I really enjoyed reading this book. Sarah and her family move to the childhood home of her husband, at his request, even though the house was the location for the horrific slaughter of a family. As the story progresses it becomes clear that Sarah's husband, Patrick, is not telling her the whole story. Mix in fragile mental states and people who are not what they seem, and you have a cracking good story. The plot is quite complicated at times, but it will keep you on tenterhooks til the end. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

Sarah is recovering from a breakdown after losing her Mother. Husband Patrick is adamant that they should move to his old family home by the sea even if it financially breaks them. The house is not called the murder house for no reason though!! As much as he makes the house sound idyllic it’s hard to forget 3 people were killed there.

A very chilling read, a proper nail biter full of wonderful suspense, murder and twists along the way.

Loved how Patrick’s lies come to light and revealed who he really is. I found him to be shifty from the start!! All the time there is someone out there watching and plotting this family’s downfall, you had me on the edge of my seat.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy in exchange for my review

Sarah and Patrick have two children, Joe and Mia, and live happily until Sarah's mother dies and her world collapses. She suffers a breakdown and Patrick decides to move them and give them a fresh start to a house he grew up in and has happy memories of. This is the Murder House as the family who bought it from Patrick's family were murdered there, with one survivor.
The nightmares start when they move in and Patrick becomes a monster and the rest of the family become scared of him. What is the secret of the Murder House. Who is lying?and how can they escape?
This is very well written with a clever twist at the end.

Fantastic, full of twists and turns,a thriller and suspense all rolled into a gripping read. I suspect this book will be a big hit. I will definitely be recommending it.

This book was so deliciously creepy that I really struggled to put it down when inconvenient things like work and sleep intruded on my time!
Sarah is a brilliant unreliable narrator, and I found myself constantly questioning whether she was genuinely ill or whether someone was manipulating her. Throw in a 'murder house', strange messages left on the doorstep and an increasingly distant and volatile husband, and the hairs on the back of my neck were stood on end as I turned the pages. There were a few areas of the book where I had to suspend disbelief and forgive the author some of the plot holes, but the tense pace and narrative more than compensated for these.

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I really tried with this, but I’m afraid this book just wasn’t for me. Woman in the Dark has an alluring premise: a woman moves to a seaside house, referred to as Murder House in the media due a family being massacred there many years ago, in Wales with her husband and her children following a breakdown, but then spooky things start to happen, setting in motion a horrific chain of events...as past and present begin to merge.
This was pacy read with a picturesque setting and a compelling set-up, unfortunately for me the mawkish characterisation and the fact that there were several obvious red flags from the beginning resulted in a predictable story where the twist could be seen from miles away and resulted in a rather lukewarm read that lacked suspense. I think with better editing this could’ve been a better book. I’m afraid it’s 2/5 for me.

This is a good read. The plot is really good and shocking. There is a lot happening in this book. The story is mostly believable. It is a haunting read which sent shivers down my spine. The voice in italics is so creepy and adds to the suspense. This along with the rest of the cleverly written plot makes this feel like a horror story. Patrick and Sarah are not a likeable couple and I wondered the whole way through the book why she was still with such a controlling husband. Patrick's actions are hard to read at times and are described so well I could visualise them. This book will definitely stay in my head for some time.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This is a 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 has a weird undertone.

There are some really good elements to this book but I felt the characters were weak and unlikeable. Although I'm sure the husband was supposed to be unlikeable, I sit didn't connect with his POV. The wife in the story felt too weak and subservient but the writer does manage to help the reader to feel slightly sympathetic towards her because of the backstory of bereavement, but in saying that, I din't really care about her. I suppose the characters — even the children — felt one dimensional and I wasn't buying the children blamed the mother for virtually everything. I am sure this was a vehicle to make me on-side with the wife, but it failed, I'm afraid.
Quite an interesting read, but it didn't wow me.

Thanks to Netgalley, Little, Brown Book Group and the author for the review copy.

I don’t like to give bad reviews as I know I certainly could not better any author! However, this story had more holes than a colander although, there was something about it that made me persevere until the end! Unfortunately my feelings were only confirmed and I wished I hadn’t bothered! Sorry, but I will not be recommending this book to anyone.

A disturbing and uneasy read with a pacey plot full of suspense.

I wasn't quite satisfied with the ending but the build up was brilliant and kept me guessing. The characters were well written, I hated Patrick and wanted to yell Mia and tell her to stand up for her mum.

Thanks to NetGalley, Little, Brown Book Group UK, Sphere and Vanessa Savage for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was really good, gripping story and liked all the characters - There was something chilling about it but at the same time you just want to know more and more.

