The House in the Pines: A Novel

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However, the storyline held my interest because it’s very different from the usual psychological thrillers that I read with the unreliable narrator. PS: the only update is that I realized that I forgot to rate this book, when I finished on February 9, 2023. Once Maya finally admits to Aubrey the truth behind her relationship with Frank, Aubrey surprises her. Obviously The House in the Pines was a had me at hello since it featured not only a house on the cover, but also a house in the name.

She struggles to understand the sounds she hears, but realizes they are coming from Frank, who appears suddenly behind her, and she wakes, drenched in sweat. Thick psychological tension is heightened by Maya’s memory lapses and reality-bending perceptions, lending the story a dark, supernatural feel.With fuzzy memories of the events seven years ago, Maya is determined to discover the truth of what happened then and more recently.

Though I suppose the plot gets a bit intricate as it bounces from past to present and back again, it never felt that way. Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review. Her friend Aubrey died in front of a man named Frank that they were both interested in and almost split their friendship.One of my 2023 reading resolutions is to try more book club books (Reese, GMA and Jenna) especially when they pick thrillers. Ana Reyes is the New York Times bestselling author of Reese’s Book Club pick The House in the Pines. Maya keeps having dreams about a cabin in the woods, a welcoming abode, with a warm blaze in the fireplace, the burning pine logs adding their scent to the room, the log walls offering shelter from a strong wind. On the positive side, the setting and characters had some good points, and I did feel enraptured from time to time with the concepts of hypnotism, magic, and memory loss.

One of the most coveted designations in the book industry, the Kirkus Star marks books of exceptional merit. Like so many people with roots in colonized places, the violence of the past has a way of showing up in the present in unexpected and highly personal ways. After a disastrous dinner at her boyfriend's parent's house, Maya knows she can't live with not knowing the truth any longer. Her boyfriend Dan is supportive towards Maya's grief, but Maya knows that she needs to learn how to cope with these memories. I won't go much into the plot (because there wasn't much of one) but the story had potential to be interesting if it weren't written in such a confusing manner.There's something about the writing that is so sensuous and transportive, while also filled with an underlying sense of dread.

At the age of seventeen Maya's best friend (Aubrey) was talking to Maya's ex-boyfriend (Frank) and just dropped over dead, literally. Maya is battling an addiction to prescription drugs in the current timeline and I felt that she was a believable and sympathetic character. Touching on mental illness, addiction, gaslighting and emotional abuse, Reyes delivers a gripping read. She’s murdered by Frank, the elder guy she’s dated who worked as a librarian at their small town Berkshires.This is very strange, as her best friend, Aubrey, suddenly died in front of this same ex boyfriend, named Frank. Maya does her Miss Marple thing to try to find out what really happened to Aubrey, to find out how Frank killed her, and one more thing.