Sisters Wren and Sage have always lived in the woods of the small town of Stillwater, NY.  Their mother kept them hidden away and without any influence of outside society.  Mother always told them of the dangers and evils of the world outside of their homestead.  However, Mother left Wren and Sage months ago with their sick little sister Evie in order to get her medical treatment.  Mother has yet to return and supplies are dwindling as winter approaches.  When a man comes to their cabin in search of them, the sisters panic and flee into the woods.  They arrive at Nicolette Gideon's home on the outskirts of Stillwater.  Nicolette offers them help and the girl's sudden appearance creates a stir in the small town as well as opening up some mysteries from the past. 


The Stillwater Girls is a gripping thriller that I binged in one day.  Told through alternating points of view between Wren and Nicolette; I was immediately caught up in Wren's circumstances trying to survive a winter in the New York woods with primitive supplies.  Nicolette's viewpoint took me a little longer to get into, a wealthy woman in her 30's who believes her marriage is struggling due to a emergency hysterectomy 10 years ago.  I did like that I could not figure out the connection between the women until closer to the end of the story.  The pacing of the story was steady as suspense builds with the sisters having to flee and Nicolette not knowing where she stands with her husband.  As their stories intersect, mysteries unravel.  The ending tumbled together quickly and I was thoroughly unprepared for the revelation at the end and the secret that was held on to for so long.  Overall, The Stillwater Girls is a consuming psychological thriller with plenty of twists and turns.


This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

​Ritchie Naughton's life is falling apart.  After returning home on a break from work one afternoon, he discovers his long-time girlfriend in bed with a football player.  The shock triggers a heart condition that Ritchie never knew about.  After all this, Ritchie makes a decision to move back to New Jersey and into his sister's basement. Ritchie finally he  finds a job as a staff photographer at a local paper.  The paper has an older camera for Ritchie to use, and is only inscribed with the name Denlax.  Along with his newspaper gig, Ritchie reluctantly agrees to work for his uncle in order to provide picture proof of his aunt's infidelity.  With this side gig, Ritchie finds that the camera produces disturbing images of other worlds.  Soon, the Denlax drags Ritchie into a dangerous world with extreme consequences.


In the House of Mirrors is a slow-burning horror that sucked me in with great characters and a unique plot.  From the beginning, I never quite knew which way the book would take me and that made me keep reading.  All of the characters, human and otherwise were thoroughly created.  The camera itself was the most intriguing, bringing is elements of horror, supernatural, and the occult.  The mystery of the Denlax kept me guessing as the pictures with imperfections soon showed separate worlds and beings that moved within the picture, sort of like an otherworldly camera obscura.  I loved the history behind the camera and the story that was passed down along with it.  As Ritchie learned about the camera, he began to change, but not as I would have suspected.  The pieces started to fall together as the story wrapped up and the horror, suspense and gruesomeness of the acts that the camera precipitated.   Overall, an intense and different horror read.