This is a solid psychological thriller about a family who move back to the husband’s childhood home where some gruesome murders were previously committed and the house has a strange feeling.

There are some really good elements to this book. However, these were overshadowed by the unpleasant husband, Patrick, who I disliked from the first page. Add to that a wife who is weak and subservient (although, I did have some sympathy for her due to her bereavement) and it made for a frustrating read. Even the children, for whom I had concern and sympathy, weren’t very likeable and blamed their mother for everything.

So, in summary, a good premise just not nice people. 3*


Thanks to Netgalley, Little, Brown Book Group and the author for the opportunity to preview this book.

The Woman In The Dark

A good creepy thriller. Patrick had the perfect childhood, growing up in a house near the sea with great parents. His adult life with his his wife Sarah and their children Joe and Mia is a simple happy life but Patrick yearns to be back in his childhood home to make all the happy memories he has with his family. Finally his old childhood home comes on the market and Patrick is determined to get it back but he’s having a bit of a problem convincing her because Patrick’s idyllic home is now known as “the murder house”! I recommend this book if you enjoy a good creepy thriller to keep you warm at night.

A very dark and twisted tale centred around the eerily atmospheric 'Murder House'. I really enjoyed the tense setting and the story has a fair share of twists that I didn't see coming. A perfect read for the chilly autumnal evenings.

The Woman in the Dark is one of those books that grips you from the beginning and doesn't let you go .It is a very dark story of a family Sarah and Patrick and their teenage children who move to a house known locally as The Murder House as 15 years previously a family was murdered there..Patrick used to live there as a boy and has always wanted to come back and live there again despite its macabre past .Things start to deteriorate as soon as the family move in .The story twists and turns ,secrets are revealed I really like it when I can't guess the ending of a book !The book is very well written keeping the reader on the edge of their seat until the end .I really loved this book and would give it 10 stars if I could ! Many thanks to the Publisher ,The Author ,and NetGalley for my review copy in return for an honest review ,

A thriller with a twist. This is a good story about a family moving into a house where multiple murders were committed and the frightening things that happen apparently as a result of the crimes. In fact it is a story about a family breakdown. It has a few interesting twists but I do feel that the middle of the book became a little repetitive and failed to move forward. The central character was bogged down in her fear but failed to take any action and the story got stuck.
As it moves towards the conclusion, the action picks up.
I do recommend the book for readers who enjoy a scary thriller.

I really liked the start and end of the book but lost interest mid way through and felt the plot repeated too much. I stuck with it and I’m glad I did as overall it’s a decent dark, psychological thriller.

Sarah’s family have been traumatised by past events and issues, her husband Patrick thinks moving to his childhood seaside home could be the answer and will help them all recover. Trouble is, that home is now known as The Murder House after a family were brutally killed there. What comes next is multi layered and deliciously dark. Red herrings swim gaily around, leading us one way then another. The house certainly seems to have an effect on the family but is it all in their minds?
I do get a little annoyed at characters who think things but won’t say them, especially when it’s their partner, family, close friends etc. This book is no exception, Sarah is sometimes a little meek for me, even if Patrick is acting like an angry psycho at times.
Overall a really good satisfying read, my thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Blimey what a book!!! This is one that will keep you gripped from beginning to end, you think you know what is going on and then things change again. Sarah is very personable as a main character and you can feel her pain and this then keeps you even more hooked...

~* BOOK REVIEW *~

Woman in the Dark by Vanessa Savage

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5 *****


This is a very dark read. The writer really knows how to manipulate the readers mind and turning them in so many different directions that you find yourself hooked, wanting to know the truth.

The characters were complex, well-described, written to perfection. I'm lost for words over this book and am having trouble figuring our how to put my thoughts into this review. The characters were written so well that you could picture yourself as a rubbernecker on the sidelines or a fly on the wall. They were so well described that you could imagine every creases on their faces via their expressions. Not many people can pull that off, but Vanessa Savage has.

The story itself was intoxicating. It was dark, mysterious, thrilling... there are so many words to describe this book, so many that it would be impossible to write them all down. I loved how we're taken down a path and then its like reaching a fork and your shoved in one of the directions and then come to another fork... it's like a vicious circle. There were so many head-scratching moments in this story too, some that were quite bizarre but fascinating. There's so many lies and secrets that when you uncover them, one by one, you're completely mind-blown; I know I was.

Overall, this story will leave you with a knot in your stomach, butterflies in your belly. That ending though... WOW! It was incredible, explosive, edge-of-your-seat worthy and catastrophic. I love a good psychological thriller and this one is up there with one of faves. Very well written.