The Nitty Gritty…
The House in the Pines was a Reese’s Book Club Pick but that isn’t why I wanted to listen to it. I thought it sounded intriguing and the cover definitely caught my attention. Our main character Maya has a secret drug habit that she’s hiding from her boyfriend and is still struggling with an incident that happened in her childhood. Then Maya sees an online video that makes her determined to find out what really happened all those years ago. Heading to her hometown and her mother’s house Maya begins to uncover the secrets of her past in the hopes of saving her future. I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by Marisol Ramirez and while I haven’t listened to her before I would again. She has a nice voice and is really easy to listen to. I’ve seen mixed reviews for this one but it was one I really enjoyed listening to.
Summary from Penguin Random House
ABOUT THE HOUSE IN THE PINES
An instant New York Times bestseller!
“This is an absolute, can’t-put-it-down thriller…It’s truly a wild ride that had me flying through chapter after chapter—which I think is the perfect way to kick off your year of reading.” —Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club Jan ’23 Pick)
Armed with only hazy memories, a woman who long ago witnessed her friend’s sudden, mysterious death, and has since spent her life trying to forget, sets out to track down answers. What she uncovers, deep in the woods, is hardly to be believed….
Maya was a high school senior when her best friend, Aubrey, mysteriously dropped dead in front of the enigmatic man named Frank whom they’d been spending time with all summer.
Seven years later, Maya lives in Boston with a loving boyfriend and is kicking the secret addiction that has allowed her to cope with what happened years ago, the gaps in her memories, and the lost time that she can’t account for. But her past comes rushing back when she comes across a recent YouTube video in which a young woman suddenly keels over and dies in a diner while sitting across from none other than Frank. Plunged into the trauma that has defined her life, Maya heads to her Berkshires hometown to relive that fateful summer—the influence Frank once had on her and the obsessive jealousy that nearly destroyed her friendship with Aubrey.
At her mother’s house, she excavates fragments of her past and notices hidden messages in her deceased Guatemalan father’s book that didn’t stand out to her earlier. To save herself, she must understand a story written before she was born, but time keeps running out, and soon, all roads are leading back to Frank’s cabin….
Utterly unique and captivating, The House in the Pines keeps you guessing about whether we can ever fully confront the past and return home.
Review copy provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.
