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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Very much like WE WERE LIARS, but with intriguing elements of history, memory, the passage of time, and all the sentimental weight of things. I've always had a bit of a fascination with the nature of memory and truth/story truth, so although this didn't really seem like something I would have picked up, the blurbs and back copy certainly did their jobs and pulled me in, I knew this would be right in my wheelhouse. It was a little dragged on though and I wish there'd been a better twist (a la We Were Liars). Still a good read.
Meh it was good but wasn't as gothic or as twisty as it was marketed to be. There is no definite resolution of the main mystery.
26 year old Arden returns to her family’s ancestral house when her father dies. She and her family are still haunted by the mysterious abduction of her twin sisters when they were nearly two and she was just seven years old. Now she must see if she can get her life back on track, and possibly find out what happened to the twins years ago.
Reading this engaging novel, I was intrigued with the depiction of southernmost Iowa, along the banks of the Mississippi, and its stately homes. A dark tale of tragedy and mystery and nostalgia. Turning my attention now to McHugh's more famous novel, "The Weight of Blood."
Yo, this is how you write a strong mystery. Believable, complex characters making choices that feel organic to themselves and not because the plot demands it. No dawdling with extensive red herrings. Excellent establishment of the setting and atmosphere without dipping into purple prose. I'd say the only drawback (ish) is that you can see part of the solution coming, but there's a nice twist, and then another, that aren't simply for shock value, they actually fit into the story, and that makes the ending resonate. I think this'll be a pretty popular book this summer.
Thanks to Penguin Random House for ARC copy (expected publication July 5, 2016).
Now I gotta get my hands on her first novel.
Thanks to Penguin Random House for ARC copy (expected publication July 5, 2016).
Now I gotta get my hands on her first novel.
Probably more like 3.5 stars. I enjoyed it, the suspense, the way the house seems haunted but isn't, the constant guessing about what happened. The ending is a little unsatisfying only because, without spoiling it, I felt like justice could have been served better, but that's how life works sometimes. Better than a nearly wrapped up ending where everyone is happy.
mysterious
medium-paced
I really enjoyed the audiobook, the narration was great and so was the pace. There were parts of the book that didn't go far, but I think with any southern gothic you have to insert some small creepy story lines just to keep the mystery and the dark feel. They don't all have to lead to something. I enjoyed it for what it was and really do enjoy this authors work.
Subtle, well-written, and difficult to put down.
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.
It as a haunting story full of mystery. Arden works through her past to uncover the mystery of the disappearance of her twin sisters. It is sad and eye-opening but her working through her past and solving the mystery will help her move forward in the future. It was an enchanting mystery story that I truly enjoyed reading.
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.
It as a haunting story full of mystery. Arden works through her past to uncover the mystery of the disappearance of her twin sisters. It is sad and eye-opening but her working through her past and solving the mystery will help her move forward in the future. It was an enchanting mystery story that I truly enjoyed reading.