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Arrowood
A haunting novel from the author of The Weight of Blood about a young woman's return to her childhood home--and her encounter with the memories and family secrets it holds
ITW THRILLER AWARD FINALIST
Arrowood is the most ornate and grand of the historical houses that line the Mississippi River in southern Iowa. But the house has a mystery it has never revealed: It's where Arden Arrowood's younger twin sisters vanished on her watch twenty years ago--never to be seen again. After the twins' disappearance, Arden's parents divorced and the Arrowoods left the big house that had been in their family for generations. And Arden's own life has fallen apart: She can't finish her master's thesis, and a misguided love affair has ended badly. She has held on to the hope that her sisters are still alive, and it seems she can't move forward until she finds them. When her father dies and she inherits Arrowood, Arden returns to her childhood home determined to discover what really happened to her sisters that traumatic summer.
Arden's return to the town of Keokuk--and the now infamous house that bears her name--is greeted with curiosity. But she is welcomed back by her old neighbor and first love, Ben Ferris, whose family, she slowly learns, knows more about the Arrowoods' secrets and their small, closed community than she ever realized. With the help of a young amateur investigator, Arden tracks down the man who was the prime suspect in the kidnapping. But the house and the surrounding town hold their secrets close--and the truth, when Arden finds it, is more devastating than she ever could have imagined.
Arrowood is a powerful and resonant novel that examines the ways in which our lives are shaped by memory. As with her award-winning debut novel, The Weight of Blood, Laura McHugh has written a thrilling novel in which nothing is as it seems, and in which our longing for the past can take hold of the present in insidious and haunting ways.
270 pages, Hardcover
First published June 16, 2016
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8993 people want to read
About the author
Laura McHugh
8 books1,423 followersLaura McHugh's debut novel, The Weight of Blood, won an International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel, a Silver Falchion Award for Best First Novel: Literary Suspense, and the Missouri Author Award for Fiction. It was also nominated for an Alex Award, Barry Award, and GoodReads Choice Award (Best Mystery and Best Debut). Arrowood was an international bestseller and a finalist for the International Thriller Writers Award for Best Hardcover Novel, and The Wolf Wants In was one of Library Journal's Best Books of the Year. McHugh's latest novel, What's Done in Darkness, was one of Oprah Daily's Best Beach Reads of 2021, a Self Magazine Best Book of the Year, and Harlan Coben's pick for Best Summer Thriller on the Today Show.
Linktree: Laura McHugh
Linktree: Laura McHugh
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,185 reviews
October 22, 2016
This is a beautifully written gothic novel set in Keokuk, Iowa. I very much enjoyed reading this book but I loved The Weight of Blood by this author more. Looming large over the novel and the main character, Arden, is the large historical house that is Arrowood, located by the Mississippi river. When Arden was 8, her infant twin sisters, Violet and Tabitha, went missing. Her parents left the house and divorced soon after. Her life has been defined by this event, she has never managed to get it together in terms of a career and felt that she could only admit love into her life when her sisters returned. Upon the death of her father, Arden inherits Arrowood. She drops her thesis immediately, and takes up residence in this creepy house. She is to discover that nothing remains the same, and Keokuk is now a rundown place where most enterprises have shut down and little in the way of opportunities. In Arden's family tree, there have been three ill fated Ardens', how will this one fare?
The caretaker, Dick Heaney, is entrusted to maintain Arrowood by the trust. Arden's childhood memories hang like ghosts, she even buys and eats the food she had as a child. She is obsessed with her sisters and the mystery of what happened to them and to this end connects with Josh Kyle, a true crime enthusiast who has followed the Arrowood disappearances religiously and is investigating the case. This leads her to meeting Harold Singer, a man whose life was ruined because he was a prime suspect. This leads Arden to begin to question her sacrosanct childhood memories of the disappearance. Then there are her neighbours, the Ferris family and her childhood love, Ben, from whom secrets emerge about her parents marriage. Opening Arrowood up to the public as an important historical house leads to the discovery of a room that was used in the underground railway. The closer Arden gets to the truth, the greater the danger she finds herself in.
This is a novel about family and the secrets it holds. It is about the intangible and fallible nature of memory, especially when one is a child. There is ambiguity in the ending, which seem to fit wih a story where truth is an elusive quality. The character of Arden was well developed and her secrets were revealed slowly and expertly, much like Arrowood, the house. A well plotted and atmospheric novel that engages the reader. A recommended read. Thanks to Random House Cornerstone for an ARC.
The caretaker, Dick Heaney, is entrusted to maintain Arrowood by the trust. Arden's childhood memories hang like ghosts, she even buys and eats the food she had as a child. She is obsessed with her sisters and the mystery of what happened to them and to this end connects with Josh Kyle, a true crime enthusiast who has followed the Arrowood disappearances religiously and is investigating the case. This leads her to meeting Harold Singer, a man whose life was ruined because he was a prime suspect. This leads Arden to begin to question her sacrosanct childhood memories of the disappearance. Then there are her neighbours, the Ferris family and her childhood love, Ben, from whom secrets emerge about her parents marriage. Opening Arrowood up to the public as an important historical house leads to the discovery of a room that was used in the underground railway. The closer Arden gets to the truth, the greater the danger she finds herself in.
This is a novel about family and the secrets it holds. It is about the intangible and fallible nature of memory, especially when one is a child. There is ambiguity in the ending, which seem to fit wih a story where truth is an elusive quality. The character of Arden was well developed and her secrets were revealed slowly and expertly, much like Arrowood, the house. A well plotted and atmospheric novel that engages the reader. A recommended read. Thanks to Random House Cornerstone for an ARC.
April 22, 2018
Find all my reviews on my blog: https://thesuspenseisthrillingme.com
Date Read: 10/06/16
Pub Date: 08/09/16
3.5 STARS
A haunting novel from the author of The Weight of Blood about a young woman’s return to her childhood home—and her encounter with the memories and family secrets it holds
Arrowood is the most ornate and grand of the historical houses that line the Mississippi River in southern Iowa. But the house has a mystery it has never revealed: It’s where Arden Arrowood’s younger twin sisters vanished on her watch twenty years ago—never to be seen again. After the twins’ disappearance, Arden’s parents divorced and the Arrowoods left the big house that had been in their family for generations. And Arden’s own life has fallen apart: She can’t finish her master’s thesis, and a misguided love affair has ended badly. She has held on to the hope that her sisters are still alive, and it seems she can’t move forward until she finds them. When her father dies and she inherits Arrowood, Arden returns to her childhood home determined to discover what really happened to her sisters that traumatic summer.
Arden’s return to the town of Keokuk—and the now infamous house that bears her name—is greeted with curiosity. But she is welcomed back by her old neighbor and first love, Ben Ferris, whose family, she slowly learns, knows more about the Arrowoods’ secrets and their small, closed community than she ever realized. With the help of a young amateur investigator, Arden tracks down the man who was the prime suspect in the kidnapping. But the house and the surrounding town hold their secrets close—and the truth, when Arden finds it, is more devastating than she ever could have imagined.
This is my second read by author Laura McHugh this year, and while this was still a good read, I think I enjoyed The Weight of Blood a bit more. I was expecting something of a similar feel in this one, but to my surprise it was very different. I requested this one on NetGalley upon finishing TWOB, but I managed to read a few reviews before starting it and, to my disappointment, realized the ending was a point of contention for many folks. No worries; there have been many books that the masses weren’t feeling that I fan-girled over, so I thought maybe this would be a similar case. I quickly found however that the masses were correct in this one.
Again, this isn’t a negative review; McHugh has uber talent and knows how to use beautiful language to write scenery, settings, and build a creeping sense of dread. The language is rich and succulent; it feels like a treat to be privy to her writing. Over the course of this read, I felt the tension grow and grow to the point I wanted to scream “Let’s get to the end already!!!”; the pacing was very steady (maybe even a bit slow for my liking) and thorough. Once we get to the ending, the reader has to decide if they are the type to become imaginative and use their own perspectives to fill in some wholes; this was hard for me as I was expecting some major twist, or at least full closure due to how the story was told, but there is neither in this story. This is a well-written read that showcases the author’s talent, but fans of the twisty, suspenseful thriller may be disappointed if you go into this one reading for the wrong reasons. I will definitely be reading whatever Laura McHugh puts out next, as she has really captured my attention with her first novel and continued to pique it with her second.
*I would like to thank the author and publisher for my copy in exchange for a fair and honest review. I received my eagerly via NetGalley.
Date Read: 10/06/16
Pub Date: 08/09/16
3.5 STARS
A haunting novel from the author of The Weight of Blood about a young woman’s return to her childhood home—and her encounter with the memories and family secrets it holds
Arrowood is the most ornate and grand of the historical houses that line the Mississippi River in southern Iowa. But the house has a mystery it has never revealed: It’s where Arden Arrowood’s younger twin sisters vanished on her watch twenty years ago—never to be seen again. After the twins’ disappearance, Arden’s parents divorced and the Arrowoods left the big house that had been in their family for generations. And Arden’s own life has fallen apart: She can’t finish her master’s thesis, and a misguided love affair has ended badly. She has held on to the hope that her sisters are still alive, and it seems she can’t move forward until she finds them. When her father dies and she inherits Arrowood, Arden returns to her childhood home determined to discover what really happened to her sisters that traumatic summer.
