Dark suspenseful thriller, a riveting read - this book kept me on the edge of my seat until the end.

When Sarah married Patrick everything seemed idyllic, Patrick had a son from a previous relationship and they had a daughter together. Seventeen years later, Sarah is recovering from depression following the death of her mother, when Patrick decides he wants to family to move to his childhood home - the only problem is it's referred to as The Murder House for good reason. Both Sarah and the teenage children feel that there is something wrong, but Patrick won't listen, and then he starts to change for the worse.

This one was a difficult one to rate for me. On the one hand, I thought the plot was good and it was certainly very dark. On the other hand, I found Sarah was a little too meek and mild. She let Patrick and the kids blame her for everything and talk to her like she was rubbish. I understand that the author was showing how people can react in an abusive family situation, but honestly I got fed up with reading "It was all my fault". I'm rating it 3.5 stars - a pick but with reservations.

TW: abuse, psychological abuse, sexual assault.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers, Little Brown Book Group / Sphere, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

The rose-coloured spectacles are well and truly on when Patrick hears that the house that was his sea-side family home as a child is up for sale. The coastal location sounds an ideal place for him and his wife to bring up their two teenage children. Sarah had fallen into a state of depression after her mother died. So Patrick sees the windfall she has been left as the opportunity for a fresh start for them all.
There is only one draw back. The family that lived there after Patrick’s family moved were all slaughtered, with the exception of one child. The Murder House, that had been left empty ever since the tragic family had died, wasn’t quite what Patrick’s family had in mind to up root and move to.
Now this isn’t a family that you would say was stable to start with, it has its secrets, it has its emotional problems and it has Patrick who I disliked from the first time he appeared on the pages. So what begins with unease soon builds into a dark and disturbing story once this dysfunctional family moves into the house of yesteryear horrors.
There are some real creepy people in this story that all have their own take on Patrick’s family and that of the family that were murdered. The house even seems to have its own influence on its occupants too as it feels like the walls are closing in as the mental health of all of them takes a dive. I was swept along with it all, wanting answers, then wanting to unread them!
The intensity just increases in every chapter at times blurring what I thought I knew and at others shocking me to my core. To say I got edgy just doesn’t quite tell of the shocks that I came across. This is a real mixed up family believe me. A super ending that I had to read twice. Gob-smacked!
I wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this e-book which I have honestly reviewed.

I'm not easily spooked, but oh my goodness I felt the cold spots in The Murder House. I loved and hated this at the same time. I believed in Sarah throughout. I couldn't work out who was the voice in italics, was it Ben? And what was his role in Patrick's past? Or Anna? And who was she? I only realised when Sarah did, I was so caught up in the moment of the book. It was suspenseful, chilling and terrifying. What had happened in Patrick's past in the house that he claimed was an idyllic childhood home? Did he have anything to do with the horrific murders? I think I screamed at one point, and willed Sarah to release herself from the psychological hold Patrick had over her and put her children first. When we were finally given details of how Sarah and Patrick met you could see how they had reached the point they were at, and how easy for a charming slightly older man to bewitch a young girl with a safe and comfortable life. What a rollercoaster - I had to stay up till 2am to get it finished! #womaninthedark #murderhouse #netgalley

I was sceptical about this book as it isn’t my usual read and I wanted something different boy was it different very good well written and kept me awake I would def recommend this book x

If you loved The Shining and The Amityville Horror, then this book will be for you. Patrick moves his trouble stricken family to what was once his childhood home, on the promise that life will be perfect. Only the house has changed since Patrick was a boy, and is now known as the Murder House after a family was brutally killed inside. It soon becomes all too apparent that the house's evil grip is tightening its hold on Patrick and his family who must escape before it's too late. A great read.

What a Gem of a book The Woman in the Dark by Vanessa Savage. I wanted to read a book from an author I've never read a book from before and I just Loved it.
It was Brilliant read. If you want a book that will have you gripped from the first few pages, that's chilling, full of twists and turns........this is a book for you. I found once I started I could not put it down.

Sarah' is married to Patrick and they have two teenage children Joe and mia. Sarah's Mum dies and sends Sarah into a downwards spiral, which she can't seem to get out from. Patrick wants to help her and knows they need a fresh start, somewhere away from everything. Patrick has a big dream and wants to move back to his family house by the sea he grew up in. So when his old family house came back on the market he wanted to move back into this house to make everything perfect.
This house may of had happy memories for Patrick However, to everyone else this house is known as the Murder House! because a family was murdered there!
I loved all the characters in this book. They all played a good part of the book.

I would highly recommend this book and looking forward reading more books from Vanessa.

Big 5 stars from me, Excellent read.

Many thanks to Vanessa Savage, Little, Brown Book Group, Sphere and NetGalley for an ARC of The Woman in the Dark.

This book is so dark, atmospheric and has a really ominous feeling to the whole story. I really enjoyed it. You had a sense of what was happening and going to happen with Patrick throughout the book and you were just rooting for Sarah to be ok. This ended the right way for sure!

