A Good House for Children - Kate Collins

One of my favorite genres to read is gothic fiction. After reading the synopsis, I happily picked up Kate Collins' debut novel - A Good House for Children.

All the right elements are there - an isolated, large old house outside of a small village, a house the villagers whisper about, one that has been home to 'outsiders' who don't know the history of the house. What else? Women left alone in the house with the children while the husband is away for work. And....small glimpses of something? someone? on the steps, at the end of the hallway, in the garden by the pond...and who are the children talking to?

All of this and more is told in a now and then timeline - the current residents of the house - and the family before.

Orla is our protagonist in the present and Lydia is from four decades back. I always enjoy this style of storytelling. I can't help but read one more chapter 'til late in the night. Lydia's situation seems more dire to me. As readers, we're privy to those past events and can only hope Orla can see what's happening before....

"Orla invited herself in, and the house woke up." (I live in quite an old house and this gave me the shivers...)

The house is both a character and setting in A Good House for Children. Collins does a wonderful job of ramping up the danger with a slow burning, insidiously clever plot. Collins does a great job writing the two timelines and weaving them together. Also wound into the tale is a dissection of motherhood. And the ending is perfect.

A satisfying read and a really good debut! See for yourself - read an excerpt of A Good House for Children.

The House in the Pines - Ana Reyes

I started seeing quite a few reviews of Ana Reyes's debut novel, The House in the Pines. When Reece Witherspoon made it her next book club selection, I decided to listen to it and see what it was all about.

Maya had three weeks before she left for university. But in those three weeks, her life changed when her friend Aubrey died - in front of Frank, the man Maya had been seeing. 

That was seven years ago. Maya still doesn't really understand happened that summer. She doesn't trust her own memories. But after a chance viewing of a disturbing video, she knows she has to go back home and find answers at last.

Unreliable narrators are a favourite of mine and Maya is definitely unreliable. Reyes mixes in more than one reason for her memory lapses and current day behaviour. Once she's back at her childhood  home, the pieces of that summer are slowly put together as Maya starts to revisit those three weeks. I'm was firmly behind Maya as she searched for answers. But... I mulled over teenage Maya's actions, emotions and thoughts as I listened. It could be my pragmatic nature, but I didn't totally buy into her behavior back then. 

 

Now, there is a reason for that behavior that I'm going to let you discover. It's at the core of the book. Having had it revealed, I thought it an unusual and unique idea. But, that pragmatic nature of mine had me appreciating the novelty of it, but not really buying into it.

There's a connection in Maya's life to Guatemala and I enjoyed learning from these bits of history.

I enjoyed this listen and thought it was a good debut. Not quite the wow I had anticipated though. 

The narrator was Marisol Ramirez and I thought she did a great job. Her voice is really easy on the ears, with a soft undertone. She speaks clearly and enunciates well. Her voice rises and falls as she reads, adding movement to the narration. Hear for yourself - listen to an audio excerpt of The House in the Pines. 

The Last to Vanish - Megan Miranda

I have quite enjoyed all of Megan Miranda's books and was looking forward to listening to her latest - The Last to Vanish. The one thing that Miranda's books have in common is suspense. What's different about The Last to Vanish is how that suspense is played out.

The Last to Vanish is such a well paced book. Miranda builds the story with layers of atmospheric observations, happenings, interactions, suspicions and more - all seen through Abby's eyes. The sense of danger is not overt, but instead preys on the listener's imagination. I very much enjoyed the subtle hand Miranda used in building her story. 

I chose to listen to The Last to Vanish and I'm so glad I did. Alex Allwine was the reader. She's a new to me narrator and I thought she was was really good. She has a lovely low, well modulated, gravelly undertone tone to her voice that is easy on the ears. Her pace of speaking is thoughtful and matches the tone of Miranda's book. Her enunciation is clear. Her voice matched the mental image I had constructed for Abby.  Allwine interpreted and presented Miranda's book really well. Five stars for both the story and the performance!