Monday 25 February 2019

In A Cottage In A Wood by Cass Green Book Review

I've got a list of books on my Amazon account that genuinely goes on forever but In A Cottage In A Wood was one of the first I added, months ago. I finally got round to reading it in January and I got through it all in one night but it left me with all sorts of questions!
Book in the centre, stack of books in the background, pink fluffy pillow on the left hand side in the background
'Her dream home will become her worst nightmare. Neve comes across a troubled woman called Isabelle on Waterloo Bridge late one night. Isabelle forces a parcel into Neve's hands and jumps to her death in the icy Thames below. Two weeks later, as Neve's wreck of a life in London collapses, an unexpected lifeline falls into her lap - a charming cottage in Cornwall left to her by Isabelle, the woman on the bridge. The solution to all of her problems. But when Neve arrives, alone in the dark woods late one night, she finds a sinister-looking bungalow with bars across its windows. And her dream home quickly becomes her worst nightmare - a house hiding a twisted secret that will change her life forever...'

My review 

I'd not read anything from Cass Green before so I had no idea what to expect but as I love thriller novels, I had high hopes for this. I think because I'd been wanting to read it for so long, I was just really hoping it wouldn't end up being a disappointment. Luckily the book gets off to a really good start. I instantly felt quite tense, even just from when Neve is first walking through London in the middle of the night and spots Isabelle. It's a situation you can't really imagine yourself being in but I was so desperate to get through the book and find out why things happened as they did that first night.

After the tragic night where Isabelle jumps into the Thames, Neve is left with her cottage to do whatever she pleases with. As she feels her life is a bit of a mess in London, she decides to risk everything and travel down to Cornwall but once she arrives, she realises she might have made a huge mistake. I had an idea in my head of what the cottage would look like so as soon as Neve arrives, I felt creeped out. A few things that happen over the next few days genuinely scared me because all I could think was, what would I do? She's in the middle of nowhere and living somewhere that Isabelle clearly couldn't cope with any longer, for whatever reason. I think Cass has written it in a way that really puts you in the situation too and throughout the whole book, I just felt on edge.

Whilst she stays in the cottage, Neve meets several people but I didn't trust any of them. I'm sure that was the intention but I genuinely questioned everyone and just thought Neve would have been better just getting out of there! Eventually everything starts to make sense though and we figure out who really has been the issue the whole time, but this isn't until the end really. They literally leave you hanging until the last few chapters but I think it was way too late. I found there was very little explanation of why things had happened they way they did with Isabelle, why Neve sort of becomes the next target and then what happened afterwards. It's almost like the author remembered they had to round things up, so it was just 'oh I'll take it here' and that was that. I think a couple more chapters would have been perfect to really give us just a bit more information and have a clearer idea of everything. The ending just seemed a bit random and I was left feeling a bit flat afterwards.

I am happy I read this, and overall it was definitely compelling. It's dark, full of suspense and keeps you guessing, but I think it was just maybe a little bit too much of that towards the end.

Have you read In A Cottage In A Wood?


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13 comments

Heather Nixon said...

It sounds like an interesting read - I love that cover x

www.ofbeautyandnothingness.co.uk

Tiffany Timms said...

Me too, it really stands out!

Karalee Shotola said...

I love thrillers too & the book definitely sounds interesting! It's a shame the ending wasn't that great though.

Debbie said...

Sounds very intriguing and it's a shame it felt rushed at the end

jennyinneverland said...

I've seen this book about quite a bit. I love a dark and intense book but sometimes Thrillers really do go OTT don't they? When they could have had quite a satisfactory ending but the author takes it that one step too far.

Jenny
http://www.jennyinneverland.com

Joy Corkery said...

The cover really draws me to this book. I think I’d give it a try.

Tiffany Timms said...

It's a brilliant cover, really eye catching! X

Tiffany Timms said...

Yeah it just felt like too much! It was so good throughout but the ending let it down xx

Tiffany Timms said...

One more chapter and it would have been perfect x

Tiffany Timms said...

Yeah the ending just let it down a little x

Sophie said...

I think I might like this! I don't mind it when they're dark. It's a shame that you thought it went a bit too far x

Sophie
www.glowsteady.co.uk

Tiffany Timms said...

I do like dark thrillers, just wish there had been a bit more!

AlishaValerie said...

I haven't heard about this book before but it sounds brilliant. Thanks for sharing! 💜

With love, Alisha Valerie x | www.alishavalerie.com

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