The Stillwater Girls

Author: Minka Kent
Genre: Suspense
Type: e-book
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Publisher: Thomas and Mercer
First Published: April 9, 2019
Opening Lines: "Sixty-three days - that's how long Mama's been gone. I drag my chalk against the blackboard, marking a jagged X across NOvember twenty-first on our calendar."

Book Description from GoodReads: Two sisters raised in fear are about to find out why in a chilling novel of psychological suspense from the author of The Thinnest Air.

Ignorant of civilization and cautioned against its evils, nineteen-year-old Wren and her two sisters, Sage and Evie, were raised in off-the-grid isolation in a primitive cabin in upstate New York. When the youngest grows gravely ill, their mother leaves with the child to get help from a nearby town. And they never return.

As months pass, hope vanishes. Supplies are low. Livestock are dying. A brutal winter is bearing down. Then comes the stranger. He claims to be looking for the girls’ mother, and he’s not leaving without them.

To escape, Wren and her sister must break the rule they’ve grown up with: never go beyond the forest.

Past the thicket of dread, they come upon a house on the other side of the pines. This is where Wren and Sage must confront something more chilling than the unknowable. They’ll discover what’s been hidden from them, what they’re running from, and the secrets that have left them in the dark their entire lives.

My Rating: 4 stars

My Review: I went into this book based on the recommendation of a fellow book blogger on Twitter. Word of mouth books are the best, aren't they? I hadn't read anything by Minka Kent in the past so knowing my fellow book blogger and I had similar tastes, and with a brief read of the blurb, I grabbed a copy. Going in, I expected a creepy suspense read and ended up with a hard-to-put down domestic thriller with a twist that I didn't see coming.

The plot has two, equally balanced, story lines. The first, has a creepy vibe as readers are introduced to two teenage girls, Wren and Sage, who have been abandoned by their mother in a remote cabin in the woods. The second story line has a very different feel and follows Nicolette, a young woman who is married to a successful photographer and longs for a child.  As the book progresses, readers get the points of view of Nicolette and Wren and as these two stories merge together, pieces fall into place (although probably not where you thought they would) which result in an enjoyable, twisty read.

I read it almost in one sitting so prepare to get nothing else don't once you turn the first page. You have been warned! This is an engrossing read that handles two narratives well and while some aspects were predictable, the twists that Kent throws in made this an engrossing page turner for this seasoned suspense reader.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Thomas and Mercer for providing me with a complimentary digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.