SOLVED. Suspense novel about a military man and a dark secret in the woods near his house. [s]

[Sarah]

I bought this book in a London bookstore in late 2015. It's a psychological suspense novel and my guess is that it was published between 2010 and 2015. It was written by a male author and possibly his debut novel.

The cover showed a somewhat generic forest image and I think I remember the silhouette of a stag on there, too (but I'm not 100 % sure). The book itself was of medium length, maybe a little on the shorter side.

It was a really gripping and mysterious read. It starts with a lonely middle-aged man who buys a house in a small American (?) town with the help of a younger female estate agent.
He has recently returned from the military and had been stationed in Iraq (?). He had something to do with a scandal that took place there, which shows some parallels to the Abu Ghraib scandals.

The man is very practical and organized and immediately begins renovating the house, which is in desperate need of repairs. But the nearby woods hold a strange fascination for him and he cannot resist wandering through the forest.

The forest seems eerie and at the same time strangely familiar to him. But it's not only the forest, it's also the house itself that holds secrets.

SPOILERS AHEAD.



He discovers that the basement of his house scares him. There is a strange, moldy smell and there seem to be problems with the electricity. For some reason the basement really unsettles him and not even the electrician he called can help. There are also some remnants of the previous owners, like a stack of old discarded books, I think.

Meanwhile, he forages into the forest and can't help but feel watched. The birds are too quiet, there is something off, but he can't really put his finger on it. This unsettles his practical nature.

MORE SPOILERS



The mystery of the woods takes up more and more of his thoughts, it almost consumes him. More and more memories of his past resurface and the reader gradually learns that the house he bought was actually his childhood home. Something happened to him there.

Then one day the man discovers a forgotten building (a castle?) in the woods. Inside he finds some kind of bone cage (?) and he remembers this setting from his childhood.

Apparently the castle belonged to a hermit who used to live in the woods. The man's father sent him there when he was a boy. Not only did he learn about survival in the wilderness, he also was subjected to some unsettling things and ideologies (?) and was locked in the cage by the hermit.

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As the man remembers this, some other memories from his recent past also fall into place. He was complicit (maybe even active) in torturing prisoners in Iraq. He seems to feel some regret, but no guilt. He seems really detached from his emotions and his childhood probably had a lot to do with it.

The hermit in the woods is still around somewhere and the man wants to confront him.
I don't quite remember the ending, but the man climbs a high boulder or rock in the woods and there is a deadly confrontation with the old hermit (involving arrows?).
The man wins and the hermit dies (?).

He returns to his house, feeling relief. This might be the start of a new life for him. In one scene (which might have taken place before) he even meets up with his estranged sister.

But then, duty calls and he is assigned a new task with the military. He leaves without questioning it, accepting that a calm life is not something he will ever have.

[Kris]

Castle by J. Robert Lennon seems to match your description.

(Google search - site:www.goodreads.com thriller military iraq scandal renovates house forest)

[Sarah]

Yes, that's it! Thank you so much, wow, I am so grateful! I tried about every google combination of keywords, but what you did was genius :)

[Kris]

You're welcome. Glad you found your book, Sarah. I find it helps to limit a Google search to a specific site (e.g., "site:www.goodreads.com").