Cover Image: The Woods

The Woods

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

A great, thrilling read, which will keep you entertained throughout. A good one sitting read, get the nibbles ready, close the door, and read!

Was this review helpful?

Thank you Little Brown Book Co and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.
This was the first book I have read by Vanessa and hopefully won't be the last. I enjoyed the way Vanessa writes and did enjoy the book but found I solved it half way through – I would have enjoyed it more if I’d had to think a bit more, that is why I have only given it 3 stars.

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed this book by Vanessa Savage. I had never read a book by this author before. I would read more books like this one.

Was this review helpful?

It is ten years ago since Tess´ sister died. The death was ruled an accident. Tess is now living a life in London, as a teacher. But when her father calls and tells her that her stepmother is close to death, Tess must travel home and confront the past.

A gripping and atmospheric novel for everyone who loved unreliable narrators and dark stories about the woods.

Was this review helpful?

Pretty solid psychological thriller.

Tess served as the novel’s narrator and Savage did a good job of portraying her mental state as she slowly succumbs to the stresses of her past and present. Great characterisation and very interesting premise.

Given that the other characters were filtered through Tess’ perception, I did find them harder to get to grips with - she was a very good unreliable narrator but the other characters all felt a bit "off" - but maybe that was the point.

Overall, an atmospheric novel that was a good psychological thriller, but didn't quite hit the spot.

Was this review helpful?

I thought THE WOODS portrays Tess’s mental deterioration quite well as an unreliable narrator. The trauma of her sister’s death affects her memories and she has strange dreams of that night. I really liked the flashbacks of the sisters, they show the full dimensions of their complicated relationship. And the setting of the woods interspersed with Tess’s dreams of Bella is atmospheric and haunting.

However, I found Tess quite annoying and the conflicts between her and other characters feel manufactured. I’m not a fan of information being kept from the readers for plot purposes, and that happens here. The final third of the book is repetitive and I saw the ending coming so it was disappointing though it didn't affect my reading so much. Read this if you’re looking for a dark psychological thriller about families and memories!

Was this review helpful?

I seem to have a penchant for mysteries surrounding disappearances and murders in the woods. They tend to unsettle me and yet I still find myself gravitating towards them! Even though The Woods is atmospheric rather than creepy, it was still a wonderful story, and one I immensely enjoyed.

Tess and her sister went into the woods one day, but only one came back. Ten years later, Tess must return home to deal with the imminent death of her stepmother. What happened in the woods that day, ten years ago, and what was Tess' role in the tragedy, if any?

From the beginning, there is a very powerful and commanding atmosphere about this book. There’s a sense of disquiet that seeps from its pages into the reader’s mind. The Woods themselves are a ominous presence over the story and characters, and I loved that Vanessa Savage gave them an identity of their own, just as though they were another character.

With past and present colliding to devastating effect, where The Woods really excelled was within its mystery. Tess was a remarkably unreliable narrator, and so ascertaining the truth was by no means straightforward. The result was that I genuinely had no idea where the plot was heading and I didn’t know which of Tess’ recollections to believe nor if her judgement was completely skewed regarding her relationships. Chilling in its intensity, addictive and twisty, this was an incredibly good read and the masterful storytelling of Vanessa Savage did not disappoint. Very highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Little, Brown Book Group UK/Sphere via NetGalley at my request, and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

Was this review helpful?

10 years ago, Tessa’s sister Bella died in the woods and the police ruled it out as an accident. Tess and Bella had gone into the woods and when she woke up, Bella is dead lying next to her. To her horror, she never actually remembered what happened that night. Even after 10 years, it’s still a blur.

Now, Tess is a primary school teacher with unresolved issues, suppressed feelings and suffers frequent nightmares. When she gets a call from her dad about her step mom Julia’s dying from cancer, she’s hesitant to go home. To the place that keeps haunting her. To the place that she’d fled all those years ago. She’s ready to face them just yet.

When all of them, the pack gathers to meet the dying stepmom, Tess begins to remember bits and pieces of that horrible night and she begins to worry her sister’s death is not an accident after all! A serial killer who targeted teenage girls? Didn’t one of Bella’s friends get murdered around that time? Another girl went missing and never found? She can never trust anyone now. Can she?

