When this one came across my desk for review, I almost passed for a couple of reasons. One, I had no room on my review calendar and two, I try to keep my horror or creepy books for the fall. But then something in the description popped and there was no way I could pass this one up. In the description that the publisher sent over it noted that this book would be featuring some Guatemalan history and folklore. My husband is from Guatemala and I know that there just isn’t a lot out there when it comes to Guatemalan anything for literature.
So that sold me on this one and even though my review won’t be coming until February, I wanted to get this book on your radar! It’s a debut thriller and I have seen it listed on some of the most anticipated lists for the new year so I figured what better way to kick off 2023 on my blog than to feature this hot new thriller with you guys!
I think the premise sounds interesting and it sounds modern with a psychological component too, and I love thrillers like that. Naturally I am eager to start reading this one and I cannot wait to see how Guatemala and it’s folklore fits into this one as well. The description promises twists, turns, and of course. cabin in the woods so I am really looking forward to reading this one. It’s out now and ready to kick off your reading goals for the new year, be watching for my review in February!
Summary
A captivating psychological suspense debut about a young woman still haunted by her childhood best friend’s death who learns of an eerily similar incident and must find her way back to a cabin in the New England woods, armed with only hazy memories, to finally uncover the truth that has eluded her.
Maya was a high school senior when her best friend, Aubrey, mysteriously dropped dead in front of the enigmatic man named Frank whom they’d been hanging around with all summer. Seven years later, Maya is just managing to move on; she lives in Boston with a loving boyfriend and is kicking the secret Klonopin habit that’s allowed her to cope with what happened all those years ago.
But her past comes to haunt her when she discovers a recent YouTube video in which a young woman suddenly keels over in a diner while sitting across from none other than Frank. Plunged back into the trauma that has defined her life, Maya heads to her small Berkshires hometown to figure out the truth.
With guidance from a half-written book by the father in Guatemala she never knew, Maya’s quest for answers forces her to relive that fateful summer—the influence Frank once had on her, and the jealousy that nearly destroyed her friendship with Aubrey—finally leading her to Frank’s cabin in the woods.
The House in the Pines is an utterly unique and surprising thriller about the subtlety of memory and manipulation, confronting the past and returning home, and the powerful and lasting bonds of family and friendship. (summary from Goodreads)
The Lit Bitch 