For a devoted wife and mother, a restful getaway descends into an inescapable nightmare in this dark psychological thriller.

Harlow has almost everything she wants: a passionate marriage, an adorable stepson, and a fresh start at her husband Gregor’s childhood home on a remote island. But soon after arriving, Gregor begins to change, and Harlow is unsettled by his connection to their neighbour.

When Harlow uncovers evidence of a possible murder deep in a wooded ravine, she begins to question what is real and what might be in her mind. As rumours of missing girls and dark rituals surface, she fears that the greatest danger may be far closer than she ever imagined.

My Review

‘If I hadn’t found that dead girl’s head in the ravine, what would’ve happened to us?’ How many books can claim an opening line as good as that one! And this book was good, great in fact. Such brilliant characters and setting.

Harlow wants a baby, but it’s just not happening for her and new husband Gregor. She has a great job, but it’s pressurised and Gregor (and his dreadful mother) think that taking a six month sabbatical from work will help her conceive. They suggest spending the time at Gregor’s childhood home on a remote island with his young son Sam, and his family. Gregor is in a band and it will give him the opportunity to rehearse and lay down an album. And one of the band members happens to live next door with his beautiful, earth-mother wife Kirsten and their almost too beautiful children.

It soon becomes apparent that Gregor is not who he says he is. He’s like a different person and Harlow begins to wonder if she can trust him. Then there is Kirsten. They seem very close. Is that what Gregor wants Harlow to be like – a stay-at-home wife who makes her own sourdough starters and brews magic tea. The children all attend the same forest school where Sam stands out like a sore thumb. The teachers are all weird and he is deeply unhappy.

And then of course there’s the dead girl’s head in the ravine. Gregor tells Harlow she imagined it, but did she? Girls have gone missing. It all starts to get even weirder and Harlow worries for her sanity.

I loved this book. There’s something very ethereal about the island, but it’s also very sinister and cultish. All a bit Summerisle and I just prayed there wouldn’t be a Wicker Man at the end.

Many thanks to @lovebookstours for inviting me to be part of #TheRavine readalong. It’s been great fun.

About the Author

Maia Chance writes unsettling domestic thrillers with a supernatural edge, including The Body Next Door. She is also the author of the Discreet Retrieval Agency, Fairy Tale Fatal, and Agnes & Effie mystery series. Maia lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, two children, and a terrier with an impressive moustache.

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