Arden’s return to the town of Keokuk—and the now infamous house that bears her name—is greeted with curiosity. But she is welcomed back by her old neighbor and first love, Ben Ferris, whose family, she slowly learns, knows more about the Arrowoods’ secrets and their small, closed community than she ever realized. With the help of a young amateur investigator, Arden tracks down the man who was the prime suspect in the kidnapping. But the house and the surrounding town hold their secrets close—and the truth, when Arden finds it, is more devastating than she ever could have imagined.
This is my second read by author Laura McHugh this year, and while this was still a good read, I think I enjoyed The Weight of Blood a bit more. I was expecting something of a similar feel in this one, but to my surprise it was very different. I requested this one on NetGalley upon finishing TWOB, but I managed to read a few reviews before starting it and, to my disappointment, realized the ending was a point of contention for many folks. No worries; there have been many books that the masses weren’t feeling that I fan-girled over, so I thought maybe this would be a similar case. I quickly found however that the masses were correct in this one.
Again, this isn’t a negative review; McHugh has uber talent and knows how to use beautiful language to write scenery, settings, and build a creeping sense of dread. The language is rich and succulent; it feels like a treat to be privy to her writing. Over the course of this read, I felt the tension grow and grow to the point I wanted to scream “Let’s get to the end already!!!”; the pacing was very steady (maybe even a bit slow for my liking) and thorough. Once we get to the ending, the reader has to decide if they are the type to become imaginative and use their own perspectives to fill in some wholes; this was hard for me as I was expecting some major twist, or at least full closure due to how the story was told, but there is neither in this story. This is a well-written read that showcases the author’s talent, but fans of the twisty, suspenseful thriller may be disappointed if you go into this one reading for the wrong reasons. I will definitely be reading whatever Laura McHugh puts out next, as she has really captured my attention with her first novel and continued to pique it with her second.
*I would like to thank the author and publisher for my copy in exchange for a fair and honest review. I received my eagerly via NetGalley.
June 12, 2017
Terrific Audiobook!!!! This was my first experience taking in Laura McHugh's writing and first time listening to the voice narrator Sarah Scott. Beautiful fit between author and reader!!!
This story was captivating. I found myself contemplating thoughts about 'everything Arrowood' when I 'wasn't' listening to the audiobook at all.
SOMETIMES -- the FORCED BREAKS -- from connecting with a book --such as what happens with audiobooks --having never listened to an audiobook in one sitting.......THOSE BREAKS GIVE US MORE TIME TO DIVE FURTHER INTO OUR OWN REFLECTIONS - story-investigation- general thoughts & feelings- time to exam the characters from multiple perspectives.
I thought about the history of Arrowood house, the history of the community, the main and minor characters, the mystery, (years of an unsolved crime -and what that does to a person), and of course I tried to piece together the solution to the crime. I was always ready to get back to the audiobook - my great chatty-reader-companion. I read other books on my kindle - but this was always an interesting- enjoyable -supplemental gothic grandeur.
Arden Arrowood - main character and prime narrator- inherited her childhood house. Her father had recently died whom she had mostly been estranged from for years. Arden's grandfather was never going to let Arden's father, Eddie, sell the home. So... it's now Arden's.
Arden's mother no longer wanted to go near the house. She is re-married ----and has nothing but bad memories left from Arrowood. She tried to discourage Arden from moving back.....but the pull for Arden to return immediately was strong. It's been 17 years since Arden has lived in that house.
Arden was in grad school writing a history thesis....( which wasn't exactly smooth sailing anyway)....but rather than finish it, she drops out of college to moved back to her childhood home.
The Arrowood house has been in the Arrowood family for 100 years......in the town Keokuk, Iowa, between the Mississippi river and the Des Moines River.
The homes are huge gothic mansions.......once a thriving wealthy community when Arden was a child. Once Arden is back in her old neighborhood-- she drives around -town looking at the shops in town - and many of the homes. Her home town is not flourishing with vitality. Some of the old homes were never maintained and are now boarded up.
The Arrowood house 'was' maintained. A man by the name of Dick Heaney was the caretaker -- he was paid from the trust fund. Dick Heaney has his own history to the
Arrowood family. He's one of those characters we are suspicious of. We know a few things. His own dad was disabled -- and when Heaney was a boy, Arden's grandfather was a great figure in his life. He seems to remember things that Arden has no collection of.
Ben Ferris - was Arden's childhood best friend-- perhaps more than a friend? Ben is now a dentist - and the two have started re-connecting over dinners --
Josh Kyle is a true crime investor-- it's a serious hobby of his. He's writing a book and has contacted Arden because he thinks he might be able to solve the mystery of what happened to Arden's twin sisters - Toddlers: Violet & Tabitha. The only person who was a major suspect of kidnapping the twins was a man named Harold Singer. He was seen taking photos of children in a park -- the time is unclear - 1pm seems most accurate. Arden thinks she saw him at 4pm with a gold car...driving off with her sisters.
We have lots of questions....
.....When Arden is alone in her house she receives several Anonymous phone calls...
but they hang up --- who are they from?
.....we wonder about her mother .... there is definitely a story hidden there. She won't ever return to the Arrowood home.
......we know her father was into pyramid businesses--- many kinds....always scheming and gambling . He he had an affair with Ben Ferris's mother at one time. Arden's mother knew of the affair. Her father also had a speed boat called "The Ruby Slipper". But?? does anything of this mean anything in relationship to the disappearance?
..... There was a hidden basement in the house that Arden never knew about --- slaves were hidden ... from the Ungrounded Railroad.
......we wonder if Josh is interested in Arden - If Ben is interested in Arden. We wonder how both these guys - her same age - are going to come out in the end in relation to the mystery and with Arden herself.
.......we wonder about 'what ARE the hidden secrets'? ....
.......we wonder about the role of memory?
.......we wonder about the caretaker, Arden's old friends in town, Ben's mother, Ben's sister, the one suspect all along, and Arden herself.
I really thought the author, Laura McHugh did an excellent job stringing all the pieces together - Loved the atmosphere-- loved that it wasn't violent-- loved the descriptions of the house - even creepy sounds - the rusty pipes - and loved the complexity of the characters.
I did see part of the solution coming -- but I didn't mind.
My 'least' favorite part: was a ouija board game. Seriously?
Yep.... that's what a drop-out-grad-student does-- plays ouija! Ha, oh my!
Forgiving the ouija board game.... I was hook, engaged, and thought for the most part this was a very well written novel. I could even see a movie!
This story was captivating. I found myself contemplating thoughts about 'everything Arrowood' when I 'wasn't' listening to the audiobook at all.
SOMETIMES -- the FORCED BREAKS -- from connecting with a book --such as what happens with audiobooks --having never listened to an audiobook in one sitting.......THOSE BREAKS GIVE US MORE TIME TO DIVE FURTHER INTO OUR OWN REFLECTIONS - story-investigation- general thoughts & feelings- time to exam the characters from multiple perspectives.
I thought about the history of Arrowood house, the history of the community, the main and minor characters, the mystery, (years of an unsolved crime -and what that does to a person), and of course I tried to piece together the solution to the crime. I was always ready to get back to the audiobook - my great chatty-reader-companion. I read other books on my kindle - but this was always an interesting- enjoyable -supplemental gothic grandeur.
Arden Arrowood - main character and prime narrator- inherited her childhood house. Her father had recently died whom she had mostly been estranged from for years. Arden's grandfather was never going to let Arden's father, Eddie, sell the home. So... it's now Arden's.
Arden's mother no longer wanted to go near the house. She is re-married ----and has nothing but bad memories left from Arrowood. She tried to discourage Arden from moving back.....but the pull for Arden to return immediately was strong. It's been 17 years since Arden has lived in that house.
Arden was in grad school writing a history thesis....( which wasn't exactly smooth sailing anyway)....but rather than finish it, she drops out of college to moved back to her childhood home.
The Arrowood house has been in the Arrowood family for 100 years......in the town Keokuk, Iowa, between the Mississippi river and the Des Moines River.
The homes are huge gothic mansions.......once a thriving wealthy community when Arden was a child. Once Arden is back in her old neighborhood-- she drives around -town looking at the shops in town - and many of the homes. Her home town is not flourishing with vitality. Some of the old homes were never maintained and are now boarded up.
The Arrowood house 'was' maintained. A man by the name of Dick Heaney was the caretaker -- he was paid from the trust fund. Dick Heaney has his own history to the
Arrowood family. He's one of those characters we are suspicious of. We know a few things. His own dad was disabled -- and when Heaney was a boy, Arden's grandfather was a great figure in his life. He seems to remember things that Arden has no collection of.
Ben Ferris - was Arden's childhood best friend-- perhaps more than a friend? Ben is now a dentist - and the two have started re-connecting over dinners --
Josh Kyle is a true crime investor-- it's a serious hobby of his. He's writing a book and has contacted Arden because he thinks he might be able to solve the mystery of what happened to Arden's twin sisters - Toddlers: Violet & Tabitha. The only person who was a major suspect of kidnapping the twins was a man named Harold Singer. He was seen taking photos of children in a park -- the time is unclear - 1pm seems most accurate. Arden thinks she saw him at 4pm with a gold car...driving off with her sisters.
