Wow. This novel!
What a fast-paced drama/mystery!
I just loved this author's very first novel. She's written several.
In fact, I'm on the waiting list for her latest (at the towne library). Her books seem to be very popular. I've read just one of her novels, about 2 years ago or so and did enjoy that one. This one was better!
STORY SUMMARY
Leonara (also known as Lee to some friends and Nora to others) is a reclusive writer and usually she doesn't want to leave her cozy London apartment. But she's been invited to an old friend's wedding shower, known in England as a hen party. A woman named Flo (whom Nora has never met) has invited her to her aunt's countryside home in northern England. It's to be a weekend fling. The bride is Clare, Nora's former childhood friend. They haven't spoken in over 10 years. Nina, another of their mutual friends, is also invited although her partner, Jessie is not. Nina says if Nora goes, Nina will go. Another person whom Nina or Nora have never met....a gay guy named Tom, is also invited, but his husband Bruce is not. Melanie, married and who just gave birth to a baby boy 6 months earlier will be there as well. So there will be 6 people in this country cottage.
The cottage is actually kind of creepy...it is set in the deep dark woods and is made entirely of glass.
As they all gather together on the first night..a Friday evening in November, the old and new friends begin to learn little secrets about each other. An unnerving memory begins to shatter Nora's reserve. Melanie, upset with the lack of cell service reception and the fact that the landline isn't working due to a storm, heads back to her home, husband, and baby. She just can't stand to be away from her new baby boy. Everyone else agrees to stay. Nora, though, as well as Nina would like to leave. Flo is being way too odd and controlling and they realize she has a weird obsession with Clare to the point of even dressing exactly like her. and she seems to love making a point that Clare is marrying James, Nora's high school sweetheart who dumped her via a text message 10 years ago.Nora herself is a bit obsessed with James and has thought of him every day for 10 years. But, Nora just wants to go back to her cozy apartment and Nina wants to go home to Jessie.
But before Nora and Nina make the decision to leave this hen party and go back to London, something happens and they realize they are not alone in the woods.
48 hours later, Nora wakes up in the hospital, horribly bruised. She knows someone is dead...but who?? Nora has a bit of amnesia about all of the events on Saturday evening. She knows something bad happened. yet she can't quite piece together all of the events from the weekend. She begins the work of uncovering the secrets, revealing the motives, and finding the answers. But this means she has to revisit parts of her self that she long ago buried.
MY THOUGHTS
This book was gripping right from the beginning.
I loved the character development as well as the setting. I could visualize this glass house quite well and loved that the author made Nora a runner. For me, she was running physically all while running from her past. Excellent job!
This is definitely a psychological thriller and I did NOT expect the ending. I really thought it was going to go another way. So I loved that. Sometimes I do not like books that are predictable and this one is definitely not that!
Some of the themes in the book are: friendships and betrayals, honesty vs dishonesty, obsession, suicide, drug usage.
I really think the glass house was to represent how exposed everyone felt but also how vulnerable the guests were.
The story fluctuates between the present (Nora in the hospital) and the previous weekend (at the glass house hen party). It's very well done and there's a lot of suspense in this book which really drives it forward.
In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 17 and older (due to some mature content).
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 10.
3 comments:
Oh I read this one!!! Yes it was great!!!
I have the Woman in Cabin 10 on my pile but I'll have to add this to my library list, too.
Hi Fatih - I am back in Blog Land. This sounds like a good book. I will be looking for it. Crazy, but lately, I have become a fan of true crime podcasts and shows like Dateline. This book would go right along with that genre. Thanks for the review and look for me back in the blogosphere. :-)
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