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A review by keeperofpages
The Woman in the Wood by Lesley Pearse
4.0
A mother in an asylum, a cold and distance grandmother, a missing child, a strange woman living alone in the wood – Pearse certainly knows the right ingredients for a historical mystery novel! As if that wasn’t enough, Pearse throws a little emotion into the story as well, while still maintaining the dark themes the blurb promises.
Interestingly, The Woman in the Wood features some very dark themes but I’d still recommend it to readers who tend to avoid novels with sinister themes/content. I say that because Pearse is clearly a skilled writer, she allows you to feel the darkness and allows it to cloud certain parts of the story without throwing you head first into it. I’d say this book is in equally parts, character-driven and plot-driven and this opens the book up to a wider reading audience. The mystery itself is very cleverly constructed and until Pearse was ready to tell, I had no clue what had befallen Duncan.
Not only is this a mystery novel centred around a missing child, Pearse delves into the realm of family ties and friendship. She delivers this theme through some brilliant characters – Maisy and Duncan are likeable children and develop a warm and loving relationship with their grandmother’s housekeeper, in comparison to their cold grandmother and their father who struggles to show affection, this book has a nice contrast of characters. When Duncan goes missing, it’s interesting to see the reaction of the different characters. While the twins may not feel especially close to their family, I didn’t dislike their gran or their dad but don’t worry, Pearse delivers on unlikeable characters too. I also liked that the novel opened with some information about the twin’s mother and how her being in an asylum featured throughout the story as it affected the twin’s actions, without Pearse needing to detail cold and disturbing accounts of their mother in an asylum, as a nearly abstract character, she played vital role in the novel.
Before I conclude this review, I thought I’d say something about the woman in the wood – easily my favourite character! That’s all you’re getting on that!
After reading this book, it is clear Pearse has incredible talent – The Woman in the Wood is a wonderful mystery that is strong enough to engage you fully in the read without needing a lightening pace, it features some strong characters and character development with a firm conclusion to the novel. I highly recommended it!
*My thanks to the publisher (Michael Joseph) for granting me access to a digital copy of this book via Netgalley*
Interestingly, The Woman in the Wood features some very dark themes but I’d still recommend it to readers who tend to avoid novels with sinister themes/content. I say that because Pearse is clearly a skilled writer, she allows you to feel the darkness and allows it to cloud certain parts of the story without throwing you head first into it. I’d say this book is in equally parts, character-driven and plot-driven and this opens the book up to a wider reading audience. The mystery itself is very cleverly constructed and until Pearse was ready to tell, I had no clue what had befallen Duncan.
Not only is this a mystery novel centred around a missing child, Pearse delves into the realm of family ties and friendship. She delivers this theme through some brilliant characters – Maisy and Duncan are likeable children and develop a warm and loving relationship with their grandmother’s housekeeper, in comparison to their cold grandmother and their father who struggles to show affection, this book has a nice contrast of characters. When Duncan goes missing, it’s interesting to see the reaction of the different characters. While the twins may not feel especially close to their family, I didn’t dislike their gran or their dad but don’t worry, Pearse delivers on unlikeable characters too. I also liked that the novel opened with some information about the twin’s mother and how her being in an asylum featured throughout the story as it affected the twin’s actions, without Pearse needing to detail cold and disturbing accounts of their mother in an asylum, as a nearly abstract character, she played vital role in the novel.
Before I conclude this review, I thought I’d say something about the woman in the wood – easily my favourite character! That’s all you’re getting on that!
After reading this book, it is clear Pearse has incredible talent – The Woman in the Wood is a wonderful mystery that is strong enough to engage you fully in the read without needing a lightening pace, it features some strong characters and character development with a firm conclusion to the novel. I highly recommended it!
*My thanks to the publisher (Michael Joseph) for granting me access to a digital copy of this book via Netgalley*