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Photographer Isla Wilson is thrilled she’s landed her dream job, but the clients who hired her are getting stranger by the day. It sounded so perfect - a month‘s assignment at the misty, sprawling Scottish Highlands property of brilliant architect Alban McGregor, and his wife, Jessica. But deep in the woods, there is a chilling playhouse. Two years ago, the McGregors’ daughter, Elodie, died after being abducted and taken there. Alban refuses to knock the playhouse down, and he keeps a picture of it on his wall. Isla senses that both Alban and Jessica are keeping terrible secrets. The closer Isla comes to getting answers about Elodie, the more the danger mounts. And with a dense cover of snow now blanketing the town, all chance of escape might already be gone.
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0“Stranger in the Woods” was a solid thriller with a haunting atmosphere that kept me intrigued, even if it didn’t completely grip me. The Scottish Highlands setting, paired with the tragic backstory of the McGregors’ lost daughter, added a layer of tension that lingered throughout the book. Isla’s perspective as an outsider slowly unraveling the family’s secrets worked well, and the eerie presence of the abandoned playhouse was genuinely chilling.
That said, some of Isla’s decisions were frustrating, especially when she followed a teenager through a dangerous bog despite knowing the risk. It felt like a forced way to build suspense, and moments like that pulled me out of the story. The pacing also lagged in the middle, and I occasionally found myself wanting the plot to push forward faster rather than lingering on repetitive interactions.
But the ending — that twist! I audibly gasped, and it bumped my rating up to four stars. The final reveal tied everything together in a way that made the slower sections feel more worthwhile. If you like atmospheric mysteries with a sprinkle of psychological tension, this one is worth checking out.
Get it at…
0“Stranger in the Woods” was a solid thriller with a haunting atmosphere that kept me intrigued, even if it didn’t completely grip me. The Scottish Highlands setting, paired with the tragic backstory of the McGregors’ lost daughter, added a layer of tension that lingered throughout the book. Isla’s perspective as an outsider slowly unraveling the family’s secrets worked well, and the eerie presence of the abandoned playhouse was genuinely chilling.
That said, some of Isla’s decisions were frustrating, especially when she followed a teenager through a dangerous bog despite knowing the risk. It felt like a forced way to build suspense, and moments like that pulled me out of the story. The pacing also lagged in the middle, and I occasionally found myself wanting the plot to push forward faster rather than lingering on repetitive interactions.
But the ending — that twist! I audibly gasped, and it bumped my rating up to four stars. The final reveal tied everything together in a way that made the slower sections feel more worthwhile. If you like atmospheric mysteries with a sprinkle of psychological tension, this one is worth checking out.
Get it at…
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