. I would give this book 3 ½ stars and another ½ star for the ending. It was a little surprising but left with some unanswered questions. I guess the author leaves it for the readers to guess whether justice was finally served.
Many thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for my honest and fair review.
This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/
Arden Arrowood was 8 years old when her 20 month old twin sisters disappeared while they were in her care. Even though there was a suspect he was never convicted of the crime and the mystery of what happened to the twins was never solved. The guilt over the tragic loss followed Arden throughout her life. Her mom and dad separate not long after the disappearance of the twins and while mom tries to find solace by medicating herself, her dad turns to alcohol.
After the death of her father Arden inherits the old family home. There she meets a reporter investigating the mystery and discovers her memory of that day might be deceptive. There are some ghostly appearances, a fortune teller and a needy caretaker adding to the mystery. Will Arden ever be able to find out what happened to her sisters and can she actually trust her memory of the events that occurred that day?
The book started a little slow for me as there were a lot of attention given to details about the house and its architecture. The book though is very well written and picks up pace half way through. I would give this book 3 ½ stars and another ½ star for the ending. It was a little surprising but left with some unanswered questions. I guess the author leaves it for the readers to guess whether justice was finally served.
Many thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for my honest and fair review.
This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I liked what the twist at the end was, I liked that at the beginning we jump right into the action instead of suffering through a lot of nothing.
The reveal of who was calling the house didn’t make sense to me. I don’t understand what the significance of the three other Arden Arrowoods is supposed to be. Didn’t care for the story of her scars and her connection with Dr. Endicott.
The reveal of who was calling the house didn’t make sense to me. I don’t understand what the significance of the three other Arden Arrowoods is supposed to be. Didn’t care for the story of her scars and her connection with Dr. Endicott.
Earlier this summer, I won a mystery box of books from a local NYT best-selling author. Included in that box was an ARC of this book. When the story begins, Arden Arrowood has inherited the mysterious Arrowood, an ornate and hauntingly beautiful historic house along the Mississippi River in Keokuk, Iowa. Despite her mother's misgivings and recommendations against moving back to Keokuk and into the house, Arden decides to return to the mysterious house and face an unresolved past. Arden's twin sisters were abducted from Ardenwood some twenty years prior, but were never found. However, Arden is determined to return and find out what really happened to her sisters so long ago. The story is richly atmospheric and has a gothic feel to it, with the house being an equally important character. While other reviews I've read since completing this book complained about the pacing, I felt that it was pitch-perfect and helped build tension as Arden attempted to uncover the truth. This is exactly the type of thriller I enjoy and made me want to read the author's first book, which is now on my TBR list.
For me thrillers are either a hit or a miss, and this one was a hit. It was a short, quick read that kept me engaged and didn't drag on at all, the way some thrillers/mysteries can. I liked Arden, she was realistic and brave after everything she'd been through, without being dramatic and unreasonable.
She came home in an attempt to bring back a time in her life where she felt grounded and the only time of true happiness that she had ever known. But she gets more than she bargained for. The lure of her sisters' disappearance hasn't faded in her hometown and a house frozen in time doesn;t bring the type of reassurance she was seeking.
I was able to guess what had happened to her sisters and where they could be found before it came time for the reveal. But nevertheless I still enjoyed reading it play out.
She came home in an attempt to bring back a time in her life where she felt grounded and the only time of true happiness that she had ever known. But she gets more than she bargained for. The lure of her sisters' disappearance hasn't faded in her hometown and a house frozen in time doesn;t bring the type of reassurance she was seeking.
I was able to guess what had happened to her sisters and where they could be found before it came time for the reveal. But nevertheless I still enjoyed reading it play out.