Month: October 2019

in a dark, dark wood by Ruth Ware

in a dark, dark wood by Ruth Ware

Ruth Ware is proving herself to be a master of suspense, in the twisty-mystery style. In a dark, dark wood is her first book and is full of tension from the first line “I am running” to the very last line “And then I click.” What happens in between those two lines is an amazing story of toxic friendships.

The book is a quick read, but that doesn’t mean it’s superficial like some of the other best selling authors. Ware digs deep into the emotional impact the outer events are having on the main character, Leonora. Leonora is sometimes known as Lee, sometimes as Leo, but in the present time of the story goes by Nora. From inside Nora’s head, the reader feels the same sense of dread, of foreboding, that the Nora feels.

It is the story of a group of friends in their mid-twenties who gather for a ‘hen’ weekend. That’s a weekend to celebrate the bride-to-be, like a bridal shower but extended to an entire weekend of fun and games. They gather in a remote house in the middle of a woods. The house has all glass walls so one can view the woods from inside the house, or someone from outside can see what is happened inside the house. As if the setting is not creepy enough, the character, Flo, who organized the hen weekend is offbeat, almost as though something is wrong with her.

Five people gather for the weekend: Nora, Flo, Clare (the bride-to-be), Nina (a friend from school), and a man named Tom. Clare is planning to marry James, Nora’s teen age sweetheart. Nora never really got over James and resents him because he broke her heart. When Clare, Nora and James were in school together, Clare had the hots for James. But, at that time, James preferred Nora, then known as Lee. The weekend involves a lot of drinking, skeet shooting, and Ouija board play.

A thoroughly enjoyable read, I completed it in one afternoon. The suspense is engaging enough that I read well beyond my allotted reading time. It’s suspenseful without being scary. Nora is relatable and I found myself hoping she would come out all right in the end.

This book does not lag in the middle as some books tend to do. The suspense begins on page one and holds all the way through. The middle of the book is every bit as interesting as the opening and the ending. Ware’s writing is like Dean Koontz; suspenseful but not scary. It won’t keep you up at night, unless you live in a house with glass walls. Then you might have a problem.

House of Echoes, by Brendan Duffy, 2015

 

House of Echoes, by Brendan Duffy, horror fiction, 2015

House of Echoes, the first novel by Brendan Duffy, is another story set in an old house (the Crofts) filed with the spirits of prior residents. The story is reminiscent of The Shining: a big old building, a spooky cellar, a couple with a troubled marriage, a young son. But the Crofts is not the Overlook and the terror is not restricted to the house. This eerie house is surrounded by a creepy forest containing all manner of horrors.

The story is set in an isolated village where people have strange beliefs. To quote Duffy there are “Demons in the woods and devils at the door.” Duffy succeeds in creating a creepy environment where the setting, the village and forest surrounding it, become characters.

Crofts is an old four-story building with 65 rooms built over the years, the huge home of the Swann family who have lived here for generations. It overlooks the ‘drop’, a valley surrounded by mountains. The village is the Town of Swannhaven, a “a place between places”.

Ben Tierney, his wife Caroline, son Charlie, and baby Bud have moved here along with their dog Hudson. Their intention is to turn the Crofts into a country inn. Caroline is a recently laid off banker and Ben is a writer. They are looking for a place to restart their lives. Ben is distantly related to the Swann family, a fact appreciated by the villagers.

Eight-year-old Charlie enjoys exploring the forest that surrounds the Crofts, until he meets the ‘watcher’. Then, “Fear…sat next to his heart.” Ben gets acquainted with the villagers and begins to uncover their secrets and their primitive history. Meanwhile, Caroline is struggling with severe depression and has a breakdown after baby Bud disappears.

This is a highly readable book, paced well, with interesting characters. On the horror scale, where one is not scary at all and five is sleep-with-the-lights-on scary, this book rates a two. There is an element of horror, but most of the elements meant to be frightening are more gross than scary.