We have lots of questions....
.....When Arden is alone in her house she receives several Anonymous phone calls...
but they hang up --- who are they from?
.....we wonder about her mother .... there is definitely a story hidden there. She won't ever return to the Arrowood home.
......we know her father was into pyramid businesses--- many kinds....always scheming and gambling . He he had an affair with Ben Ferris's mother at one time. Arden's mother knew of the affair. Her father also had a speed boat called "The Ruby Slipper". But?? does anything of this mean anything in relationship to the disappearance?
..... There was a hidden basement in the house that Arden never knew about --- slaves were hidden ... from the Ungrounded Railroad.
......we wonder if Josh is interested in Arden - If Ben is interested in Arden. We wonder how both these guys - her same age - are going to come out in the end in relation to the mystery and with Arden herself.
.......we wonder about 'what ARE the hidden secrets'? ....
.......we wonder about the role of memory?
.......we wonder about the caretaker, Arden's old friends in town, Ben's mother, Ben's sister, the one suspect all along, and Arden herself.
I really thought the author, Laura McHugh did an excellent job stringing all the pieces together - Loved the atmosphere-- loved that it wasn't violent-- loved the descriptions of the house - even creepy sounds - the rusty pipes - and loved the complexity of the characters.
I did see part of the solution coming -- but I didn't mind.
My 'least' favorite part: was a ouija board game. Seriously?
Yep.... that's what a drop-out-grad-student does-- plays ouija! Ha, oh my!
Forgiving the ouija board game.... I was hook, engaged, and thought for the most part this was a very well written novel. I could even see a movie!
August 30, 2016
Arrowood by Laura McHugh is a 2016 Spiegel & Grau publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Arrowood lives up to the hype as a good old fashioned Gothic mystery!
After Arden’s ne’er do well father dies, she is surprised to learn she has inherited her childhood home…Arrowood, located in the town of Keokuk, Iowa. One part of her is excited about inheriting the house, reuniting with her former friends, and getting a fresh start, but she also feels trepidation about facing the memories associated with the house…
When Arden was a child, her twin sisters disappeared and were never found, dead or alive. Now, just as she is returning home, a mystery buff, with his own troubled history,begins writing an article about the twins for his website, and is convinced the prime suspect may be innocent. As Josh gently probes Arden’s memories, the secrets of the past slowly reveal themselves as Arden learns the truth about her parent’s marriage and shocking truth of what really happened to her sisters.
As promised, this story has all the classic elements a good Gothic tale should possess. A big, creepy house, dark family secrets, sinister, untrustworthy characters, and layers of psychological terror and suspense. I love, love. love these kinds of stories. Always have, always will.
My only complaint is the brevity of the book, not only because I didn’t want it to end, but because it did feel rushed at times, which is a no-no in the Gothic genre, which normally employees a slower pace in order to add those delicious atmospheric layers.
So as not to dwell too much on the Gothic elements, this novel also explores the way the mind can play tricks on us, how we can be so sure our memories are right, when in truth we have selective memories, with our hearts sending signals to our brains to protect us from pain, from remembering more than we can digest or cope with. While Arden has very vivid, detailed memories of the day her sisters disappeared, her version of events is challenged, causing her to rethink the past, to dig deeper into her psyche and attempt to keep her mind open to other possibilities. What she finds buried deep in her subconscious mind may be the key to solving the mystery of her sister’s disappearance.
The past collides with the present, revealing the darkest parts of humanity, creating a thick, heavy atmosphere of suspense that had me held me spellbound with an ever increasing sense of foreboding, building the suspense to a fever pitch, whacking with an emotional wallop you will never see coming!
Yep, this is my kind of book. It’s possible the edge and atmosphere may be lost on those unfamiliar with the Gothic tones of the book, but for those who ‘get’ it, this one is a real gem!
4 stars
Arrowood lives up to the hype as a good old fashioned Gothic mystery!
After Arden’s ne’er do well father dies, she is surprised to learn she has inherited her childhood home…Arrowood, located in the town of Keokuk, Iowa. One part of her is excited about inheriting the house, reuniting with her former friends, and getting a fresh start, but she also feels trepidation about facing the memories associated with the house…
When Arden was a child, her twin sisters disappeared and were never found, dead or alive. Now, just as she is returning home, a mystery buff, with his own troubled history,begins writing an article about the twins for his website, and is convinced the prime suspect may be innocent. As Josh gently probes Arden’s memories, the secrets of the past slowly reveal themselves as Arden learns the truth about her parent’s marriage and shocking truth of what really happened to her sisters.
As promised, this story has all the classic elements a good Gothic tale should possess. A big, creepy house, dark family secrets, sinister, untrustworthy characters, and layers of psychological terror and suspense. I love, love. love these kinds of stories. Always have, always will.
My only complaint is the brevity of the book, not only because I didn’t want it to end, but because it did feel rushed at times, which is a no-no in the Gothic genre, which normally employees a slower pace in order to add those delicious atmospheric layers.
So as not to dwell too much on the Gothic elements, this novel also explores the way the mind can play tricks on us, how we can be so sure our memories are right, when in truth we have selective memories, with our hearts sending signals to our brains to protect us from pain, from remembering more than we can digest or cope with. While Arden has very vivid, detailed memories of the day her sisters disappeared, her version of events is challenged, causing her to rethink the past, to dig deeper into her psyche and attempt to keep her mind open to other possibilities. What she finds buried deep in her subconscious mind may be the key to solving the mystery of her sister’s disappearance.
The past collides with the present, revealing the darkest parts of humanity, creating a thick, heavy atmosphere of suspense that had me held me spellbound with an ever increasing sense of foreboding, building the suspense to a fever pitch, whacking with an emotional wallop you will never see coming!
Yep, this is my kind of book. It’s possible the edge and atmosphere may be lost on those unfamiliar with the Gothic tones of the book, but for those who ‘get’ it, this one is a real gem!
4 stars
November 5, 2016
I grew up in an old house, one ancient enough to have transoms, a claw footed tub, groaning water pipes, and a dirt-floor basement redolent of damp earthiness. The home featured in Arrowood is just such a place, and it really brought back memories.
Arden Arrowood's father has died, and she returns to her childhood home after an absence of 17 years. Her homecoming is more than a little sad, for it was here that Arden's toddler twin sisters were taken, never to be found, when Arden was 8 years old. She is expecting little to have changed in the small town of Keokuk, Iowa. But boy howdy, she couldn't have been more wrong. This story provides an insightful view of just how malleable memories can be.
Here is a book that would have been roundly ignored by me if based solely on the cover. The title would have done little to further that effort, although points can be awarded for not containing the word "Girl". No, I actively searched this one out based on The Weight of Blood, the author's debut novel. Although I preferred her first book, there was plenty to like about this one. It has a different tone, quieter and more haunting. Laura McHugh is one talented writer.
Arden Arrowood's father has died, and she returns to her childhood home after an absence of 17 years. Her homecoming is more than a little sad, for it was here that Arden's toddler twin sisters were taken, never to be found, when Arden was 8 years old. She is expecting little to have changed in the small town of Keokuk, Iowa. But boy howdy, she couldn't have been more wrong. This story provides an insightful view of just how malleable memories can be.
Here is a book that would have been roundly ignored by me if based solely on the cover. The title would have done little to further that effort, although points can be awarded for not containing the word "Girl". No, I actively searched this one out based on The Weight of Blood, the author's debut novel. Although I preferred her first book, there was plenty to like about this one. It has a different tone, quieter and more haunting. Laura McHugh is one talented writer.
July 19, 2016
3.5 Old houses, mysteries, family secrets and the unreliability of memory. When Arden was eight she was charged with watching her twin sisters, not yet two, as she went around to the side of their house, Arrowood, the twins disappeared, never to be found. Arden has spent her life living with the guilt of this tragedy. After her Father's death she is left the house and so she returns, and so the story begins.
Children are very aware of things happening, but not the meaning behind what they witness. Coming back floods Arden with memories, but which are reliable?This is a very atmospheric story and it flows particularly well. Very readable. Interesting plot, some good supporting characters. Strange happenings, and what might be a ghostly presence trying to give Arden answers. I enjoyed this, a fairly quick read but I did like her first book better, was grittier. The ending I was a little unsatisfied with. We do get answers but they were not really dealt with to my satisfaction. I guess the reader just has to trust the author's judgment and decide for themselves if justice was done.
Arc from publisher.
Children are very aware of things happening, but not the meaning behind what they witness. Coming back floods Arden with memories, but which are reliable?This is a very atmospheric story and it flows particularly well. Very readable. Interesting plot, some good supporting characters. Strange happenings, and what might be a ghostly presence trying to give Arden answers. I enjoyed this, a fairly quick read but I did like her first book better, was grittier. The ending I was a little unsatisfied with. We do get answers but they were not really dealt with to my satisfaction. I guess the reader just has to trust the author's judgment and decide for themselves if justice was done.
Arc from publisher.
