Jenny's Book Bag

In a Dark, Dark Wood is a fun and exciting psychological thriller. This novel sort of has a Gone Girl feel because it has a malicious character whose actions bulldoze three people. I know everyone is sick and tired of the Gone Girl comparison, but it accurately depicts what type of ride you’ll go on if you read this book.

Flo hosts a hen party for Clare, who is engaged to James, Leonora’s ex-boyfriend. The party takes place at Flo’s aunt’s house, which is a glass house in the middle of nowhere. The party attendees are Clare, Flo, Nina, Tom and Leonora. Leonora isn’t even sure why she was invited because she hasn’t seen her friends in about ten years, especially since she stole James from Clare when they were teens. She almost didn’t go and at the end she wishes she hadn’t. So many bad things happen during her trip.

There were some clever misdirects and many clues hidden in plain sight. I don’t know how many times I flipped back and thought Oh my God, I can’t believe I missed that! OK, maybe they weren’t clever, but I kept changing my guesses about what was going to happen next or how it was going to end.

If you love mysteries and thrillers, I think you’ll enjoy this one.