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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
***I received an ARC Kindle edition of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review***
3 1/2 Stars
Arden Arrowood returns to her childhood home after the death of her grandfather, in which the home was left to her. The lavish home has remained vacant for over 20 years, ever since Arden's family crumbled following the disappearance of her 2 yr old twin sisters. When Arden was 8 years old she was in charge of watching her sisters while they were playing outside. When she came around the corner of the house after collecting flowers for the girls they had vanished. Arden blamed herself and has always carried that guilt around with her. The girls' disappearance led to her parents' marriage falling apart and the family moving out of the house.
When Arden returns to her house she is met by Heaney, the hired caretaker, who seems to have a few mysteries surrounding him as well. He knows everything about Arden's family and the house, and there are rumors in town about him and Arden's mother having a previous relationship. Arden also reconnects with her former best friend Ben. They were neighbors growing up and Arden was close to his sister Lauren. Ben and Lauren's mother has always seems a little cold towards Arden, and Arden can't figure out why. After being at Arrowood for a while a writer, Josh, contacts Arden for a book he is working on about the disappearance of the twins. He has a website called Midwest Mysteries in which he writes about and investigates cold cases. Arden agrees to meet with him and information he shares with her turns her world upside down. Everything she thought about her past could be wrong, and it might be all her fault.
I enjoyed this book. It had suspense, mystery, and even a little ghost story spookiness thrown in. I look forward to reading more from the author.
3 1/2 Stars
Arden Arrowood returns to her childhood home after the death of her grandfather, in which the home was left to her. The lavish home has remained vacant for over 20 years, ever since Arden's family crumbled following the disappearance of her 2 yr old twin sisters. When Arden was 8 years old she was in charge of watching her sisters while they were playing outside. When she came around the corner of the house after collecting flowers for the girls they had vanished. Arden blamed herself and has always carried that guilt around with her. The girls' disappearance led to her parents' marriage falling apart and the family moving out of the house.
When Arden returns to her house she is met by Heaney, the hired caretaker, who seems to have a few mysteries surrounding him as well. He knows everything about Arden's family and the house, and there are rumors in town about him and Arden's mother having a previous relationship. Arden also reconnects with her former best friend Ben. They were neighbors growing up and Arden was close to his sister Lauren. Ben and Lauren's mother has always seems a little cold towards Arden, and Arden can't figure out why. After being at Arrowood for a while a writer, Josh, contacts Arden for a book he is working on about the disappearance of the twins. He has a website called Midwest Mysteries in which he writes about and investigates cold cases. Arden agrees to meet with him and information he shares with her turns her world upside down. Everything she thought about her past could be wrong, and it might be all her fault.
I enjoyed this book. It had suspense, mystery, and even a little ghost story spookiness thrown in. I look forward to reading more from the author.
Listened to the audiobook. Good story about family secrets, missing twin sisters, and a historic home. Kept me guessing and good wrap up.
Great mystery. The author did a wonderful job of creating a gripping and creepy story. The characters were well developed. Out of all the characters I couldn't figure out who to trust or who did it. The mystery draws you in, and you really want to find out what happened to the twins. I also really loved the old house aspect of this book, I feel it made it more unique and fun to read.
* I received a galley of this book as part of a giveaway (thank you Goodreads, Random House and Spiegel and Grau). All these opinions are my own.*
* I received a galley of this book as part of a giveaway (thank you Goodreads, Random House and Spiegel and Grau). All these opinions are my own.*
I enjoyed or "liked" reading the majority of this book, therefore, I scored it 3/5 stars. However, this book did not receive the 4 stars, I think that it could have because at times the language felt forced. As a reader, there were times when I felt like the author was trying too hard to have an atmospheric or clever way with words. Also, there was something missing from the book as a whole that made me fully drawn into it. I don't know if it was the audible narrator's voice or the story itself (I suspect a mix), but I found myself content to listen to the story when it was playing, but not fully engaged like I would hope to be. Lastly, I saw comparisons of this book to The Thirteenth Tale, which was a far superior book in my opinion.
This book is the story of Arden and her twin sisters. She inherits Arrowood which is where she was living with her parents and twin toddler sisters when she was 8 years old. One day, the twins disappeared. All these years later, it is still unclear what happened to them. Suspects pop up but the truth is finally revealed. A heartbreaking story.
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Liked it, but did not love it. I won this book in a giveaway, and was pretty excited to read it. I have to say I'm in a bit of a slump, and nothing I am reading is appealing to me, so perhaps that added to my lack of enthusiasm.
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
To the last moment, I couldn't ascertain the destination of the story, whether this is a general crime mystery, or gothic horror with some supernatural thing. the main character is a girl who witnessed her twin younger sisters kidnapped by someone when she was eight, and long has been agonized with the ominous memory by feeling responsible for the incident. 15 years passed, she returns to the old house in Mississippi, which was bequeathed by her father.
She decides to live there again and starts a personal investigation about the truth of the missing sisters. She comes to find many sinister facts and rotten relationships in the small town, to which she was oblivious in her happy childhood. I love this author's artistically deliberate plotting. I was completely trapped by her concoction and felt confined for a while in the real haunted mansion.
I felt that the author's touch is similar to recent female thriller writers, Paula Hawkins's The Girl on the Train or Shari Lapena's The Couple Next Door, light, fast-paced, and very thrilling.
She decides to live there again and starts a personal investigation about the truth of the missing sisters. She comes to find many sinister facts and rotten relationships in the small town, to which she was oblivious in her happy childhood. I love this author's artistically deliberate plotting. I was completely trapped by her concoction and felt confined for a while in the real haunted mansion.
I felt that the author's touch is similar to recent female thriller writers, Paula Hawkins's The Girl on the Train or Shari Lapena's The Couple Next Door, light, fast-paced, and very thrilling.