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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Arrowood is a classic mystery. We follow Arden as she works to uncover the truth behind her sister's disappearance many years ago. As the sole witness to the crime, and the person who turned her back on the little girls for a moment too long, she is seeking both peace and forgiveness for herself.
There is something soothing about Laura McHugh's writing that really works for me. Her prose is simple, with no fancy tricks, but somehow so compelling. Much like the Weight of Blood, Arrowood is an engaging mystery that isn't meant to shock you with extreme twists or acts of violence. Arrowood reads smoothly with consistently building tension, and the startling truth behind the crime is terrible, sad, and maddening.
I was almost nervous to read this book because I loved the Weight of Blood so much! McHugh delivered again, and I am eagerly awaiting her next release.
There is something soothing about Laura McHugh's writing that really works for me. Her prose is simple, with no fancy tricks, but somehow so compelling. Much like the Weight of Blood, Arrowood is an engaging mystery that isn't meant to shock you with extreme twists or acts of violence. Arrowood reads smoothly with consistently building tension, and the startling truth behind the crime is terrible, sad, and maddening.
I was almost nervous to read this book because I loved the Weight of Blood so much! McHugh delivered again, and I am eagerly awaiting her next release.
Find all my reviews on my blog: https://thesuspenseisthrillingme.com
Date Read: 10/06/16
Pub Date: 08/09/16
3.5 STARS
A haunting novel from the author of The Weight of Blood about a young woman’s return to her childhood home—and her encounter with the memories and family secrets it holds
Arrowood is the most ornate and grand of the historical houses that line the Mississippi River in southern Iowa. But the house has a mystery it has never revealed: It’s where Arden Arrowood’s younger twin sisters vanished on her watch twenty years ago—never to be seen again. After the twins’ disappearance, Arden’s parents divorced and the Arrowoods left the big house that had been in their family for generations. And Arden’s own life has fallen apart: She can’t finish her master’s thesis, and a misguided love affair has ended badly. She has held on to the hope that her sisters are still alive, and it seems she can’t move forward until she finds them. When her father dies and she inherits Arrowood, Arden returns to her childhood home determined to discover what really happened to her sisters that traumatic summer.
Arden’s return to the town of Keokuk—and the now infamous house that bears her name—is greeted with curiosity. But she is welcomed back by her old neighbor and first love, Ben Ferris, whose family, she slowly learns, knows more about the Arrowoods’ secrets and their small, closed community than she ever realized. With the help of a young amateur investigator, Arden tracks down the man who was the prime suspect in the kidnapping. But the house and the surrounding town hold their secrets close—and the truth, when Arden finds it, is more devastating than she ever could have imagined.
This is my second read by author [a:Laura McHugh|7177796|Laura McHugh|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1384806286p2/7177796.jpg] this year, and while this was still a good read, I think I enjoyed [b:The Weight of Blood|23667650|The Weight of Blood|Laura McHugh|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1417644722s/23667650.jpg|25630270] a bit more. I was expecting something of a similar feel in this one, but to my surprise it was very different. I requested this one on NetGalley upon finishing TWOB, but I managed to read a few reviews before starting it and, to my disappointment, realized the ending was a point of contention for many folks. No worries; there have been many books that the masses weren’t feeling that I fan-girled over, so I thought maybe this would be a similar case. I quickly found however that the masses were correct in this one.
Again, this isn’t a negative review; McHugh has uber talent and knows how to use beautiful language to write scenery, settings, and build a creeping sense of dread. The language is rich and succulent; it feels like a treat to be privy to her writing. Over the course of this read, I felt the tension grow and grow to the point I wanted to scream “Let’s get to the end already!!!”; the pacing was very steady (maybe even a bit slow for my liking) and thorough. Once we get to the ending, the reader has to decide if they are the type to become imaginative and use their own perspectives to fill in some wholes; this was hard for me as I was expecting some major twist, or at least full closure due to how the story was told, but there is neither in this story. This is a well-written read that showcases the author’s talent, but fans of the twisty, suspenseful thriller may be disappointed if you go into this one reading for the wrong reasons. I will definitely be reading whatever [a:Laura McHugh|7177796|Laura McHugh|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1384806286p2/7177796.jpg] puts out next, as she has really captured my attention with her first novel and continued to pique it with her second.
*I would like to thank the author and publisher for my copy in exchange for a fair and honest review. I received my eagerly via NetGalley.
Date Read: 10/06/16
Pub Date: 08/09/16
3.5 STARS
A haunting novel from the author of The Weight of Blood about a young woman’s return to her childhood home—and her encounter with the memories and family secrets it holds
Arrowood is the most ornate and grand of the historical houses that line the Mississippi River in southern Iowa. But the house has a mystery it has never revealed: It’s where Arden Arrowood’s younger twin sisters vanished on her watch twenty years ago—never to be seen again. After the twins’ disappearance, Arden’s parents divorced and the Arrowoods left the big house that had been in their family for generations. And Arden’s own life has fallen apart: She can’t finish her master’s thesis, and a misguided love affair has ended badly. She has held on to the hope that her sisters are still alive, and it seems she can’t move forward until she finds them. When her father dies and she inherits Arrowood, Arden returns to her childhood home determined to discover what really happened to her sisters that traumatic summer.
