On the Edge of the Woods

by Diane Tyrrel

A dazzling tale of a thoroughly modern woman who falls in love with the house of her dreams--only to have it turn into her ultimate nightmare.

It's a turn-of-the-century rambling manor in the shadows of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. And even though it will need months of renovations, nothing will stop architect Stacy Addison from buying it--not even the threatening notes...the hang-ups...the harassment.

Someone doesn't want Stacy in the house. But it's not just the house, Stacy slowly realizes. Someone wants her gone-permanently.

Genres: Romance, Gothic, Mystery, Gothic Romance, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Thriller

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 3, 2004

About the author

Diane Tyrrel is a multi-published novelist and editor of over thirty books of fiction, non-fiction, and memoir, including suspense novels for Berkley (Penguin Group) and romantic fantasy with Avon/HarperCollins.

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

quite entertaining, exceeded my expectations

[Zora · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been craving a good gothic with a haunted house, and I need to keep looking, for this wasn't it. This novel is well-written enough at many levels, but the main character is an idiot. It's full of plot contrivances that could be fixed with one direct question on her part, or on the part of others, and no one ever asks them though they are dying to know the answers. ("Are you engaged?" "No." Hey, problem solved.) When, toward the end of the book that escalated to people saying, "But your life is in danger. I must warn you about-- Oh no, but not here, not now" (even though here and now was, in that case, a private conversation on the phone) my eye rolling reached Stage III. And every character is a Mary Sue/Gary Stu. There isn't a hetero man who doesn't want the protagonist (except the Catholic priest , who is screwing someone else,.) The main love interest is tall, handsome, athletic, masterful at three things that aren't his career and yet has managed to align himself with women who have given him a major case of blue balls for, apparently, years now. Nor is the house on the edge of the titular woods haunted. Nothing otherworldly happens. And yet, despite all that, it was readable. I finished it, so it deserves at least two stars for that.

[Katie O’Reilly]

DNF @ page 195

I'm going to have to call it quits on this one. It started out so strongly, too, a big, rambling house out in the mountains, skulduggery, strange occurrences and happenings that make Stacy think someone wants her out of the house. But I'm getting bogged down in the middle and I can't get out. There's too much filler here. Also, I was lured in with the promise of a hot blonde man who might or might not be a murderer, but he's so transparently a big old crusty sweetie pie (he BAKES! he COOKS! he takes SENSITIVE AND ARTISTIC NATURE PHOTOGRAPHS) that there is no suspense.

[Susan Swansburg · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is exactly what it promises: a Gothic. It had all the elements and the feel of the type of Gothic novels I read decades ago. kinda fun change of pace.

[Shari Kohl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Came across this not-so-recently published book but the title was intriguing so I bought it. I wasn't disappointed. Love the way the love angle was perplexing and the "sinister" characters mounted as you moved through the story. j Worth the read if you are looking for a great read and not worried when published.

[Luis Pavon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stacy, a young architect from LA, decides to buy a beautiful old house up in the mountains. What she didn't know is that someone wants her out, so she is being threatened. She refuses to go while she discovers the truth that surrounds the history of the house and previous owner.

[Shawna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was just ok. It wasn't really a Gothic tale that it was advertised as and a mediocre romance at best. It was a light fluffy novel that I'm sure, I'll forget about by the next novel I read.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I’ve read it several times.

[Carlee H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Might read ten more times.

[Summer Denny · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5🌟This was my first “gothic novel” and it did not disappoint!! I couldn’t put it down🙌🏼

[Solape Oluwasola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting😌😌

[Melanie Hampel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book because of the cover. Just the place where, someday I would love to own a property. As for the content, it kept me on my toes.

[Joann Muszynski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was loaned this book Friday afternoon at work and brought it home. With my reader's mind not being able to wrap around Pandora's Daughter, and having left Crooked Moon in my locker at work, I decided to open up On the Edge of the Woods and give it a whirl.

Well! I was the one taken for a whirl!

Immediately, I was drawn into the story. Written in first person, the main character has an easy, smooth elegance in her tone as she's telling her adventures of finding this enormous old house up in the mountains of California. I'd love to do research on the psychological link between women and houses and why a majority of us are seemingly entranced by them. I know I've dreamt of big white houses throughout my years, so here I am reading a book about a big white house - picturing it just like I always have in my very own dreams - big, dirty, cluttered, yet with an undeniable charm and grace.

