This was a strange book.
I found the characters unlikable and selfish and felt a lot of their conflict could have been resolved if they had just had an honest conversation.

I did like their relationships with their kids and grandkids and how the differences in parenting styles change with time.

I did see some of the twist coming and honestly was getting very frustrated that the characters didn't.

Colleen and Andrew haven't had sex in eleven weeks and three days [not that anyone's counting].

Their marriage is in crisis, they're drinking too much and both have secrets they're afraid to share. A teetotal week in a remote cottage could solve all their problems. But with the promised beach nowhere in sight, a broken-down car and a sinister landlord, they may not find it so easy to rekindle their romance.

In this dark and funny novel, tensions build and tempers fray.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed a short story book by the author. There was something different about the presentation and the characters within the chapters, and that had me curious about this book.
I should have looked at the blurb a little more cautiously because it does warn the readers about the content of the narrative. It is not a topic/angle that I am overly fond of. This is the story of a slightly older couple who have found themselves in a rut. With their children grown and moved out, one with children of her own, they are trying to find a balance.
They decide to take a dry holiday to find a new rhythm. This holiday happens to be at a house with an odd reputation. Things start unravelling even before they start off on their journey.
We are given a window into both their minds and all the things that make them different from each other. They are bound by years of togetherness, and that is not something that can easily be dismissed. It is not hard to figure out the main plotline behind the unexpected events since it is not really hidden by the author.
I am glad I saw the book all the way through, but it is not the kind of book I would recommend to anyone I know. It is heavy in its analysis and not altogether happy. The explanations are also not really enough, although the writing saved it for me. I liked the caricatures that the descriptions and the conversations threw up bring the people being talked about into startling focus. I would pick up another written by the author given a chance, but hopefully, it is of a slightly different type of tale.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience of this and another work by the same author.

Odd, strange and weird, I would be hard put to give you a honest description of this bizarre fictional trip.
But nevertheless, the author's dazzling style compelled me to read it until the end. I reckon that it was definitely a bit tricky at the beginning, a bit of a struggle to move forward but soon I must recognize that I fell under the charm of the narrative flow even if the plot was very very wobbly to say the least.
I will probably & definitely take another gander at this novel. I will simply try to tackle the plot differently..

Many thanks to Netgalley and Sandstone for this strange but interesting reading experience!

Warning! Unpopular opinion!

Honestly? No idea what happened here. This book is so... strange. So different and hard to understand what was the main point of all this story...

Totally not my cup of tea. Marriages issues, a life full of secrets, everyday routines, and a rented house in the middle of nowhere. I thought it would be something a little bit dark. Or a comedy with some kind of crime to be solved. Nope. Not this time.

The action was too slow. I was waiting and waiting for something to blow, for fireworks, murder, or just a confrontation - a spark of danger, but it seems that all the story is about something completely different. No, I cannot say more, cause spoilers are the worst!

I don't really feel the writing. The style, the construction, and the plot are just boring. In fact, nothing spectacular is happening. It seems that I am much more thriller girl than I thought ;)

This was a lot of fun, and I was totally on board with the story (even though I had a problem placing the MCs, age-wise -- at first I thought they were a young-ish couple, then all of a sudden it turns out they have grown kids as well as grandchildren (yikes!), so I had them down as 60-somethings, which all things considered seemed a pretty good fit... and then around the 2/3 mark it is casually mentioned they're in their late 40s. WTF?!), looking forward to a cool finale to the mounting weirdness... and then there was that ending. I'm sorry, it's probably me, but I simply did not get it. At all.
(So what *was* the deal with Wolf? And Hildy? And the equipment? And the car? And Jack the dog? And Colleen's final change of heart, if that's even what it was? And the whole Ned business?)
Still, I was enjoying myself up to that point, and I'll definitely check out Mr Brotzel's other works (past & future). AND that cover was just delicious.

What a strange little book ! I don't think strange is necessarily bad, but it was certainly different. I enjoyed it because it was quirky, and I liked the humour, and the intrigue. I honestly had no idea where this book was going. It was very original, and I enjoyed reading it.

This was a gripping story. Andrew and Colleen meet more than their match when they rent a holiday cottage next to some spooky woods. Their car becomes damaged and they cannot leave the cottage until it is mended. Mr wolf and Hildy keep them ‘entertained’ whilst they wait for the car to be mended. I had heightened anxiety whilst reading this book, it’s quite sinister and worrying. It kept me on the edge of my seat. The dark secrets are slowly revealed, and the thought that these may be revealed to others, worries the characters immensely.
A great short read.
Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication in exchange for an honest review

I personally found this book a little odd. It is well written, a little over wordy for my own personal taste, with its own distinct style. I’m not really sure why Wolf was doing what he was doing or what was really going on, but I was certainly intrigued enough to keep reading.