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Thanks to Net Galley & Penguin UK for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review. Another very good read by Lesley Pearse.
This book is rather chilling to read in parts. The twins Maisy and Duncan are sent to the country to live with their grandmother. Their mother in unwell & has been placed in a care home facility. Their father is a rarther cold fish who shows little love or emotion & doesn't interact with his children very much, probably because he doesn't know them Their grandmother is also a cold person and leaves the care of the young people to her house keeper Janice.
Grace is the woman in the wood, the children spy on her at first and tentatively try to engage her in conversation but she sends them off. Later Grace plays a big part in the dramatic story and the three of them become close.
The story is a mystery and picks up pace when Duncan goes missing. There are some light moments in the story also where friendships build and the family start to communicate and love again.

This is a really gripping read. The book's title is about the least likely character who turns out to be a heroin. The characters are all recognisable and the story dramatic and challenging. It is a book that makes it hard to take a break! Reading to the end is certainly a satisfying and rewarding experience.

Absolutely loved this book which isn't a surprise as I've been a fan of this author since I was in my late teens! The Woman in the Wood was a different to Lesley's previous works, in my opinion; the storyline wasn't what I expected when I first picked up the book and the writing style seemed slightly different to her usual style.....but in a good way! I would definitely recommend to all fans of Historical Fiction set around the war years and just after. I gave The Woman in the Wood 4 stars out of 5 :)

Another good summer's/holiday read. I read it in less than two days. If you are a Lesley fan, you will not be disappointed.

I am a huge Lesley Pearse fan she is my favourite author and I have read and loved every one of her books. I have recommended her books to many friends over the years who are now also fans.
I was eagerly awaiting this latest release, her 25th book and was delighted to receive an early copy so I started it straight away.

The Woman in the Wood was everything I'd hoped for, I loved it, it really captured my imagination I was completely taken in by the story.

I don't know how Lesley manages to keep writing these brilliant stories every year but I am so glad she does. She never fails to disappoint me, She creates the most amazing characters, you cannot help but be completely entranced by this wonderful new story which I did not want to end.

The Woman in the Wood is a real emotional roller-coaster ride from beginning to end. Full of mystery and drama it will have you absorbed throughout, the story has stayed with me.
One not to be missed for fans old and new. Long may Lesley continue to write her amazing books.

I have been checking netgalley everyday for the last month on the look out for this book, so thank you for allowing me to read it.

A great book that starts of slowly and gets faster as the book progresses taking you on a page turning ride than energies and triggers your emotions both in love and hate of various characters a bit like life at times. Only I hope that none of you have a life like these.
The stories starts when a boy and a girl twins born at the end of the Second World War are awoken in the middle of the night by the screams of their mum and it transpires that their dad is having her taken to the asylum and she is not to happy about this development in her life. The following morning the twins discovere they are going to go and live with their dad's mum a lady with no emotion or personality but she does have a great housekeeper. The children like their dad have been starved of emotion growing up as the stiff upper lip of the time prevails, but after the experience many had endured during the 2 World Wars it was the only way many had known. What follows is the story of how those expectations and understandings of others and their perceived ways can shift as the truth of life is unfolded into the lives of these two teenage twins. A journey so tough that only those who have know suffering could understand and help those involved as Duncan goes missing and Maisey is left not knowing anything and being left in the dark as those all around her continues to change apart from the stiff upper lip of her Dad and Grandma. This is a well written and gripping story you won't want to put it down right to the very last page of it if you are like me that is. I hope you are as enthralled as deserved by the pen of Lesley Pearse .
I did receive a free copy of this book from NetGalley for a honest review.

A fantastic read Lesley Pearce at her best loved the characters especially the twins and loved the relationship between them and grace the woman in the wood a real page turner read it in two days definitely recommend it

I love all of Lesley Pearces books. I found this one just a little bit slow to begin with but once it got going it really got going! There were a few times when I thought it must be nearly finished (even though I knew there was still a way to go) when a twist was thrown in to keep you hooked. Very much enjoyed it

Twins Maisy and Duncan live in limbo with a seemingly cold hearted father and a very unwell and depressed mother who spends all her time in bed. To their horror she is taken by force off to an Asylum, explained by their father as being 'for her own good'.
Their father moves them from London, without any explanations, and takes them to their Grandmother's home, Nightingales. Grandmother is a carbon copy of her son, disinterested, cold hearted, but perhaps only superficially. With a private tutor the twins begin to experience freedom and for the first time, love, from Janice, the housekeeper.
They cycle, they explore the forest, and find a small shack where lives a lady said by the village to be 'cracked' At first she ends them packing but gradually a relationship is built up and trust begins.
The horror begins when Duncan doesn't return from one of his forays, and no one seems to take it seriously except for his twin and the 'woman in the woods'.
It's a powerful and sometimes deeply unpleasant novel, with descriptions of the torture and paedophilia. How Maisy takes over the rescues is compelling, and one finds oneself backing her all the way, although at times I found it faintly unbelievable. The eventual changes in the family relationships are well drawn and one feels a certain sympathy for the apparent hardness of Father and grandmother as they begin to change and to realise that the twins need to see their mother and have things explained to them.
It's another super Lesley Pearse story.
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy in exchange for a review. I will send a review to Amazon as soon as they accept reviews for this book.

I absolutely adore Lesley's books and this one I got totally lost in. With great characters and storylines which were harrowing at times.

Twins Maisy and Duncan are sent to live with their grandmother at the family home, Nightingales when their mother is admitted to an asylum. At first they are scared and lonely, missing their mother and all that they know. They discover they love the countryside and playing in the nearby forest. They also spy on the local "witch" who lives in a cottage there. They come to realise Grace's bark is worse than her bite and Duncan forms a friendship with her. One day Duncan goes missing...and when young boys bodies are found Maisy believes the police aren't doing enough to find him. Maisy with Grace's help investigates...A great read which I couldn't put down. Highly recommend!

Not your normal read by this author but brilliant all the same, read in one sitting, totally gripping read, absolutely love Lesley Pearce.