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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
This was the first book I've read by Laura McHugh and I thought it was a great mystery. It's about a young woman, Arden, who inherits and then returns to live at the house in Iowa that she grew up in. When she was eight years old her younger twin sisters disappeared while under her watch in the front yard of that home, so her return to the house brings up all kinds of memories and feelings. Her sisters were never found, and Arden's search for the truth deepens. This book held my interest from beginning to end. I didn't care much for the ending of the story, but it was a great mystery story. My full review can be found here: http://kimsbookshelfblog.wordpress.com
Fantastic! First book that I finished in 2 days in a very long time. Couldn't put it down, just enough mystery until the end, with enough thrills thrown in the make the hair on my arms stand up when I least expected it.
It was heading towards 3 or 4 stars until the ending, which felt last minute and somehow also predictable. It felt like the author didn't have enough confidence in the first 75% of the book and started adding plot twists too late, that didn't fit with the overall feel of the book. A lot of foreshadowing led nowhere. It was a not-gimmicky*, enjoyable read until it wasn't.
*First person narrators, in chronological order and without any setting/time/character switching hold a special place in my heart. Just tell your story, yo.
*First person narrators, in chronological order and without any setting/time/character switching hold a special place in my heart. Just tell your story, yo.
This book covered many areas--bildungsroman, return to and finding home, ghost story, mystery, and chick lit. Arden Arrowood vividly remembers parts of the day her twin sisters disappeared from the front yard of Arrowood, their childhood home while other aspects remain a complete blank. So, when her father dies, and Arrowood becomes hers, Arden finds her return overshadowed by the past that she attempts to resolve, but clues continue to arise that undermine her vivid recollections.
A good story with great small town and sinister atmospheres, but some of the subplots didn't really seem to relate to the overarching story and themes leading to an ending that seemed to pat/rushed.
A good story with great small town and sinister atmospheres, but some of the subplots didn't really seem to relate to the overarching story and themes leading to an ending that seemed to pat/rushed.
Cleanly written quiet mystery that holds your attention from beginning to end.
I won this book from a Goodreads give a way.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I loved the setting with the old house and the small town. The main character was likable if a little bit unbelievable in some of the things that had happened to her in the past. (the explanation for the scars)
I was disappointed in the way the mystery unveiled itself at the end. I was hoping for more twists and turns. I think that the author tried but it failed in execution.
And there was one sentence that really bothered me -
I was alone, the sun blazing through the windows, roasting me like a rotisserie chicken. (really like a chicken) Anyway, this was an ARC copy so maybe it didn't make it into the final book -
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I loved the setting with the old house and the small town. The main character was likable if a little bit unbelievable in some of the things that had happened to her in the past. (the explanation for the scars)
I was disappointed in the way the mystery unveiled itself at the end. I was hoping for more twists and turns. I think that the author tried but it failed in execution.
And there was one sentence that really bothered me -
I was alone, the sun blazing through the windows, roasting me like a rotisserie chicken. (really like a chicken) Anyway, this was an ARC copy so maybe it didn't make it into the final book -
Arrowood is sort of difficult for me to review. I liked it, but for the most part I wasn't left with the OMG I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT feeling.
Part mystery, part ghost story, Arrowood is the story of Arden Arrowood. After the loss of her two year old twin sisters when she was just eight years old, she's spent the last twenty years stumbling through life. I don't want to say too much, but the disappearance of her sisters set the stage for her entire life.
What was cool about this story was that it was a ghost story, without being a ghost story. There are no actual ghosts or paranormal investigators looking for cold spots, but there are plenty of spooky happenstances that occur in the house which the reader is led to believe is the work of ghosts. That was pretty cool. The reader can decide if ghosts are at work or not.
As far as the mystery, as we get to know Arden and the cast of characters around her, everyone becomes a suspect. There were so many red herrings, any one of them could have done it. I was actually surprised by the actual ending - and it's a doozey of an ending!
I wish I could pinpoint exactly what wasn’t working for me. It could be all of the time Arden spent reflecting on her past. I like a book to be told in the present, but a lot of this book was Arden reflecting on her childhood friendships, the loss of her sisters, her time at college, and so on. Every scene was important to the story, and I can't think of another way to get the information across, but I think it pulled this readers attention away from the book at times.
In the end, I did enjoy this story but I don't think it's going to be one that stays with me long after I've read it.
Special thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advanced e-copy in exchange for a review.
Part mystery, part ghost story, Arrowood is the story of Arden Arrowood. After the loss of her two year old twin sisters when she was just eight years old, she's spent the last twenty years stumbling through life. I don't want to say too much, but the disappearance of her sisters set the stage for her entire life.
What was cool about this story was that it was a ghost story, without being a ghost story. There are no actual ghosts or paranormal investigators looking for cold spots, but there are plenty of spooky happenstances that occur in the house which the reader is led to believe is the work of ghosts. That was pretty cool. The reader can decide if ghosts are at work or not.
As far as the mystery, as we get to know Arden and the cast of characters around her, everyone becomes a suspect. There were so many red herrings, any one of them could have done it. I was actually surprised by the actual ending - and it's a doozey of an ending!
I wish I could pinpoint exactly what wasn’t working for me. It could be all of the time Arden spent reflecting on her past. I like a book to be told in the present, but a lot of this book was Arden reflecting on her childhood friendships, the loss of her sisters, her time at college, and so on. Every scene was important to the story, and I can't think of another way to get the information across, but I think it pulled this readers attention away from the book at times.
In the end, I did enjoy this story but I don't think it's going to be one that stays with me long after I've read it.
Special thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advanced e-copy in exchange for a review.
4.5 stars. This is a solid mystery written in a way that allows you to delve into the story without feeling as though you need to guess the ending in advance. I almost wish I had been to Keokuk to enjoy the details McHugh incorporates. Can't wait for another thriller from this author.
A short novel that reads quickly and easily. I liked Arden, liked the ambiguity introduced by the Gothic atmosphere—the possibility of haunting, but nothing definitively supernatural—, and felt the mystery maintained its suspense. It was an especially satisfying twist that Arden’s dream of the twins’ safe return home was not, after all, a dream.
I wish that we had gotten definite clarity on whether it was Arden’s “negligence” that led to the accidental death of the twins or if their mother murdered them. I think the novel leans pretty heavily towards the latter without fully committing, which is frustrating.
I wish that we had gotten definite clarity on whether it was Arden’s “negligence” that led to the accidental death of the twins or if their mother murdered them. I think the novel leans pretty heavily towards the latter without fully committing, which is frustrating.
A decent mystery. I do this thing with mysteries where I guess at the beginning whodunnit, based off of my common sense-knowledge of story format and I guessed almost entirely correctly from the start of this book. I won't spoil, but if you thought about it during the book's set-up, there was really only one or two ways to have ended it. The author kind of combined the two ways I suspected. Even though I usually guess the ends of mysteries, I still enjoy them, especially if they're spooky. This was a tiny bit spooky. I wouldn't go around recommending this book to everyone, but it was a quick, enjoyable read.