July 31, 2016
3.5 stars. Yet, another novel about missing girls! In any event, Arrowood was a very decent mystery/psychological thriller. The story is told from the perspective of 20-something Arden, whose toddler twin sisters disappeared when she was 8 years old. Years later, after her father's death and at a point when her academic career is floundering, she returns to her childhood home and sets off on a journey to find out what happened to her sisters. The writing is good and Arden's story was generally interesting -- although at times it felt a bit meandering. The ending was really strong -- a resolution with a seriously clever ambiguity. Don't expect anything fast paced or full of twists and turns. This one is very much about about the build up and Arden's state of mind as she unravels what happened to her sisters. The only significant weakness for me was Arden's romantic life -- her past relationships were kind of pat and her building relationship with one of the characters was really creepy -- it all felt like an unnecessary distraction. Still, a good summer read. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me access to an advance copy.
September 30, 2017
Arden's twin sister disappeared when she was eight years old. The last memory she has is of a golden car driving away with sisters in it. Not long after that the family packed up their belongings and moved away from Keokuk. Now almost 20 years have passed and she is back home in. Her father is dead and she has inherited Arrowood, the old family house. For Arden is it strange to be back home, the town isn't as prosperous as it was before and her old home holds bittersweet memories. But, Ben and Lauren, old friends of her are still living in the town and perhaps she will finally find the answer to what happened to her sisters all those years ago.
This is a book that I hoped would like. I have a weakness for mystery books and two long-lost twin sisters pique my interest. I was pleasantly surprised with not only liking the book but loving it. Laura McHugh has written an incredibly compelling book that was hard to put down. The one that "I will only read a chapter turns into one hour or twp of reading). I was actually quite sad when the book ended, even though it ended perfectly. It was more like I had come to like Arden, Lauren, Ben, and Josh so much that I wanted to spend some more time with them.
The mystery is intriguing, are Arden's memories correct, she was only eight and she was a bit sick the day her sisters disappeared. Are the girls dead? Or did someone just take them? Could someone close by having taken them? Someone that is still living in the town? The questions are many and the book will, in the end, reveal the truth of what happened 20 years ago.
I like that Laura McHugh didn't add a love triangle into the story. I was a bit worried when Lauren met Ben and then Josh showed up that it would turn into a sappy love triangle. I hate it when that happens. Everything turned out just perfect, and I think one of the reasons I so enjoyed the book was the fact that the characters were so well-written. They felt normal with faults, even Courtney, the girl from Arden's childhood who could have been written as a jealous overbearing bitch that would do anything to hang on to Ben felt OK as a character.
The book was intense, sad and thrilling to read. I loved every minute of it!
I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!
This is a book that I hoped would like. I have a weakness for mystery books and two long-lost twin sisters pique my interest. I was pleasantly surprised with not only liking the book but loving it. Laura McHugh has written an incredibly compelling book that was hard to put down. The one that "I will only read a chapter turns into one hour or twp of reading). I was actually quite sad when the book ended, even though it ended perfectly. It was more like I had come to like Arden, Lauren, Ben, and Josh so much that I wanted to spend some more time with them.
The mystery is intriguing, are Arden's memories correct, she was only eight and she was a bit sick the day her sisters disappeared. Are the girls dead? Or did someone just take them? Could someone close by having taken them? Someone that is still living in the town? The questions are many and the book will, in the end, reveal the truth of what happened 20 years ago.
I like that Laura McHugh didn't add a love triangle into the story. I was a bit worried when Lauren met Ben and then Josh showed up that it would turn into a sappy love triangle. I hate it when that happens. Everything turned out just perfect, and I think one of the reasons I so enjoyed the book was the fact that the characters were so well-written. They felt normal with faults, even Courtney, the girl from Arden's childhood who could have been written as a jealous overbearing bitch that would do anything to hang on to Ben felt OK as a character.
The book was intense, sad and thrilling to read. I loved every minute of it!
I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!
June 3, 2016
Another good one from Laura McHugh, author of The Weight of Blood. She keeps the feeling of menace lurking in this story, along with the power of memory. Memory, menace and mystery all combine to keep the reader pushing through the pages, following Arden Arrowood in her adult quest to discover what happened on that long-ago sunny day when her twin sisters, only 20 months old, disappeared. Her family, and her life, were never the same. She has been haunted by her need to know. And now she has returned to her childhood home, the titular Arrowood, home of her ancestors, where she hopes there will be some answers. The setting is in Iowa, in a community set on the bluffs above the Mississippi, where much of the town has fallen on hard times but many of these grand homes still dominate on the old grand streets.
This is a compelling story which kept my interest and attention, start to finish--I so wanted to know what happened to those little girls. Recommended.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
This is a compelling story which kept my interest and attention, start to finish--I so wanted to know what happened to those little girls. Recommended.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
August 22, 2017
Dear old Arrowood: graceful and grandest of all them historical abodes, which offered security, prestige, and good memories to 140 years of Arrowoods on the banks of the Mississippi river in southern Iowa. A stately old home which also provided a safe haven for slaves on the Underground Railroad in years yonder.
Arrowood served silently, and proudly, through many years of prosperity and steadfastly withstood the wave of decline washing over the town of Keokuk when factories closed down and most of the people had to wander away in search of a better life.
For seventeen years Arrowood had a caretaker, Dick Heany, which differentiated this old grand dame of homes from the others who were not taken care of and finally offered their elegance up to history. They fell in ruins and utter disgrace.
Arrowood provided a solid foundation to those who graced her elegance and could tell her story.
Eddie Arrowood, the last inhabitant, did not do the old mansion's legacy well. A gambler, swindler and wanderer, he left Arrowood with his wife and last remaining child, never to return, after his twin daughters Tabitha and Violet disappeared and his oldest daughter, Arden, eight years old at the time, felt responsible for what happened to them that fateful day.
Born a Pisces, Arden's life would be defined by water: slippery, mutable, elusive, always moving like a river, never getting anywhere, after she was spirited away from Arrowood, and felt the old house's absence in her life like the ache of a poorly set bone. It leads to her studying nostalgia, once thought to be a mental illness or a physical affliction. To Arden it would become both. The girl she was meant to be got stolen on the same day the twins disappeared.
Eddie passed away in Illinois, and were laid to rest there, far away from the family graveyard in Keokuk, where he, even in death, was not welcome anymore. Arden wept like a paid mourner at his funeral and lost interest in her masters degree thesis titled: "The Effect of Nostalgia on Historical Narratives".
But then her grandfather died and Arrowood's own version of nostalgia becomes a reality when Arden inherits the old house.
Arrowood has one last story to tell to the new owner, who will live there alone, and hear it whispered through the walls and floors...
COMMENTS
Okay, so I got a little bit carried away. Apologies for that (but will not claim it was sincere), since I got infatuated with the old house and its tragic story. Not that the family's share in the events was less tragic. But with a little bit of redemption, a touch of determination, and a handful of hope, the ending was ...
Yeah well, the ending... literary and real.
Wonderful literary suspense! Much more literature than chick lit and just superb because of it! I deliberately left out all the clues and characters fueling the story, so do expect a lot more than I have disclosed here.
LOVED IT. So worth reading!
Arrowood served silently, and proudly, through many years of prosperity and steadfastly withstood the wave of decline washing over the town of Keokuk when factories closed down and most of the people had to wander away in search of a better life.
For seventeen years Arrowood had a caretaker, Dick Heany, which differentiated this old grand dame of homes from the others who were not taken care of and finally offered their elegance up to history. They fell in ruins and utter disgrace.
Arrowood provided a solid foundation to those who graced her elegance and could tell her story.
Eddie Arrowood, the last inhabitant, did not do the old mansion's legacy well. A gambler, swindler and wanderer, he left Arrowood with his wife and last remaining child, never to return, after his twin daughters Tabitha and Violet disappeared and his oldest daughter, Arden, eight years old at the time, felt responsible for what happened to them that fateful day.
Born a Pisces, Arden's life would be defined by water: slippery, mutable, elusive, always moving like a river, never getting anywhere, after she was spirited away from Arrowood, and felt the old house's absence in her life like the ache of a poorly set bone. It leads to her studying nostalgia, once thought to be a mental illness or a physical affliction. To Arden it would become both. The girl she was meant to be got stolen on the same day the twins disappeared.
Eddie passed away in Illinois, and were laid to rest there, far away from the family graveyard in Keokuk, where he, even in death, was not welcome anymore. Arden wept like a paid mourner at his funeral and lost interest in her masters degree thesis titled: "The Effect of Nostalgia on Historical Narratives".
But then her grandfather died and Arrowood's own version of nostalgia becomes a reality when Arden inherits the old house.
Arrowood has one last story to tell to the new owner, who will live there alone, and hear it whispered through the walls and floors...
Do not go gentle into that good night,Yes, Arrowood, that's exactly what I would have done if I had a roof and stood on your foundations...
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
~ Dylan Thomas, 1914 - 1953
COMMENTS
Okay, so I got a little bit carried away. Apologies for that (but will not claim it was sincere), since I got infatuated with the old house and its tragic story. Not that the family's share in the events was less tragic. But with a little bit of redemption, a touch of determination, and a handful of hope, the ending was ...
Yeah well, the ending... literary and real.
Wonderful literary suspense! Much more literature than chick lit and just superb because of it! I deliberately left out all the clues and characters fueling the story, so do expect a lot more than I have disclosed here.
