Whisper Cottage Review

Author: Anne Wyn Clark

Genre: Mystery Suspense

Publisher: Avon Books

Release Date: Sept. 2, 2021

Order Link: Amazon

My Rating: 4 Chilling Hearts

Many thanks to Harper Collins & Avon Books for an arc.

A haunting, twisty story about the power of secrets and rumours, perfect for fans of Ruth Ware’s The Turn of the Key and Lucy Atkins’s Magpie Lane. 

Review:

Seeking a quiet, safe place to live and raise a family, Stina and Jack move out of the crime ridden city into an old, neglected cottage in the small village of Avoncote.  Rolling up their sleeves, they begin working to make their new home cozy and charming - like the beautiful semi-attached cottage next door occupied by an eccentric old lady named Mrs. Barley.  It soon becomes obvious that the locals avoid that cottage and Mrs. Barley like the plague.  Rumors of witchcraft and spells spread wide and far - along with warnings to stay away from her, and yet for the most part, Mrs. Barley is nothing but sweet and kind to Stina and Jack.  Working as a vet, Jack spends long hours away from home and thus doesn't hear or see the unsettling happenings when they begin occurring as Stina does.  A strange man wandering in Mrs. Barley's courtyard that no one else admits to seeing, strange scraping sounds coming from the shared attic late at night, Mrs. Barley's chanting while sitting in a circle of candles, Mrs. Barley's sudden mood swings and weird little dolls - all lead Stina to begin her own ill-timed investigation . . . and eventually question her own sanity.  Is something sinister lurking in the cottage next door . . . or is Stina succumbing to the same mental illness as her mother?  Is their new home a safe haven . . . or their worst nightmare?

Whisper Cottage is a tense, gripping read that captures you in the eerie prologue and holds you prisoner until the final shocking revelation - I'm talking edge-of-your-seat suspense.  Through brilliant manipulation of prose, Clark sets and maintains a chilling atmosphere of impending doom throughout the story - a dark tone fueled by vicious rumors, life-altering secrets, sinister happenings, hints of mental instability and paranormal vibes.  Stina is an unreliable narrator and through flashbacks, readers become aware of her buried secrets including the source of her mental concerns.  And while it's obvious Mrs. Barley is hiding something, her role is so well played that some of her scenes made me think of grandmothers baking apple pies while others gave me chill bumps.  Who is she?  Good?  Evil?  Is Stina the only one who "sees"?  Or has she slipped into insanity?  A dangerous vibe permeates the pages as this story unfolds.  I turned pages cautiously - almost afraid to see what would happen next.    Whisper Cottage is a chilling story that whispers warnings . . . beware your secrets less they bury you alive.  Fans of mystery and suspense are going to gobble this one up.  The perfect read for a dark, foggy night.  

Synopsis:

How well do you know the woman next door? 

When Stina and Jack move to an old rural cottage, they’re hoping for a fresh start. Their new home is run-down compared to their neighbour’s, but generous Mrs Barley quickly becomes a friend.  
 
Until Stina sees a mysterious figure in the widow’s garden, and her happy new life begins to unravel. And when she hears strange noises in the night, she is forced to question if Mrs Barley is what she seems. 
 
Why do the other villagers whisper about her? Why is she so eager to help the couple? And what is she hiding in her picture-perfect home? 
 

The Missing Hours Review

Author: Julia Dahl

Genre: Suspense

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Release Date: Sept. 14, 2021

Order Link: Amazon

My Rating: 4 Black Hearts

Many thanks to Minotaur Books for an arc of this book

From the critically acclaimed author of Invisible City and Conviction, The Missing Hours is a novel about obsession, privilege, and the explosive consequences of one violent act.