Utterly gripping from page 1, The Woods is a superb suspense thriller that goes back and forth between the past and present with Tess at the center. Tess is a complicated character with a hard childhood where she was constantly bullied by her sister’s friends and undermined by Bella’s beauty. Her parents split up early and she never got over it. Finally, the death of her sister was enough to drive her out of the place. 10 years later, Tess is still suffering. Even though she’s not a teenager anymore. And so are the others in the pack.

The description of the characters, especially to differentiate the teenage mentality from the or present self and their damaged brains is written brilliantly by Vanessa Savage as she successfully manages to give creeps to the readers through the ambience and setting of the plot. None of the characters were kind or likable, as they all had their issues and was not even close to being normal. It takes a few chapters to get the ‘feel’ of the premise, but when you do, there’s no putting it down!

Was this review helpful?

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers. Loved this book, enjoyed the dual timeline between modern day and 10 years ago. Darkly, atmospheric and chilling read.

Was this review helpful?

Hmmmm... I really struggled to get into this book and parked it about 25%. Something made me pick it up and suddenly - bam, it became very intriguing.

There’s an undercurrent of distrust running through the book. The sisters Bella and Tess seem to spar with the insanely-hot boys Jack and Sean who moved into the strange house with the beautiful garden. Even the adults are at it - who is the unreliable character here? We’re not sure, especially when Tess’s dead sister seems to visit her on a nightly (or even daily) basis.

Intriguing - although at times it did seem to decent to teenage arguments and spats. Once I’d started again I did find it difficult to put down.

4* On balance a good read though it took its time!!

Was this review helpful?

There is something that is just innately unsettling about woods, especially the spooky and dark ones so whenever I see a book where a gloomy wood plays a role I am immediately interested. The Woods follows Tess, a young woman whose sister died at age 18 in mysterious circumstances. Tess has no memory of what happened that night in the woods that lead to her sister, Bella’s, death and when she is forced to return to her childhood home she starts to remember flashes which may lead to the truth about Bella’s death. However as Tess’s mental state becomes more and more discordant, she starts to question whether she can actually trust her own mind and instincts.

From the very beginning there is a very real and potent atmosphere to this book. There’s a sense of disquiet that leaks off the pages of The Woods and into the reader’s mind. The Woods themselves are a looming presence over the story and characters and I loved that the author managed to make them almost another character in a way, like a living breathing entity. I also enjoyed the fact that for most of this book I genuinely had no idea where the plot was heading. Because Tess has very little clarity surrounding what happened to both herself and her sister and cannot trust her own mind it puts the reader kind of in the same boat. I didn’t know how many of Tess’s recollections to believe or whether her judgement was completely skewed regarding her relationships. All of this uncertainty makes for a tense and chilling read. My only small issue is that the ending felt ever so slightly rushed and I would have liked a little more understanding of the consequences of the end reveal. However, overall, I found The Woods unsettling, creepy and continuously compelling.

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed this book though I didn’t feel as involved as I did with the author’s first book. I couldn’t put my finger on why though so it was an OK read for me.

I would still look out for the author’s next book.

Was this review helpful?

“Two girls went in. Only one came out.”
This tag line grabbed my attention and was looking forward to reading this book. I really liked how the author created this image of the woods, you could picture it in your head and imagine the events that happened there. It was chilling and creepy which is exactly what the front cover and tag line promised!

However, as much as the storyline had me intrigued I felt the pace of the book was slow. Some parts felt drawn out and that it was just writing for the sake of writing. The book is written from the point of view of the girl who came back out of the woods. Everything we read is her thoughts and opinions, which works well but also puts her assumptions about the other characters into our head.

I predicted the end, and although felt it was slightly disappointing, the ending was the best part of the book for me!

Was this review helpful?

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This book is a tense psychological thriller that keeps you guessing and trying to piece the story together after each page.
This is quite a dark read and quite disturbing in parts but I couldn't put it down.
The book goes back and forth between the present day and 10 years ago when the main characters sister died but was it an accident or was she murdered? Read and find out!

Was this review helpful?

Dark & twisty from the start with an ending I wasn’t expecting. An enjoyable well plotted read. Highly recommended

Was this review helpful?

Thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK/Sphere and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

With its intriguing strapline, 'Two girls went down to the woods, but only one came back', this is one book I just had to read. To say I liked 'The Woods' would be disingenuous, because I absolutely loved it. This latest novel from the increasingly impressive Vanessa Savage has all the hallmarks of a great mystery. It is a compelling read of the type where intrusions of reality are thoroughly unwelcome. Indeed, the tantalising blurb of the novel is superseded by the pitch-perfect execution of the plot in the novel as a whole. The mystery, furthermore, is an eminently satisfying one. Tess and her sister went into the woods one day, but only one came back. Ten years later, Tess must once again return home to deal with the impending death of her stepmother. This is the point where 'The Woods' comes into its own, with past and present colliding to devastating effect. What happened in the woods that day, ten years ago, and what was Tess' role in the tragedy, if any? This is the mystery at the heart of the stunningly realised, 'The Woods'. With Tess an epically unreliable narrator, the truth is by no means straightforward. To say more would be to spoil a simply wonderful read. The masterful storytelling of Vanessa Savage, however, does not disappoint. Spine-chilling in its intensity, addictive and twisty, this was quite simply an AMAZING read.

Was this review helpful?

The Woods is the latest psychological thriller from writer Vanessa Savage and introduces us to Tess Cooper. Tess is a secondary school teacher residing in London when she receives an urgent call from her father back in the chocolate-box village of West Dean in the Vale of Glamorgan imploring her to come back home as her stepmother, Julia, is close to death. This terrifies Tess so much that she starts to have nightmares, become completely paranoid and hallucinate. She knew this day would come but had managed to sweep any thoughts of it aside pretty successfully until the dreaded phone call. The catalyst that led to her leaving a decade ago was her sister Bella’s death and to make matters worse it took place on her father and stepmother's wedding day. It was ruled as a tragic accident and although Tess woke up next to Bella’s lifeless body she had no idea what had happened and has not regained her memory of the events of the night in question since.

This is a compulsive, superbly plotted and thoroughly addictive read and Tess is the ultimate unreliable narrator making for a totally unpredictable story. It was much more chilling and disturbing than the synopsis suggests and the deliciously dark yarn builds the tension slowly over the course of the novel. The plethora of twists and turns were difficult to see coming and Bella’s death continues to be the focal point. I have read quite a few woods-based thrillers of late yet many of them fail to create the tense atmosphere Savage manages to conjure here. The woods seem so important to the book that they are almost a character in themselves and they created a sense of foreboding that ran throughout. The atmospheric descriptions of the scenery and the weather give me hope that Ms Savage can become a big name in the crime writing community. Many thanks to Sphere for an ARC.

Was this review helpful?

I really wanted to love this book. It started of so strong and I was so excited to solve the mystery but as it went on I got bored.

The protagonist whines all the way through. Think I solved the mystery about half way through. Reminded me of twilight with all the emotional drama.

Would not recommend.

Was this review helpful?

My thanks to Little Brown Book Group U.K./Sphere for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Woods’ by Vanessa Savage in exchange for an honest review.

“Two girls went down to the woods
But only one came back”

Ten years ago Tess’ older sister Bella died in what was ruled a tragic accident. Tess woke up in the woods next to her sister’s lifeless body but she has no memory of what happened that night.

Tess now lives in London working as a teacher. An emergency call from her father about her stepmother’s health forces her to return home. Her stepmother, Julia, had originally moved in next door with her husband and teenage boys. After her husband left them she eventually became involved with Tess and Bella’s father creating a complex extended family situation given that the “two insanely hot boys” next door are going to become the girls’ stepbrothers!

In the present Tess finds herself increasingly troubled, unable to sleep and haunted by visions of Bella. Further mysteries emerge including a cold case involving the murders of two local girls years before.

Tess served as the novel’s narrator and I felt that Savage did a good job of charting her mental state as she slowly succumbed to the stresses of her past and present. It was a strong central characterisation.

Given that the other characters were filtered through Tess’ perception, I did find them harder to get to grips with. In addition, it was quite a long novel and I found its pacing uneven in places and its ending a bit rushed.

Overall, an atmospheric novel that was a fine psychological thriller/mystery even though it didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

Was this review helpful?

https://pm-alliance.com/overcome-project-leadership-challenges/
Well, this was a twisted little number that worked very well for me. A mystery at its core it’s all about the tangled webs we weave particularly when families become overly involved in each other’s lives. A psychological thriller that makes for compulsive reading, made even more gripping by the unreliable narrator who keeps taking you round in ever decreasing circles as you go through the mill suspecting everyone of wrongdoing.