LOVED IT. So worth reading!
August 15, 2016
Memories can be tricky things, especially those that form when you're a child. Arden Arrowood is sure of what she saw that day in 1994, when her younger twin sisters went missing outside their house in Keokuk, Iowa, never to be seen again. After many years away, Arden has returned to the family home after inheriting it from her grandparents, and it's not long before things happen that make her question her sisters' disappearance.
ARROWOOD is a haunting modern Gothic with an unsettling mystery at its core. My heart went out to Arden, emotionally stuck in the past, in limbo, just waiting for her baby sisters to come home. She had a bit of an obsession with nostalgia, which I can relate to. I was on pins and needles with Arden, waiting to find out what happened to little Violet and Tabitha.
This was a well-written novel, dark and suspenseful, with a hint of the paranormal. Definitely a couple of creepy moments! I was somewhat frustrated by the ending, though after thinking about it, it seemed to fit the overall vibe of the book. ARROWOOD is a great follow-up to Laura McHugh's first novel, The Weight of Blood: A Novel, and I'm looking forward to her next book.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
ARROWOOD is a haunting modern Gothic with an unsettling mystery at its core. My heart went out to Arden, emotionally stuck in the past, in limbo, just waiting for her baby sisters to come home. She had a bit of an obsession with nostalgia, which I can relate to. I was on pins and needles with Arden, waiting to find out what happened to little Violet and Tabitha.
This was a well-written novel, dark and suspenseful, with a hint of the paranormal. Definitely a couple of creepy moments! I was somewhat frustrated by the ending, though after thinking about it, it seemed to fit the overall vibe of the book. ARROWOOD is a great follow-up to Laura McHugh's first novel, The Weight of Blood: A Novel, and I'm looking forward to her next book.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 29, 2016
Neither the title nor cover of this book is particularly striking, and that's a pity because this is an excellent suspense novel. It has a lot of elements I love: An old family manor, an unreliable narrator, lots of suspects, and hints of the supernatural. I feared for Arden, the protagonist, as I was reading. Emotionally she's a mess, and has been since her twin sisters disappeared when she was 8 and they were 2. She returns to the family home--crumbling and empty--when she has no other options. And there, old memories are stirred up, and revelations are made.
I enjoyed tales of Arden's childhood and family ties. McHugh writes with assurance, and especially does an excellent job describing houses--and a town--in decline. There's an air of melancholy to this book that's wonderfully done. It's sad but satisfying at the same time. I'm definitely reading McHugh's other books.
I received this review copy from the publisher on NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review; I appreciate it!
I enjoyed tales of Arden's childhood and family ties. McHugh writes with assurance, and especially does an excellent job describing houses--and a town--in decline. There's an air of melancholy to this book that's wonderfully done. It's sad but satisfying at the same time. I'm definitely reading McHugh's other books.
I received this review copy from the publisher on NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review; I appreciate it!
September 23, 2016
A superb gothic. It will be hard to write a review & I am probably influenced by the setting because I have been so jealous of people who lived in 'real' places like Cornwall & Norfolk that I am so happy to have enjoyed a story set so close to my home. Simply setting a book in Iowa doesn’t work for me. Both Marilyn Robinson’s Gilead & Heather Gudenkauf’s The Weight of Silence tanked. But the architecture of old Mississippi River towns attracts me & so when I finished hearing the audible version of Arrowood I had to take a few hours of a bright Sunday afternoon to visit the site. As you’ll see from my blog (billkupersmith.wordpress.com), it was hardly @ all creepy & yet Laura McHugh chose an excellent setting. Like Manderley, the archetypical gothic house, Keokuk offers numerous old houses you’d both love to live in & be terrified of trying to pay to heat & maintain as a scarcely employable ex-grad student with a shrinking trust fund (even before finding some defalcations have been ongoing). I regret only that the author made the Arrowood family Catholics. Had they been Episcopalians the stunning St. John’s Episcopal Church could have been their home parish. She exaggerated the sense of decay Keokuk radiates, tho’ I enjoyed catching sight of the very same Sonic Drive-in Arden resorts to for lunch. (I also know well the truck stop in Waterloo she visits later.) Most depressing aren’t dilapidated houses abandoned to squatters (like the “sister house” on Orleans Ave. in the book) but lots on which are found contemporary suburban family dwellings - where in the last few decades some noble 19th-century mansion succumbed to the wrecking ball.
Arden, narrator & principal character, is both attractive & haunted, as a gothic heroine should be & we share her uncertainty whether the unsolved-Iowa-mysteries-true-crime writer will turn out to be a creep or a white knight. Given that Arden’s recently deceased estranged father had owned a water-ski tow speed-boat named The Ruby Slipper (!!!) it wasn’t had to peg him (tho’ when you view the Keokuk Yacht Club you’ll not be surprised). Arden’s mother manages to be both totally believable & equally repulsive, now married to a sleazy evangelical pastor who oozes synthetic cheap grace. Add the seemingly friendly handy man who used to have a thing for Arden’s mother. Laura McHugh adroitly connects the secrets of several characters, including Arden herself, when the mystery of Arden’s missing sisters is finally revealed. She uses all the dramatis personae for more than red herrings, a sign of good plot construction. The story seems to drag a bit in the middle, as as we move to the denouement it tightly engages the reader. I kept forming new hypotheses, only to meet a new & better twist.
The year’s not over yet, but we’ve already been so blessed with a superb British gothic in The Fire Child & now a fine American example of the genre.
June 5, 2020
Highly recommended for all mystery and thriller readers: McHugh hits another one out of the park with a setting more exotic than Botswana (the old mansions of Keokuk, Iowa), and dramatic suspense as the protagonist struggles to find answers to the long-ago disappearance of her younger twin sisters.
The characters are heartfelt and the language is poetic throughout, especially in descriptions of the river.
The characters are heartfelt and the language is poetic throughout, especially in descriptions of the river.
August 4, 2016
2.5 stars
This is...fine. But it's too pedestrian to be a literary thriller and it's too slow/not exciting enough to be a fun paperback. I don't mind slow books, but the characters have to be interesting or the writing has to intrigue me, and sadly, this did neither. None of the characters are really remarkable, and Arden in particular felt very removed; she doesn't really engage you in her story, whether it's her past, present, or future.
The mystery also never felt that well sketched-out to me. I went through most of this thinking it'd be three stars, and then perked up near the end when it appeared the culprit was going to be a somewhat interesting choice. It got exciting for a minute! But then I was annoyed when that was somewhat negated, whether by protagonist's desire or the author's unwillingness to commit. I took off half a star for that. :/
Side notes:
-- tonally, this also felt like rather young--nearly YA, or non-angsty NA, and less like adult fiction or thriller. The mid-twenties protagonist seems inexperienced and uncertain, and her thinking process/actions/etc (and those of everyone around her) aren't very complex. The details of her day to day life and the period of adult life lived away from home aren't very deeply rooted, and there's a single subplot involving a past relationship that goes nowhere. With very minor tweaking, this could've easily been YA.
-- "Arrowood" is the name of the family house and the family, which got a little bit on my nerves because it's referenced a fair amount. Though the family is supposed to be somewhat moneyed/connected/well known, there's not a lot of convincing detail there to make you feel as though you're stepping into the world of a privileged family. I didn't buy that this girl came from money or position at all.
I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by the reference to the Katie John house, because I had no idea it existed! The Katie John series is one of my favorites, and it's been sadly out of print for a long time and not very well known. It gave me, briefly, a sense of what the town of Keokuk must be like since Katie John's old Victorian home-turned-boarding house is so vivid in my memory. But it's disappointing that the book didn't create more of a sense of time and place on its own.
An audio review copy was provided the publisher.
About the audio production: the narration by Sarah Scott is nice to listen to. Her voice and style is very young, which admittedly contributed to the youthful feeling of the book, but I think the project director really just did a good job of matching the reader to the content.
This is...fine. But it's too pedestrian to be a literary thriller and it's too slow/not exciting enough to be a fun paperback. I don't mind slow books, but the characters have to be interesting or the writing has to intrigue me, and sadly, this did neither. None of the characters are really remarkable, and Arden in particular felt very removed; she doesn't really engage you in her story, whether it's her past, present, or future.
The mystery also never felt that well sketched-out to me. I went through most of this thinking it'd be three stars, and then perked up near the end when it appeared the culprit was going to be a somewhat interesting choice. It got exciting for a minute! But then I was annoyed when that was somewhat negated, whether by protagonist's desire or the author's unwillingness to commit. I took off half a star for that. :/
Side notes:
-- tonally, this also felt like rather young--nearly YA, or non-angsty NA, and less like adult fiction or thriller. The mid-twenties protagonist seems inexperienced and uncertain, and her thinking process/actions/etc (and those of everyone around her) aren't very complex. The details of her day to day life and the period of adult life lived away from home aren't very deeply rooted, and there's a single subplot involving a past relationship that goes nowhere. With very minor tweaking, this could've easily been YA.
-- "Arrowood" is the name of the family house and the family, which got a little bit on my nerves because it's referenced a fair amount. Though the family is supposed to be somewhat moneyed/connected/well known, there's not a lot of convincing detail there to make you feel as though you're stepping into the world of a privileged family. I didn't buy that this girl came from money or position at all.
