A young New York City
couple with a boy and a baby in tow, Ben and Caroline Tierney had it
all…until Ben’s second novel missed the mark, Caroline lost her
lucrative banking job, and something went wrong with 8-year-old Charlie.
When Ben inherits land way upstate from his grandmother, the two of
them began to believe in second chances. But upon arriving in
Swannhaven, a town that seems to have been forgotten by time, they’re
beset by strange sights and disconcerting developments…and they begin to
realize they might have made their worst mistake yet. But what dark
secret is buried in this odd place? And will Ben and Caroline figure it
out soon enough to save their young family?
This book began with such promise, but it ended up
feeling flat. The premise was the kind that I enjoy: a secluded house in a
small village, full of mystery and touches of horror. The problem is that the plot
is really not all that original.
The characters were nothing out of the ordinary, and
except for Charlie, they did not come to life the way the reader needs in order
to feel connected to them. There is a lot of backstory that we are missing
about their lives, so we really can’t engage with them too much. The villagers
are cookie-cutter side characters who attempt to bring a sense of menace to the
story but don’t always succeed, mainly because they are interchangeable. They
leave the reader with lots of unanswered questions.
Although there are some moments that do chill the
reader the conclusion is just not satisfying. The author does a pretty good job
with the pacing towards the beginning, but fumbles it at the end, so that we
are rushing to the conclusion much too quickly.
This was an entertaining book up to the last couple
of chapters when everything was revealed. There are some nice moments that will
keep your reading, but overall it’s not one I would pick up again.
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