Review:

At first glance, NYU freshman Claudia Castro appears to have it all. She's a member of the elite - a trust fund baby with a famous father enjoying social status with mega social media followers - the envy of her NYU peers. Take off the rose colored glasses, and you'll see a dysfunctional family in the process of disintegrating with devastating effects on Claudia leading to life altering bad decisions. After a night of heavy drinking at a college party, Claudia awakes from a blackout to find her clothes in bloody disarray and body severely battered - black eye, split lip, black and blue bruises all over with painful urination. Aching and limping, Claudia's mind is fuzzy and try as she may, she can't fill in the missing hours. While it's obvious she had rough sex, she's mortified at the realization she doesn't know if she participated freely or was raped. Shame and self-blame silence her, and she doesn't seek help or counseling. Sound familiar?

Just as Claudia settles back into a semi-normal routine interrupted by frequent fraught psychotic episodes, disastrous evidence of what happened that fateful night surfaces on cell phones and social media, spreading like wildfire. Shamed, taunted, and chastised as a slut, Claudia is forced into the limelight where even her friends doubt her innocence. Social media becomes judge and jury, convicting her without a trial. Life as Claudia knows it is over. And then . . . she disappears. Her family is frantic. What happened to her?

The Missing Hours is a dark, edgy story of obsession, entitlement and consequences. For every action, there is a reaction. But are consequences the same for the privileged? One of the perpetrators on the cell phone video is from a wealthy, powerful family and the other is on the verge of a record contract worth millions. The stakes are high for them and their families who secretly work to silence those who dare accuse the men of rape. What makes this case different is that Claudia's family also has the means to seek justice for their missing daughter, and it becomes a battle of the entitled.

Told from multiple points of view with short, choppy chapters that drive a frantic pace, this story is propelled forward with a dark atmosphere of malice. Bouncing from one narrator to the next, I burned through pages with trepidation trying to determine what really happened as Claudia herself still doesn't know. As the story unfolds, readers will feel the tone of the story shift from deep despondency to rabid, flaming rage fed by dark, convoluted thoughts of retaliation and revenge raising the question . . . if the court system fails you, do you have the right to sentence those who have wronged you? Is using wealth for retaliation any different than using it for privilege? Does seeking retaliation ever really right a wrong?

Dahl gives readers a lot to think about in this riveting, traumatic story of one woman's journey beyond assault, shame and self-blame to reclaim her life and mend ties with her family. It's a violent story with rippling effects that impact way more than the obvious so readers should be prepared to look deeper for hidden questions. Intense, gritty and quite graphic, The Missing Hours will appeal to fans of suspense and those who enjoy a dark, angsty story of obsession and revenge with a few surprises along the way. Clear your calendar as you'll want to read this book in one sitting.

 Synopsis:

From a distance, Claudia Castro has it all: a famous family, a trust fund, thousands of Instagram followers, and a spot in NYU’s freshman class. But look closer, and things are messier: her parents are separating, she’s just been humiliated by a sleazy documentary, and her sister is about to have a baby with a man she barely knows.

Claudia starts the school year resolved to find a path toward something positive, maybe even meaningful – and then one drunken night everything changes. Reeling, her memory hazy, Claudia cuts herself off from her family, seeking solace in a new friendship. But when the rest of school comes back from spring break, Claudia is missing.

Suddenly, the whole city is trying to piece together the hours of that terrible night.

Meet the Author:

http://www.juliadahl.com

Julia Dahl was born and raised in Fresno, California and currently lives in New York's Hudson Valley with her husband and son.

Dahl began her career as a journalist working as a fact-checker at Entertainment Weekly. Since then, she has been an editor at Marie Claire, a freelance reporter at the New York Post, the deputy managing editor of The Crime Report, and a crime and justice reporter for CBS News.

She now teaches journalism at NYU.

Dahl's first novel, INVISIBLE CITY, was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best First Novel, and won the Barry Award, the Shamus Award, and the Macavity Award for Best First Novel. INVISIBLE CITY named one of the Boston Globe's Best Books of 2014, and has been translated into eight languages.