I really enjoyed this book, if you like psychological thrillers, this one is a must read, especially if you're into stories where there is a backstory and then later (30 years later) circumstances occur.

📖 Book Review

The House at the Edge of the Woods by Rachel Hancox; Penguin, 11th April 2024

The unsolved murder of Kirsty 30 years previously lies at the centre of this intriguing, gripping story. When the car Kirsty was driving broke down, she went for help, leaving her seven-year-old son, Ben, in the car. Kirsty never returned.

Catching up with Ben as an adult, we discover he works as a plumber and is happily married to Rebecca, who excitedly starts a new commission to paint a fairytale fresco for wealthy businessman, Pieter.

The trauma of his mother's death has significance in Ben's life as nightmares, so when Pieter starts asking questions and showing a keen interest in Kirsy's death, perhaps it is now time for the truth to emerge and the mystery to be solved.

Ben comes across as a thoroughly decent, likeable young man in a stable relationship with his devoted and supportive wife. There's a high level of suspense throughout the book, and the story is compelling and mysterious. I warmed to Rebecca's character; she appears to be an honest woman keen to get to the truth about Kirsty's death, and she encourages Ben to talk about it.

The multiple POVs examining the story through Rebecca's, Ben's and Pieter's eyes is fantastic, if a little repetitive at times, but this doesn’t detract from the pure enjoyment of this of this book, which I would not hesitate to recommend.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Rachel Hancox and Penguin for providing an eARC via NetGalley; this is my unbiased review.

Good read with good twists. Would like Ben to have met his father and it proven he was the father. Appreciated the fairy tales at the end

DNF at 15% unfortunately. The initial premise sounded great in the first 5 chapters or so but after that I was just bored by Rebecca’s character.

An atmospheric and twisty mix of fiction and mystery: a woman who disappeared in the past, a son who's living with a trauma and trying to do his best, events that could be relavant to what is happening today and some fairy tales elements.
Surprising and twist even if a bit slow at times.
3.5 upped to 4
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This book will keep you on tenterhooks until the end. Set several years after a murder, this book starts with a warm feel but gradually becomes darker and more mysterious. The author tackles some dark issues within the main characters' backgrounds but in a way that will keeps you guessing as to who the murderer is.
Great book, I really enjoyed it.

What a twisting, turning, keep you hanging storyline! I loved it!
The character development was great, I found myself feeling so many things for different individuals as the story progressed.
Nothing but praise for this one!

I adored this book! It’s a great mesh of murder mystery and almost fairytale nightmare.

It’s a slow burn but the premise kept me hooked along with the characters who are likeable. Moving the story further ahead makes for a better story rather than setting it at the time of the murder.

Really enjoyable.

A great story with so many twists and turns, you are on the edge of your seat trying to work out what is going on and who can be trusted.

Thoroughly enjoyed this story!

Intriguing mystery, not quite a thriller more of a slow burn. Interesting ending. Thank you netgalley for the advanced copy

I loved this book, absolutely loved it. The characters were brilliant, it had you questioning everyone and everything, and still worked out with such huge surprises. I couldn't have guessed at all.

Thank you so much to the author, publisher and netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

When Ben was seven, his mother was murderer in the woods while he waited for her in the car
Fast forward 30 yrs and Ben is happily married to Rebecca, however he still does have recurring nightmares about his mother
Rebecca takes on a new job, painting a fairy tale fresco for a wealthy businessman who starts asking questions about Ben’s mother
It’s time for the truth to come out and for Ben to face the questions he never dared asked before
It’s a slow burner of a mystery, full of intrigue, kept you guessing right till the end
It’s told in six parts from different points of view, which was interesting as it gave differing perspectives to the same incident, so that Ben’s mum’s murder is gradually teased out from rediscovered diaries and people’s memories.
Thanks #rachelhancox @centurybooksuk & @netgalley for the intriguing thriller

A slow burn thriller, captivating and hugely enjoyable. I loved Rachel's previous book The Shadow Child and this was even better!

Ben and Rebecca have a nice life, Ben overcoming severe childhood trauma of his mum Kirsty, being murdered, to settle into some form of normality.
When Rebecca is commissioned to paint a mural in a nearby stately home Ben's past rears its ugly head once more and he and Rebecca set out to find the truth.
Told from multiple view points, including Kirsty's teenage diary there is plenty of intrigue and a little suspense.
The ending is perhaps predictable but the journey to get there is well written.

When Ben was seven, his mum was murdered whilst he was in the car in the hard shoulder. He thinks he remembers a white car, but that’s all - everything else is hazy.