I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by the reference to the Katie John house, because I had no idea it existed! The Katie John series is one of my favorites, and it's been sadly out of print for a long time and not very well known. It gave me, briefly, a sense of what the town of Keokuk must be like since Katie John's old Victorian home-turned-boarding house is so vivid in my memory. But it's disappointing that the book didn't create more of a sense of time and place on its own.
An audio review copy was provided the publisher.
About the audio production: the narration by Sarah Scott is nice to listen to. Her voice and style is very young, which admittedly contributed to the youthful feeling of the book, but I think the project director really just did a good job of matching the reader to the content.
March 12, 2021
I picked this up for a second time to prepare for co-leading a Zoom book group for my library. We have been in the middle of a Winter Reading Challenge that has focused on Missouri authors. Since Laura McHugh is from Missouri (and many of her books are set in our state), this was a fitting title for the challenge. Although this is not my favorite title by McHugh, it is well worth a read. The mystery of the missing girls is compelling and Arden a very sympathetic character. Her trajectory of her life was changed by the disappearance of her little sisters and her return to the house they lived in stirs up more than she had expected. Watch for the ways both water and birds find their way into the narrative. I was also fascinated with a paragraph about nostalgia early in the book. She defines nostalgia as "the bittersweet longing for a time and place left behind. . . once thought to be a mental illness or a physical affliction; to me, it was both. I had loved this house beyond reason, had felt it absence like the ache of a poorly set bone." How will her return to Arrowood change grownup Arden? If you are in the mood for a gothic mystery, this is the book for you.
September 13, 2016
In yet another example of never judging a book by its cover, Arrowood is one of my top reads of 2016 so far. I wasn't sure what to expect from it, but with terms like "Southern Gothic" and "long long twins" thrown around, I couldn't resist an impulse buy. Blame it on missing Nancy Drew and Sweet Valley of my youth.
Arden Arrowood goes home after the mysterious disappearance of her twin sisters twenty years ago. Upon the death of her father, she has inherited the sprawling historical family estate, Arrowood, after mostly avoiding it for two decades. She's run away from her past to the best of her ability, but never managed to heal from it, mostly from the lack of answers and closure. McHugh paints an impressive portrait of a woman defined and stunted by trauma, grappling with the ever present ghosts of her past.
It's spectacular haunted house creepy, complete with mysterious creaks, inexplicable leaks, hidden rooms that were used on the Underground Railroad, and a suspicious groundsman/maintenance man with unclear ties to Arden's parents.
No one is above suspicion, and McHugh does a great job at throwing the reader off scent several times. Arden doesn't consciously return home seeking answers; it's more about complications at university, where she's studying history and struggling to write her thesis on nostalgia, fittingly; but that naturally becomes the centerpiece of the novel. Arden soon learns that her parents, neighbors, and the house itself have several secrets that may or may not be tied to the disappearance of her twin sisters, and becomes obsessed with sleuthing the fragments together, with the assistance of Josh, a man writing a book about the case and battling his own demons, who she only reluctantly meets. Josh has something of a new angle on the case - he wants to clear the sole long-accused but never proven guilty man, and Arden struggles to come to terms with this. Meanwhile, she's confronted with her childhood friend and former neighbor/flame, Ben, and secretly hopes to pick up right where the two left off so much time ago.
A carnival psychic warns Arden that she will find the answers, but they might not be the ones she's looking for, and these words of portent will come back in the end.
This book expertly tackles memory, the reliability of sepia-tinged childhood memory vs. suggestibility, the aftermath of familial trauma, family secrets, nostalgia and the deeper than bone connection to where one comes from, and it certainly marks McHugh's arrival. A real page-turner.
Arden Arrowood goes home after the mysterious disappearance of her twin sisters twenty years ago. Upon the death of her father, she has inherited the sprawling historical family estate, Arrowood, after mostly avoiding it for two decades. She's run away from her past to the best of her ability, but never managed to heal from it, mostly from the lack of answers and closure. McHugh paints an impressive portrait of a woman defined and stunted by trauma, grappling with the ever present ghosts of her past.
It's spectacular haunted house creepy, complete with mysterious creaks, inexplicable leaks, hidden rooms that were used on the Underground Railroad, and a suspicious groundsman/maintenance man with unclear ties to Arden's parents.
No one is above suspicion, and McHugh does a great job at throwing the reader off scent several times. Arden doesn't consciously return home seeking answers; it's more about complications at university, where she's studying history and struggling to write her thesis on nostalgia, fittingly; but that naturally becomes the centerpiece of the novel. Arden soon learns that her parents, neighbors, and the house itself have several secrets that may or may not be tied to the disappearance of her twin sisters, and becomes obsessed with sleuthing the fragments together, with the assistance of Josh, a man writing a book about the case and battling his own demons, who she only reluctantly meets. Josh has something of a new angle on the case - he wants to clear the sole long-accused but never proven guilty man, and Arden struggles to come to terms with this. Meanwhile, she's confronted with her childhood friend and former neighbor/flame, Ben, and secretly hopes to pick up right where the two left off so much time ago.
A carnival psychic warns Arden that she will find the answers, but they might not be the ones she's looking for, and these words of portent will come back in the end.
This book expertly tackles memory, the reliability of sepia-tinged childhood memory vs. suggestibility, the aftermath of familial trauma, family secrets, nostalgia and the deeper than bone connection to where one comes from, and it certainly marks McHugh's arrival. A real page-turner.
August 21, 2016
Oh dear! When she felt like "an icicle pierced her heart", I knew this was not going to go well for me.
First the good stuff. It really seems like Iowa. For some strange karma, I've happened to read 3 or 4 Iowa placed books in the last month. This one was closest to the state I know quite well.
And it was easy and clear to read. Absolutely. No loose ends or confusing time frames or context issues at all.
That's the good stuff.
The plot was ridiculous. But the worst issue was the emotive mood for the protagonist.
In other words, if there was a Chick Lit. dictionary definition- the first listed in that category would be Arrowood. It's completely and exactly that. Emotive and nearly nothing else. She loves and yearns for her house and place and history and lost sisters. And the entire reasoning is one of guilt laden responsibility quite apart from any mystery.
Her trust fund for schooling has run out at 25 and she has inherited an heirloom historic Mississippi River banked mansion. But the family remaining does not live there, and they are all basically doom and gloom, despite turning a "page"?
If you like that idea, go for it.
The stereotyping was horrific. To be honest she was as unkind to several different religious organizations, IMHO.
Lastly, I have got to add, that I am totally sick of 20 something protagonists or anti-heroes or whatever using the phrase "gruesome Crucifix".
If this was Lite Beer, it wouldn't even be 55 calories.
Lots of women love this emotive roller coasters to self-guilt or other laden guilt. And easy read writing in combination. I'm just not one of them. Not even within rolling wheat and endless fields of corn.
First the good stuff. It really seems like Iowa. For some strange karma, I've happened to read 3 or 4 Iowa placed books in the last month. This one was closest to the state I know quite well.
And it was easy and clear to read. Absolutely. No loose ends or confusing time frames or context issues at all.
That's the good stuff.
The plot was ridiculous. But the worst issue was the emotive mood for the protagonist.
In other words, if there was a Chick Lit. dictionary definition- the first listed in that category would be Arrowood. It's completely and exactly that. Emotive and nearly nothing else. She loves and yearns for her house and place and history and lost sisters. And the entire reasoning is one of guilt laden responsibility quite apart from any mystery.
Her trust fund for schooling has run out at 25 and she has inherited an heirloom historic Mississippi River banked mansion. But the family remaining does not live there, and they are all basically doom and gloom, despite turning a "page"?
If you like that idea, go for it.
The stereotyping was horrific. To be honest she was as unkind to several different religious organizations, IMHO.
Lastly, I have got to add, that I am totally sick of 20 something protagonists or anti-heroes or whatever using the phrase "gruesome Crucifix".
If this was Lite Beer, it wouldn't even be 55 calories.
Lots of women love this emotive roller coasters to self-guilt or other laden guilt. And easy read writing in combination. I'm just not one of them. Not even within rolling wheat and endless fields of corn.
August 26, 2017
Received advanced copy via NetGalley.
This was closer to a 2.5 star read for me. I'm not sure what it was exactly but it just lacked something, mystique, maybe. It was clear to me, from the start, where it was going but I gave it the benefit of the doubt, hoping it had outsmarted me but everything fell into place as expected. That in and of itself wouldn't have been so bad, but there were other little things that bothered me.
The best way I can describe the other things was that it kind of felt like we were playing murder mystery Bingo:
Old house - ✔️
Creepy caretaker - ✔️
Ouiji board - ✔️
Fortune teller with spot on accuracy - ✔️
Takes place in autumn to include Halloween - ✔️
Secret Underground Railroad tunnel that narrator didn't know about - ✔️
Look, if there's one or two usual elements, I can overlook them, but it just felt like there was nothing new or unique here.
In addition to all this, any revelation felt rushed. It didn't land with any kind of surprising or lasting impact. I hate when narrators spend half the story alluding to a past that is pretty obvious. If you're not going to shock me then just get on with it already. And then don't try to hide a tiny piece to shock me with later because by then, I just don't care.