So, with the entrance to the story, Stacy Addison opens up her life. Her emotions, her struggles, her everything, becomes the ink of the page. And it's earthy, grounded, real. She's a woman who we could all be. She's successful and smart and strong. Admirable.

Then the mystery of the story starts, well pretty much from the beginning, and you can't help but become locked, battling the need for sleep against the need to keep reading.

There are some areas that are a bit.... cliché, or overused. Especially in the love scene towards the end and the well over-used love/hate relationship between Stacy and love interest Brand - a fiery, moody, suspicious man who has you hoping for the best but always keeping a wary eye on him from first page to 20 pages before it ends.

As for the msytery - well now, Diane Tyrell deserves two gold stars and an A+ for being able to spin those suspicions tactfully. All through the book I'm wondering who the nemesis truly is. Brand? Brand's obnoxious brother Saul? Iona, the real estate agent? Or is is Alana - I won't tell you who she is, you'll have to read the book. But, who is it that is so determine to get Stacy out of the house of her dreams, gets her fired from her job and steadily comes to the boiling point of threatening her life?

I found myself unable to stop reading, having finished this book in a mere 3 days, which is incredibly fast for me, I'll admit. But one thing I know - if a book can make me read it for hours upon hours, until my eyes glaze over and no matter how many times I blink, I can't clear the blur, I know it's a pretty damn fine book.

And On the Edge of the Woods, is such a book. Full of character and life, full of curiosity, keeping you guessing and intrigued, it delves into the magic of the mountainous woods, the wild freedom of biting the bullet and making a change and just throwing caution to the wind, and the magic of big, old houses that have history and essence.

If you have even a bit of the romantic in you, have the who-done-it passion, and an earthy appreciation for natural beauty, you'll love this book.

Bravo, Diane Tyrell. I'm definitely finding more books by you, and with an eager mind, will read, read read.

~Jo.

[Eirene Ritznore · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Gothic novel is perhaps one of my favorite literary indulgences. I count Victoria Holt, Rona Randall, Madeleine Brent, M.M. Kaye, etc. as some of my most beloved literary friends. I am very selective about what Gothic novels I read. Needless to say, when I stumbled across Diane Tyrrel's On the Edge of the Woods in the Gothic novel section of the used book store, I was skeptical. Yet another modern novelist touting herself as one who has picked up the baton from the greats of the 1960s, much as many directors attempt to liken themselves to Hitchcock, but ultimately fall short of their goal. However, Diane Tyrrel's book did not disappoint me. The characters were enthralling. The circumstances and situations fully plausible. The book had all the makings of a great Gothic novel- the intrigue, the suspense, the thrill, the romance, the uncertainty.

Beginning in 1993, the exposition introduces us to Abby, the protagonist of the first person narrative. She is an architect from San Francisco who is grasping at a dream to live in the Sierras. She finds an old run down farm house which is rich with a mysterious history as well as potential for a beautiful home. The house is a character all it's own, abandoned, in disrepair, eager for love. Similar to Abby, herself.

She begins to split her time between her job at an architectural firm in Frisco and her time fixing up her house. However, strange things begin to occur. Her clients at work are receiving prank calls saying to dump her as a consultant on any of their projects. She is receiving strange, and slightly threatening letters in the mail.

Abby has some ideas- by way of gossip and rumors- of who could be sending these messages and making these calls. She can't prove anything, the police can't help, and, at times, she's not even sure she wants to know if her suspicions are correct.