Fast forward 30 years, Ben is grown up, he’s living with his wife Rebecca but those awful nightmares keep happening. Then Rebecca takes on a high commission painting for a wealthy local man, a man that has a keen interest in Bens mums death.

What will be uncovered over the course of Rebecca working there, will they finally work out what happened all those years ago?

I enjoyed this book, even though I saw the ending coming it was still an enjoyable read.

A slow burn, psychological, thriller which partly explores the murder in 1993 of Kirsty Swarbrick. When her car broke down she left her young son Ben in the car while she went to find help. The last person to see her alive was Ben and he only has a limited memory of what happened.
30 years later, Ben is happily married and his wife Rebecca is excited to get a job painting a fairytale mural in the nearby stately home Marchboys House. However, Pieter the home’s owner seems to have an unhealthy interest in Kirsty’s death and Bens mental wellbeing after his tragic past.
A twisty, suspenseful tale told in 2 timelines (1993 and 2023) and multiple POVs which were easy to follow.
Well written, this story is full of secrets, lies and self-preservation.
The characters are interesting, well developed and richly drawn in this intriguing novel.
The diary entries from Kirsty as a young 17-year old added to the tension and atmosphere. Overall this was well-written, immersive and intriguing.
Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley UK for the ARC.

Thirty years ago, seven year old Ben's mum Kirsty was murdered in the woods after her car broke down, leaving Ben in the car wondering when his mum would come back, her killer was never found. Now he is happily married to Rebecca, with his mum always on his mind and in the nightmares that keep raising their ugly head. Rebecca, an artist is commissioned to paint a mural for wealthy businessman Pieter Blake, who becomes very interested in Ben's story, did he know Kirsty and will Ben finally find out the truth of what happened all those years ago?

The House at the Edge of the Woods is a slow burner, set over two timelines, 1993 and present day we meet Ben, who has never recovered properly from the childhood trauma of losing his mum and not getting the answers he so craves. Told from the points of view of all three main characters the story was, at times, repetitive but, it was an intriguing premise with many layers which, when stripped back, all came to a very satisfactory conclusion. It's a solid read from a new to me author and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

I'd like to thank Random House UK, Cornerstone and Netgalley for the approval, I will post my review on Goodreads and Amazon.

LOVED THIS!! Will definitely check out the authors other work. Plot, writing style and ending were great

Title: The House At The Edge Of The Woods by Rachel Hancox
Format: NetGalley eArc
Rating: 2.5 Stars ⭐️⭐️💫
Pub Date: 11th April (out now)

Review & Thoughts:

I was immediately drawn to this cover when I saw it on NetGalley because I love a book about a house. Then when I read the description and understood what it would be about, I was a bit disappointed that it didn’t mention anything about this house! But I still downloaded because it sounded intriguing.

It started out promising with us getting the backstory to Ben and Rebecca. I loved the description of their cottage and the life they built for themselves. I’m a nosy person so I love getting a look into peoples life’s. Then we meet Pieter because he hires Rebecca to paint a mural in his house. I did find him very suspicious and creepy at the start. However, as the story went on it became obvious and predictable why he chose Rebecca.

I found most of this book to be very repetitive and drawn out. It just felt very slow to me, maybe because I was expecting a thriller? It was not enough of a thriller for me. It did have promise but it was missing that suspenseful page-turning feeling. The mystery of Kirsty’s death didn’t grip me enough to want to know who murdered her. There just felt like there was a lot in this book and it tried to do big things but it just fell really flat.

*Thank you to NetGalley for letting me have early access to this book for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.*

"What would it feel like to have told such a lifechanging lie? To live with a secret that grew with you – that got bigger and bigger as your understanding of life developed – but which you had to keep hidden because there was never a moment when telling the truth was possible."

Rebecca and Ben live a simple life in a cottage in a small English town – he's a plumber and she is an upcoming mural artist. When Rebecca gets a commission to paint a massive ceiling at a mansion, they both jump at the change. The rich owner, Pieter Blake, could make Rebecca's career.

At first, she loves the work. But then, Pieter starts asking questions about Ben. Because when Ben was just seven years old, his mother was murdered on a highway while he was sitting in their broken-down car. Her killer was never caught. Pieter's insinuations make Rebecca doubt Ben's version of events. Could have been lying all this time? Soon, Rebecca's thoughts are spiralling and she no longer knows who to trust.

This was a very intriguing suspense novel. I loved how for a long time, the reader doesn't know who is telling the truth and what the characters' motives are. I really felt for Ben, Rebecca's gentle giant, that is, of course, until all the questions about him arise.

The pacing was a little slow at times. I think this is definitely more of a character-focused mystery than an action-packed thriller. The book is not without tension but it's a slow burn rather is pervasive rather than building up.

Definitely worth a read.