This is a chilling mystery thriller that I absolutely loved.
Sarah and Patrick have been together a while and they’re reasonably happy with their family life, except Sarah is still coming to terms with her mother’s death.
Patrick wraps Sarah in cotton wool as he thinks she needs looking after, but inside is a woman trying to be independent.
Their children, Mia and Joe, seemingly take their dad’s side and when he suggests moving to the coast to an old house, they all go along with his idea for each other’s benefit.
The house is his childhood home and is also known as The Murder House as a family we’re brutally murdered there.
Sarah, Mia and Joe sense something wrong with the house and soon tensions are fraught as the house seems to take over their lives.
Sarah meets Anna who introduces her to the local gallery owner, and as a keen artist, Sarah begins to find her feet. But Patrick is not happy.
This is a gripping read and one that I highly recommend.
Thanks to Sphere and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Sarah and Patrick are happily married with two kids, although one of them biologically is not Sarah's she still loves her son dearly. Sarah recently lost her mum and still coping with grief. Patrick is grown up in a nicer part of the area they live in, in a house known as "The Murder House" because the last family that lived in that house were killed brutally. Patrick dreams a bigger house for his family and his childhood home, although having a bad reputation (murder house!!) seems the perfect place for him.
Fast paced domestic thriller, although I had theories in the beginning, the end was something totally different than I thought. I would recommend for people who love reading domestic thrillers.

Creepy and atmospheric. A house which had a violent past. When a family move into the dad’s childhood home it turns nasty. I devoured this in one sitting. And scared myself daft!
4/5 on good reads

The Woman in the Dark is a dark psychological thriller that had me hooked right from the start. A chilling and unsettling read which I found myself unable to put down because I needed to know what happened next

For anyone who likes their reads to be dark and chilling certainly need not to look any further than this. It is quite a fast read as you get so gripped by the story you will not be able to put it down until you have reached the end. I certainly look forward to reading more by this author.

A family - a house move to a house nicknamed The Murder House - all sets this up to be a good story. It was set in what seemed to be a nice village, with a cafe, an art gallery and cottages near the sea. It all sounds idyllic. However, as you can imagine, things go horribly wrong in many different ways.
I did enjoy this, although I felt at times that the author had used every cliche that was to be had. It just felt a little bit formulaic.
However it was a fairly good read, a bit creepy for some perhaps.

An entertaining read that kept me reading to the wee hours.
Chilling and compulsive, a novel that draws you in to the darkness leaving you wanting more. A novelist I will be watching for the future.

Excellent.

If you are looking for a dark and disturbing tale then this is the book for you.
A really good psychological thriller about a family who move back to the husband's childhood home where some gruesome murders were previously committed, and the house well all i can say is CREEPY!!!!!
I DEVOURED this book in one sitting and had to stop reading several times to listen for any strange noises. Reading this book had me on the edge of my seat, got my heart racing and made me turn on all the lights in the house. I have only one more thing to say. Would you like to spend a night in the MURDER HOUSE ????
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Little Brown Books UK for the ARC of this book in return for giving an honest review.

Sarah and Patrick have always had an easy family life. But when Sarah's mother dies, Sarah is sent on a downward spiral. They decide to move away and make a fresh start with their two children. They move to the large seaside house that Patrick grew up in. But horrific and brutal murders took place there. The locals call it the "Murder House". The house has been empty since the murders took place 15 years ago. Sarah did not want to move but she is eventually persuaded. Patrick soon becomes less like the man Sarah knew.

I found it difficult to get into this book at first. There were many unanswered questions and I felt a little confused. But I'm glad I persevered with it as what a marvellous book it turned out to be. This is a very dark story that's narrated by Sarah. There are a few twists and the characters are well described. The tension builds with every turn of the page. A gripping thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat. I would have given this book 5 stars if the beginning had been better.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Little Brown Book Group, UK and the author Vanessa Savage for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I flipped between enjoying this and getting frustrated by it. It was a very slow burn, too slow once you have started to work out what's going on. However, my main criticism was that too much could be blamed on something other than people's own behaviour. Fast moving at the end and a rather unsatisfactory conclusion.

I thought this was very atmospheric ,the house almost had a personality of its own.I would have felt quite nervous being there.I liked the main character and thought there was plenty going on.the book kept me guessing and it was a good read.I couldn't guess what was going to happen.thanks to netgalley and the publishers for an ARC.

The woman in the dark # Netgallery
This book was really good if not a little creepy, it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up on more than one occasion. When the family move to what used to be called the death house, is when everything started to go wrong and things became strange, I don’t give away spoilers yet on some lately I am tempted it’s hard not too. I just find they can spoil a book, however recently I genuinely have been so tempted, this is most definitely a dark phycological thriller with a unexpected twist, could definitely be a number one best seller that good win book of the year. I would advise everyone who likes this type of book to most definitely read, I go from room to room just picking up device after device to continue reading this was one book I must have read using 4 different devices just so I didn’t have to put it down deep dark with such a great twist a MUST READ

The house is a character in its own right. It casts a long dark shadow throughout. They call it “The murder house”.

Everyone is lying in this story; lying to others but also to themselves.

Thoroughly intriguing, deceptive in its ordinaryness and yet disturbing elements slowly seep through; from Sarah’s illness to her husband’s Patrick’s murky past. So much is linked to that house, it’s past and Patrick.

Unsetting, disturbing but thoroughly enjoyable. The pace quickens noticeably towards the end as all the lies are stripped bare.