The book kept me turning the pages. Though I had largely formulated a pretty accurate idea of who was responsible three quarters of the way through the book, it did not diminish the enjoyment I garnered from reading it. More often then not, knowing who did it before the end would tick me off, but not this time. I just enjoyed the ride. I highly recommend this one.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a contemporary Gothic novel, with many of the required characteristics: creepy old house with secret rooms, dangerous romance, unexplained deaths, and a hero who saves the damsel in distress. Although written 2004, the book takes place in the early 1990s, which adds a "quaintness" to the tale--no cell phones to call a friend when the damsel in distress needs help, the possibility of stealing someone's snail mail and finding some juicy news, and the discovery of hand-written letters long tucked away. In this novel, a young and beautiful architect named Stacy Addison (and almost every single person in the book is uncommonly good looking) buys an old manor in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California as a weekend house. For a few months she commutes back and forth from her job in San Franciso, until she is fired because she is the victim of harassment and it is scaring clients away (imagine firing someone for that reason in 2017!). She devotes herself full time to restoring the house, as someone tries to persuade her to leave, through threatening packages and phone messages (another quaint aspect from the 1990s is not caller id!). Eventually, Stacy falls in love with her good-lucking adventuresome, mountain-climbing neighbor, Brand, but is he the one who is trying to force her to leave? Stacy meets the former elderly owner of the house to try to discover answers, before it's too late.

I read this book in a week as my "insomnia" reading. No depth or realism here, but it kept me mildly entertained. Don't expect anything too deep and you might enjoy this very light read.

[Allyson Abu-Hajar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gothic novel, I enjoyed the story. A Victorian home, that used to be apart of a plantation, that was divided. The previous owner, no longer able to care for the home and residing in a nursing home. The new owner, Stacy Addison buys the home, she is an architect and plans on renovating the home. Along the way, she meets new neighbors, learns one is very upset that the house was sold to her and keeps getting hang-up calls, harassing calls, and begins to suspect Brand, who wanted the home for himself. Stacy, handed information, that she isn't sure about, but with all the harassment going on, and getting fired from her job due to the harassment, begins to believe all that she has been told. She finds old books and old letters that give her a look into the past. Although, she is suspicious of Brand, she is also drawn to him because of his charm and outwardly caring nature. Not sure what to believe, she pays a visit to the previous owner, which only seems to back up the information. Brand, being told snippets here and there about Stacy, is suspicious that she is hiding things and plans to sell the property for a big payout, despite claiming she loved the house. Also, there is a little mystery, that several know about, but don't share it with Stacy....that secret, could change the lives of many.

[The Bookish Vixen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book... Mostly. It got a little tedious in parts (the sloooow moving love story had me impatient at times), and the total and complete lack of any communication bored me, but where people finally told her things about the house, and she started figuring things out, I was really into it. It was quite good writing, I just would have liked a little faster paced story. I used to read gothics and mysteries back when I was a teenager, and have found myself wanting to go back to some of those long ago loved types of books, and I'll be sure to keep an eye out for more from this author.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I love most about this book is the way Tyrrel manages the tension between her protagonist and Brand, one of the love interests. Without overdone sexuality, she manages to capture that "hot" feeling one cannot avoid when attraction occurs (whether it's welcome or not).

Also being a fan of gothic romance and architecture, it was as if this book was written for me!

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started out loving this book, with it's descriptions of aged architecture and nature (and ruggedly handsome men haha). Even though the rhythm often seemed juvenile, I still enjoyed it . . . that is, until about the last third of the book when a million and one dramatic clichés raced fervently to a speedy ending. It was okay.

[Michelegg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent gothic mystery. I loved the big old house Stacey bought. I loved her relationship with Brand. I loved the suspician that was cast on him and all the neighbors till it all came together in the end and you found out who did it.

[S. Rutherford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Excellent twist at the end. I haven't read a gothic novel like that since my gothic literature class. Some typos that made me wonder how an author can still get published, but still a book I recommend to others.

[Holli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book surprised me......I didn't have high expectations for it but boy was it good!!

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book. I just read it because it called itself a "Gothic Romance." I was intrigued. I enjoyed reading it, but it's another one of those junk food books.

[Andi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A friend lent me this book to read. This was just ok for me. I knew early on that I was interested more in finding out the secret of the house than about the relationships.

[Surreal Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been sometime since I read this book but I really enjoyed it. I thought it was verty well written. This is a book for someone who enjoys romance but is not a "Romance" novel person

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great example of a gothic novel. Loved it!

[Lisa Greer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bad from the beginning where the guy was journaling. :( And boring thereafter. I gave up 25 pages in.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adorably predictable.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was a great contemporary Gothic romance. I am in love with old Gothic romances, and I liked the flow of this one.

[Linda (NOT RECEIVING NOTIFICATIONS) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars because I finished the book. Read the review by 'Zora'; it is spot-on.