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.

My Review

First of all let me say that I really enjoyed listening to Stranger in the Woods on Audible, but I can’t say I didn’t have some issues. It started off OK, with Sydney-based, professional photographer Isla having had a seizure on a boat during a shoot and almost drowning, deciding to take a dream job in Scotland. She has never been abroad before.

Her mother tries to dissuade her but she is determined to go. The job is to photograph an architect and his family – the same family whose daughter Elodie was abducted and killed. I already had misgivings – surely there was a photographer in the UK who could do the job?

Isla is met by assistant Greer and installed in the cottage near the house designed by Alban McGregor, who is the talented architect looking for a portfolio of his work. The family is a bit strange, especially Alban’s wife Jessica. We know there will be secrets, lots of them. Then Isla goes to a neighbour’s house where she meets Troy who insists she knows him. In fact he claims they had a relationship two years ago. And this is where it all got a bit far-fetched.

I won’t say any more, but I felt there were too many things going on and it all got a bit confusing. Sometimes I was just ‘No way’.

Also, hearing from Elodie’s voice while she is being abducted and in a ‘coma’ made me very uncomfortable, as did Jessica leaving an eight-year-old alone in the middle of nowhere while she went out to get potatoes.

About the Author

Anni Taylor writes thrillers for readers who love deep, twisty plots that surprise. She lives by the beach north of Sydney, Australia, with her partner and sons and little fluffy (sometimes scruffy) dog – where she concocts her stories. Her most recent gig before becoming a full-time author in 2016 was as a Features’ Writer & Community Manager for Fairfax Media, Australia.