The story starts with an introduction to Tess. Tess lives in the city and is a teacher at secondary level. She’s not totally happy with her life choices, or enjoying her job, in fact she’s been in a spot of bother with one particular student before we even make her acquaintance. Then she receives a phone call and her life spirals from slightly dull and a little bit miserable to fear, apprehension and overnight hallucinations. Tess hasn’t been home for a good number of years but her step mom is dying and her father has called her to ask her to come back. She doesn’t relish the idea and in fact as soon as she starts thinking of home she begins to experience nightmares and apparitions.

Tess had a sister, Bella. Bella was the beautiful sister, enigmatic, full of personality – at least in Tess’s eyes – whilst she was the ugly duckling living in the shadows. In spite of that the two of them shared a close sisterly relationship although their closeness was starting to fracture as Bella began to enjoy a little more danger. Boys, alcohol, late nights and other escapades that shy Tess didn’t want to become involved with. Then, one evening Tess and Bella went for a late night excursion into the local woods and only one sister survived.

I really liked the way this begins. Everything feels fairly balanced in the opening pages yet as soon as Tess receives her phone call her life almost immediately takes a nosedive. She finds herself in deep trouble at work and there’s little choice for her other than to return home for her step mother’s last days. But, more than that, she starts to see her sister, not just in dreams either, but on a fairly regular basis and Bella is trying to tell her something.

Tess seems to go from bad to worse quite quickly. She’s not sleeping properly, she’s having terrible dreams when she does sleep and she even seems to be sleep walking. Her nerves are a bunch of frayed ends and to make matters worse she’s not the only one to return home.

When Bella was still alive the local ‘haunted house’, sat deep in the woods, was bought by a good looking couple who had two incredibly handsome teenage boys who immediately became the heartthrobs of this sleepy little village. Trouble followed on fleet feet. Jealousies, crushes, secrets and lies, in fact as the past is gradually laid bare it’s difficult to believe just how complex all the relationships involved really were.

The focus is on three families primarily and their interactions and past indiscretions are gradually revealed. At the same time, it seems that there was a killer on the loose all those years ago. A number of girls went missing, their bodies eventually found and speculation ran amok – that being said, Bella’s death was deemed a tragic accident. I really do have to hand it to the author for stunning me with the depth of intrigue and deceit. She manages to put everyone into the frame in fact I had a great time jumping around from suspect to suspect like a headless chicken as red herrings flew thick and fast.

The really winning element for me though was Tess and the way she spirals almost out of control. She’s more jumpy than frog soup in fact I think her suspicions jumped about almost, if not more, than my own. And she’s her own worst enemy really. She snaps at people, makes accusations and just takes silly risks that eventually make her a person of interest to the police – especially after – well, I can’t really say other than ‘the plot thickens’. Like a theatregoer at a Christmas production of Cinderella, I just wanted to scream at her – for goodness sake, have a good night’s sleep and get things into perspective.

On top of this all the revelations gradually show the characters in a different light so that you can never truly trust what you’ve already heard about them. Was Bella the beautiful and good sister or was she the village troublemaker. The family who move in, are they really as good as they seem? Even Bella’s father and step mom – they all have things that paint them in darker tones.

I enjoyed the setting too. Mostly we find ourselves in the woods with all the rustling trees, snapping branches and, of course, the long since abandoned house in the woods that everyone seems to be drawn to like flies to honey – or vinegar.

In terms of criticisms. Nothing much really. I think that this could have been tightened a little. I found myself, only momentarily, experiencing a brief feeling of repetitiveness – but, like I said, this was only a glancing thought.

Overall this is a very good, gripping in fact, psychological thriller. It had plenty of tension and the mystery was intriguing to read about, the history of the protagonist and her friends and family was revealed layer by layer until the core of the story was laid bare – then the author pulled the curtains on her big reveal. To an extent, in the cold light of day, it seemed obvious, in fact I’d guessed the culprit along the way – that is, of course I had, I suspected everyone along the way, sometimes more than once so obviously I was going to hit on the answer even if it wasn’t my final thought and I’d moved onto someone else. Basically, this novel is deceptive right to the end.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

Was this review helpful?