Arden’s return to the town of Keokuk—and the now infamous house that bears her name—is greeted with curiosity. But she is welcomed back by her old neighbor and first love, Ben Ferris, whose family, she slowly learns, knows more about the Arrowoods’ secrets and their small, closed community than she ever realized. With the help of a young amateur investigator, Arden tracks down the man who was the prime suspect in the kidnapping. But the house and the surrounding town hold their secrets close—and the truth, when Arden finds it, is more devastating than she ever could have imagined.
This is my second read by author [a:Laura McHugh|7177796|Laura McHugh|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1384806286p2/7177796.jpg] this year, and while this was still a good read, I think I enjoyed [b:The Weight of Blood|23667650|The Weight of Blood|Laura McHugh|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1417644722s/23667650.jpg|25630270] a bit more. I was expecting something of a similar feel in this one, but to my surprise it was very different. I requested this one on NetGalley upon finishing TWOB, but I managed to read a few reviews before starting it and, to my disappointment, realized the ending was a point of contention for many folks. No worries; there have been many books that the masses weren’t feeling that I fan-girled over, so I thought maybe this would be a similar case. I quickly found however that the masses were correct in this one.
Again, this isn’t a negative review; McHugh has uber talent and knows how to use beautiful language to write scenery, settings, and build a creeping sense of dread. The language is rich and succulent; it feels like a treat to be privy to her writing. Over the course of this read, I felt the tension grow and grow to the point I wanted to scream “Let’s get to the end already!!!”; the pacing was very steady (maybe even a bit slow for my liking) and thorough. Once we get to the ending, the reader has to decide if they are the type to become imaginative and use their own perspectives to fill in some wholes; this was hard for me as I was expecting some major twist, or at least full closure due to how the story was told, but there is neither in this story. This is a well-written read that showcases the author’s talent, but fans of the twisty, suspenseful thriller may be disappointed if you go into this one reading for the wrong reasons. I will definitely be reading whatever [a:Laura McHugh|7177796|Laura McHugh|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1384806286p2/7177796.jpg] puts out next, as she has really captured my attention with her first novel and continued to pique it with her second.
*I would like to thank the author and publisher for my copy in exchange for a fair and honest review. I received my eagerly via NetGalley.
A bit of a rambling unfocused tale. The narrator does a nice job. Arden is hard to relate to add she's so unfocused and drifting. The ending is odd ... With no explanation, she becomes a driven and successful woman.
Really great. Gothic. Creepy. An air of...something.
Well plotted and easy to read! Easy to recommned
Well plotted and easy to read! Easy to recommned
Well this book was a disappointment. I so throughly enjoyed McHugh’s previous book and I wanted desperately to feel that same connection here. It’s not here. This book is disjointed, slow, and inevitably extremely predictable in every way. Reasons to read... the setting. That’s it. 2/5 from me.
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Meh, ok but the ending was telegraphed too early. A bit pedestrian
2.5 Stars. I feel a little bad for rating this under 3 stars because the writing wasn't bad (though much too descriptive for me), but when I finished the book my first thought was, "That was a waste of time." The chapters were long and the pace was slow and it took well over half way through for me to really get interested in the story. The solution to the mystery wasn't really a surprise at all and I thought the reveal wasn't very well done. The characters could have used a little more development, but I didn't mind Arden and I liked Josh. If you're really into description and some light history you would probably enjoy this more than I did, but if you're looking for a good mystery or suspense I would say to look somewhere else.
When she was eight, Arden's two-year-old twin sisters vanished. She saw the car that took them and remembers seeing a flash of the girls' hair as it drove away. They were never found and the kidnapper maintained his innocence. Now, decades later, she's living in her ancestral home again (she has nowhere else to go; her father recently died and she and her mom aren't close). And she's not there long before someone writing a book about her sisters' disappearance tells her that chances are, her memory of what happened is wrong.
I really enjoyed this novel. It reminded me of a gothic version of Gillian Flynn's Dark Places. It is dark and twisty and even though Arden is messed up (understandably!), I couldn't help but root for her.
This is also a book where the reader doesn't know who to trust--even Arden is not necessarily a reliable narrator. As a result, expect to have to pay attention and do some heavy lifting to decide what you think happened to the twins. (We don't get a 100% guaranteed answer, either, so do not read if you don't like ambiguity.)
At any rate, I very much enjoyed this. I want to read her first novel now!
I really enjoyed this novel. It reminded me of a gothic version of Gillian Flynn's Dark Places. It is dark and twisty and even though Arden is messed up (understandably!), I couldn't help but root for her.
This is also a book where the reader doesn't know who to trust--even Arden is not necessarily a reliable narrator. As a result, expect to have to pay attention and do some heavy lifting to decide what you think happened to the twins. (We don't get a 100% guaranteed answer, either, so do not read if you don't like ambiguity.)
At any rate, I very much enjoyed this. I want to read her first novel now!