Even the big ending reveal, despite coming in stages, It seemed rushed. There was little time between to process any revelations the narrator made.
Lastly, this is just a little thing I noticed that stood out. The narrator refers to a character as having salt and pepper hair. That would imply gray and dark hair, yes? He comments on being completely gray. Well, which is it? Pick one.
This was closer to a 2.5 star read for me. I'm not sure what it was exactly but it just lacked something, mystique, maybe. It was clear to me, from the start, where it was going but I gave it the benefit of the doubt, hoping it had outsmarted me but everything fell into place as expected. That in and of itself wouldn't have been so bad, but there were other little things that bothered me.
The best way I can describe the other things was that it kind of felt like we were playing murder mystery Bingo:
Old house - ✔️
Creepy caretaker - ✔️
Ouiji board - ✔️
Fortune teller with spot on accuracy - ✔️
Takes place in autumn to include Halloween - ✔️
Secret Underground Railroad tunnel that narrator didn't know about - ✔️
Look, if there's one or two usual elements, I can overlook them, but it just felt like there was nothing new or unique here.
In addition to all this, any revelation felt rushed. It didn't land with any kind of surprising or lasting impact. I hate when narrators spend half the story alluding to a past that is pretty obvious. If you're not going to shock me then just get on with it already. And then don't try to hide a tiny piece to shock me with later because by then, I just don't care.
Even the big ending reveal, despite coming in stages, It seemed rushed. There was little time between to process any revelations the narrator made.
Lastly, this is just a little thing I noticed that stood out. The narrator refers to a character as having salt and pepper hair. That would imply gray and dark hair, yes? He comments on being completely gray. Well, which is it? Pick one.
July 11, 2016
I loved this!!!! This was a real page turner for me. I actually read it over two days. July 3-4. (I don't have the time to do that very often). Being off, I picked it up on Sunday around noon and finished it around 7pm on Monday. I did not have any intention of reading it that quickly. I just couldn't put it down. I had to know what happened to the missing twins in the story and Arden; if her ghosts were put to rest. If the mystery was solved.
This story has a great old home (Arrowood) with lots of secrets. Arden's (the protagonist) story is made up of a lifetime of secrets and lies. Something horrible happened years ago when she was a very young girl. Her twin sisters, who she was watching, went missing. She has blamed herself all of her life. Her parents do nothing to help take away that guilt. The family moves away for a time, then Arden has a reason to return as an adult. And...she wants to know what really happened that fateful day.
Arrowood, the family estate, has a connection to the Underground Railroad; it's on the MS river, and, like most old houses on a river, it has a high creep factor if you are into that. (I am). While it was a perfect summer read for me....I can see it would be even better in the fall as some of the story occurs in October and during Halloween. Ouija board?
yep! Tarot card reading? yep! Dark scary house? Yep! Bloody prom queen? yep!
Very good suspense. Great descriptions of the setting, which I very much enjoyed. The house, the characters, the river, all draw you in. I have not read Laura McHugh before...but, I want to read more novels by her now. I really like her writing style. The cover is what drew my attention to the novel on Netgalley. I am happy to say the novel delivered in every way. It will be one of my favorite reads for 2016.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Spiegel & Grau, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Highly recommended for mystery and suspense fans. Very satisfying read.
Update: July 11, 2016 I made a few modifications to this review. I cannot say how satisfying I found this novel. It is haunting and beautiful. It would make a really good movie. I may read it again in October myself. Happy reading!
This story has a great old home (Arrowood) with lots of secrets. Arden's (the protagonist) story is made up of a lifetime of secrets and lies. Something horrible happened years ago when she was a very young girl. Her twin sisters, who she was watching, went missing. She has blamed herself all of her life. Her parents do nothing to help take away that guilt. The family moves away for a time, then Arden has a reason to return as an adult. And...she wants to know what really happened that fateful day.
Arrowood, the family estate, has a connection to the Underground Railroad; it's on the MS river, and, like most old houses on a river, it has a high creep factor if you are into that. (I am). While it was a perfect summer read for me....I can see it would be even better in the fall as some of the story occurs in October and during Halloween. Ouija board?
yep! Tarot card reading? yep! Dark scary house? Yep! Bloody prom queen? yep!
Very good suspense. Great descriptions of the setting, which I very much enjoyed. The house, the characters, the river, all draw you in. I have not read Laura McHugh before...but, I want to read more novels by her now. I really like her writing style. The cover is what drew my attention to the novel on Netgalley. I am happy to say the novel delivered in every way. It will be one of my favorite reads for 2016.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Spiegel & Grau, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Highly recommended for mystery and suspense fans. Very satisfying read.
Update: July 11, 2016 I made a few modifications to this review. I cannot say how satisfying I found this novel. It is haunting and beautiful. It would make a really good movie. I may read it again in October myself. Happy reading!
August 24, 2016
2.75 stars
Received from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Arden Arrowood inherits her family home and returns to where she was initially raised. Once there she is haunted by the past. Her four year old twin sisters went missing believed to have been abducted by a local man. She is haunted by their disappearance and is interested when approached by a man who likes to investigate cold cases. He is haunted by his own brother's disappearance and approaches her to help shed some light on what happened to her sisters.
While at her family home she re-connects with her childhood friends and their Mother. She is haunted by her memory, time, and the need to know what happened the day her sister went missing. She hopes to find some closure.
The premise of this book is very intriguing. But I did not feel connected to it at all. I did not find Arden, or any other character likable enough to really care. I kept reading to see what happened. Dammit I need some closure but it was more of a fizzle than a loud boom or aha moment at the end. I did not find this to be a "on the edge of your seat book" or a "page turner". I found I just didn't feel connected at all but still wanted to see "whodunit"
See more of my reviews at www.openbookpost.com
Received from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Arden Arrowood inherits her family home and returns to where she was initially raised. Once there she is haunted by the past. Her four year old twin sisters went missing believed to have been abducted by a local man. She is haunted by their disappearance and is interested when approached by a man who likes to investigate cold cases. He is haunted by his own brother's disappearance and approaches her to help shed some light on what happened to her sisters.
While at her family home she re-connects with her childhood friends and their Mother. She is haunted by her memory, time, and the need to know what happened the day her sister went missing. She hopes to find some closure.
The premise of this book is very intriguing. But I did not feel connected to it at all. I did not find Arden, or any other character likable enough to really care. I kept reading to see what happened. Dammit I need some closure but it was more of a fizzle than a loud boom or aha moment at the end. I did not find this to be a "on the edge of your seat book" or a "page turner". I found I just didn't feel connected at all but still wanted to see "whodunit"
See more of my reviews at www.openbookpost.com
January 18, 2017
This is indeed a gothic mystery that felt like "Sharp Objects" by Flynn. After reviewing the details about the "Sharp Objects" I see many similarities. Both Arden and Camille are from dysfunctional families and have physical scars from their past. Both are set in old river towns. Both are about solving past crimes involving young girls. No wonder!
I did like "Arrowood" better. Perhaps partly because I am an Iowa girl and loved reading a book set in my home state. Arden is a sympathetic character and you want her to be successful in her quest for truth. The journey she goes on has its own missteps and detours, but she does come to a place in the end where she can move forward and that is a victory.
I did like "Arrowood" better. Perhaps partly because I am an Iowa girl and loved reading a book set in my home state. Arden is a sympathetic character and you want her to be successful in her quest for truth. The journey she goes on has its own missteps and detours, but she does come to a place in the end where she can move forward and that is a victory.
August 31, 2016
An engrossing, compelling read that was hard to put down. Arden Arrowood is finally returning home after the tragic abduction of her baby sisters, a tragedy that tore apart her family and left her haunted by what she saw on the day they were taken. When she takes possession of her once grand home she begins to feel that the house and her neighbors seem to hold secrets that relate to the disappearance of her sisters and Arden is determined along with an amateur investigator to find out what happened to them. This was a compelling read that had me picking it up every chance I could get just so I could find out what happened next. Recommended.
July 3, 2016
Thank you to NetGalley & Random House..... 3.5 stars bumped up, because of history, to 4 stars.
In her second novel, Laura McHugh returns to introduce a new family, the tragic bonds which have tethered it and the unsolved kidnapping in its past.
Arden leaves Colorado, her History thesis stalled, after her father's death reveals that her grandfather has bequeathed her the historic landmark family home in Keokuk, Iowa. Arrowood is a century old behemoth, three stories of house built in the Grand Empire style on a street surrounded by other centurion homes elaborately constructed too - Victorians, Queen Ann, Italian Revival- with their cupolas and porches and towers.
Arden Arrowood lived in the home she owns now until she was eight. That was seventeen years ago, when she looked away for a moment to gather flowers for her little twin sisters and turned back to find them forever gone. There is but one clue- a gold car driving away, which Arden recalls from that hazy day- but its driver had an alibi. The town, once so grand at the confluence of the Des Moines and Mississippi Rivers, a centre for riverboat trade with the largest hydroelectric plant in the world, has faded to a ghost of its former self. The twins' disappearance has haunted its remaining populace and the Arrowood house; Arden herself cannot turn her back any longer and is compelled to find the truth.
'Where you come from is gone, where you thought you were was never there'... Arden uses this quote at one point in her narrative. Her reflections on her childhood memories create doubt about what was really there, about her history and the stories of everyone who was part of her life then. The old house, substantial, keeps pulling her to the twins' room...
McHugh has the right elements in this book to create a creepy mystery, suspense building with the old house and its idiosyncrasies, the access to lapsed medical files, the hidden room used by the Underground Railway, the aura of suspicion attached to many secondary characters as well as Arden's own mental stability. That singular quote provided heft to her themes on memory, history and nostalgia- although more fine tuning with those earlier would have offered the story a welcome solid congruity when it slowed and scattered midways. Misdirection, or "red herrings" are magical when executed well in mysteries, increasing suspense and anticipation for the reader. McHugh kept me wondering.
The conclusion had elements of the style in common with her first novel, The Weight of Blood; we have a solution but we are also faced with the moral dilemma that family brings with it. In this case, what is memory? Do you or can you justify another person's memory when it is so at odds with your own? Did you actually remember?
'Where you come from is gone, where you thought you were was never there'...
Arrowhead is suspenseful and a decent follow up to McHugh's outstanding debut, The Weight of Blood". I felt that this new book would have benefited from a bit more polish, to bring out the shine closer to her debut. "The Weight of Blood" was crafted beautifully whereas "Arrowood" was written fairly well. I liked the background: Keokuk, Iowa is a real place with an intriguing history; the hydro plant did exist. Those grand homes were a fixture in many parts of eastern USA and Canada and many can be seen in unlikely places today.
In her second novel, Laura McHugh returns to introduce a new family, the tragic bonds which have tethered it and the unsolved kidnapping in its past.
Arden leaves Colorado, her History thesis stalled, after her father's death reveals that her grandfather has bequeathed her the historic landmark family home in Keokuk, Iowa. Arrowood is a century old behemoth, three stories of house built in the Grand Empire style on a street surrounded by other centurion homes elaborately constructed too - Victorians, Queen Ann, Italian Revival- with their cupolas and porches and towers.
Arden Arrowood lived in the home she owns now until she was eight. That was seventeen years ago, when she looked away for a moment to gather flowers for her little twin sisters and turned back to find them forever gone. There is but one clue- a gold car driving away, which Arden recalls from that hazy day- but its driver had an alibi. The town, once so grand at the confluence of the Des Moines and Mississippi Rivers, a centre for riverboat trade with the largest hydroelectric plant in the world, has faded to a ghost of its former self. The twins' disappearance has haunted its remaining populace and the Arrowood house; Arden herself cannot turn her back any longer and is compelled to find the truth.
'Where you come from is gone, where you thought you were was never there'... Arden uses this quote at one point in her narrative. Her reflections on her childhood memories create doubt about what was really there, about her history and the stories of everyone who was part of her life then. The old house, substantial, keeps pulling her to the twins' room...
McHugh has the right elements in this book to create a creepy mystery, suspense building with the old house and its idiosyncrasies, the access to lapsed medical files, the hidden room used by the Underground Railway, the aura of suspicion attached to many secondary characters as well as Arden's own mental stability. That singular quote provided heft to her themes on memory, history and nostalgia- although more fine tuning with those earlier would have offered the story a welcome solid congruity when it slowed and scattered midways. Misdirection, or "red herrings" are magical when executed well in mysteries, increasing suspense and anticipation for the reader. McHugh kept me wondering.
The conclusion had elements of the style in common with her first novel, The Weight of Blood; we have a solution but we are also faced with the moral dilemma that family brings with it. In this case, what is memory? Do you or can you justify another person's memory when it is so at odds with your own? Did you actually remember?
'Where you come from is gone, where you thought you were was never there'...
Arrowhead is suspenseful and a decent follow up to McHugh's outstanding debut, The Weight of Blood". I felt that this new book would have benefited from a bit more polish, to bring out the shine closer to her debut. "The Weight of Blood" was crafted beautifully whereas "Arrowood" was written fairly well. I liked the background: Keokuk, Iowa is a real place with an intriguing history; the hydro plant did exist. Those grand homes were a fixture in many parts of eastern USA and Canada and many can be seen in unlikely places today.
July 9, 2018
Beautiful and poignant
July 12, 2018
A nice mystery. An old house, that contains many memories. The most awful one, is Arden's twins sisters that disappeared under her watch when she was 8 and they were not yet two. Arden is feeling guilt, and for years her main question is who killed my sisters.
And now Arden Arrowood's father has died, and she returns to her childhood home. The home where her sisters were, after 17 long years. Of course, she will try to find out about what happened, and we will see interesting things together with the unreliability of memory, which makes sense, since she was only eight.
McHugh is a talented writer, but the book was a bit slow. She described the views and the house well, and built some suspense. I felt that I knew where it is going, and I wasn't shocked or surprised by the ending.
Nice book, but 3 stars is about right here. If you like old houses the hide family secrets you might very well enjoy.
And now Arden Arrowood's father has died, and she returns to her childhood home. The home where her sisters were, after 17 long years. Of course, she will try to find out about what happened, and we will see interesting things together with the unreliability of memory, which makes sense, since she was only eight.
McHugh is a talented writer, but the book was a bit slow. She described the views and the house well, and built some suspense. I felt that I knew where it is going, and I wasn't shocked or surprised by the ending.
Nice book, but 3 stars is about right here. If you like old houses the hide family secrets you might very well enjoy.
July 3, 2016
This book will go own as one of my favorites of all time. Seriously.
It is haunting and dark, but with an ending that reveals just enough to wrap things up nicely. I am surprised at how much I loved it, but it really had all the elements of a great story: a mystery, a dark family past, some twisted characters.
Arden Arrowood returns to her childhood home in hopes of reconnecting with a happier, more stable version of herself. She just inherited her family homestead following the death of her father, who fled the home with Arden and her mom during the summer Arden was 8-years-old, when her 2-year-old twin sisters disappeared under her watch. She meets a young man who has been studying her sisters' case and isn't convinced that the widely accepted version is what truly happened. And it makes Arden question everything she thinks she knows.
The ending was believable, though there is some heavy foreshadowing which, IMO, reveals at least part of the mystery before the reveal (But I'm not telling!)
One note: The novel will seem familiar to readers of "Dark Places," since some of the plot set-up is similar: a troubled young woman meets a quirky young man obsessed with solving the mystery that destroyed her family. But the details are different enough that the novels are completely different animals. The characters are also different in that Arden is incredibly likeable.
Overall, this was an amazing summertime read that sucked me in from the beginning. I didn't want it to end.
It is haunting and dark, but with an ending that reveals just enough to wrap things up nicely. I am surprised at how much I loved it, but it really had all the elements of a great story: a mystery, a dark family past, some twisted characters.
Arden Arrowood returns to her childhood home in hopes of reconnecting with a happier, more stable version of herself. She just inherited her family homestead following the death of her father, who fled the home with Arden and her mom during the summer Arden was 8-years-old, when her 2-year-old twin sisters disappeared under her watch. She meets a young man who has been studying her sisters' case and isn't convinced that the widely accepted version is what truly happened. And it makes Arden question everything she thinks she knows.
The ending was believable, though there is some heavy foreshadowing which, IMO, reveals at least part of the mystery before the reveal (But I'm not telling!)
One note: The novel will seem familiar to readers of "Dark Places," since some of the plot set-up is similar: a troubled young woman meets a quirky young man obsessed with solving the mystery that destroyed her family. But the details are different enough that the novels are completely different animals. The characters are also different in that Arden is incredibly likeable.
Overall, this was an amazing summertime read that sucked me in from the beginning. I didn't want it to end.
August 5, 2016
Arrowood is the story of the disappearance of twin sisters who had disappeared many years ago. Arden their sister returns home after her father’s death many years later and decides she will find out what happened to her sisters all those years ago. I kept reading because I wanted to see if she finds out what happened to her sisters. Good read. I would like to thank the Publisher and Net Galley for the chance to read this ARC.
May 22, 2016
Yo, this is how you write a strong mystery. Believable, complex characters making choices that feel organic to themselves and not because the plot demands it. No dawdling with extensive red herrings. Excellent establishment of the setting and atmosphere without dipping into purple prose. I'd say the only drawback (ish) is that you can see part of the solution coming, but there's a nice twist, and then another, that aren't simply for shock value, they actually fit into the story, and that makes the ending resonate. I think this'll be a pretty popular book this summer.
Thanks to Penguin Random House for ARC copy (expected publication July 5, 2016).
Now I gotta get my hands on her first novel.
Thanks to Penguin Random House for ARC copy (expected publication July 5, 2016).
Now I gotta get my hands on her first novel.
April 28, 2017
2.5 Stars. I feel a little bad for rating this under 3 stars because the writing wasn't bad (though much too descriptive for me), but when I finished the book my first thought was, "That was a waste of time." The chapters were long and the pace was slow and it took well over half way through for me to really get interested in the story. The solution to the mystery wasn't really a surprise at all and I thought the reveal wasn't very well done. The characters could have used a little more development, but I didn't mind Arden and I liked Josh. If you're really into description and some light history you would probably enjoy this more than I did, but if you're looking for a good mystery or suspense I would say to look somewhere else.
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