After losing her job and boyfriend, Jan Hamlin is in desperate need of a fresh start. So she jumps at the chance to rent a secluded cottage on the edge of Coleshaw Woods. She's pretty happy where she is .. except things she can't explain starting happening. First it's a tap on the window .... and strange noises outside. The dog goes crazy trying to get outside, so Jan knows it's not just her imagination. I expected this story to be about Jan and the mystery about an isolated cottage at the edge of a wood. But then other sub-plots were introduced (Ian+Emma, detective) and I thought why I'm reading about them? What they have to do with the Cottage Jan rented?? It made more sense as the story progress and I realized where author heads with this story. If anyone else has read Cathy Glass books (same author ) it is written in an “explanation “ within the observations…. Intertwined with Jan's tale, is a story of a couple, Ian and Emma, who have lost one baby during childbirth and just lost another during a home birth. This isn't just a case of a tragic stillbirth. There was something horribly wrong with both of their children, and Ian is determined to understand why.

As ever, I'll update when I either fall off the ladder through utter boredom of listening or the book is finished. This one has set on my Netgalley queue for a long while and, as it turns out, for a reason. I do try to be discerning when it comes to mystery thriller selections for there are simply too many for them out there, but it isn’t always possible. And so, sometimes books like this slip through. It was pretty easy to work out some of the twist. Also I have to say that at times it sounded repetitive, unrealistic, too contrived, too difficult to buy into the story line. Some of the POVs felt unnecessary and more like fillers than of any importance. I can certainly “hear” the authors voice from her aka name from her other books in this one. I confess I listened to this book mostly and found the narrator a pleasant voice to listen to who emphasised areas that needed.In this story newly single and unemployed Jan Hamlin (29) and married couple Ian and Emma Jennings, who have been through their baby's stillbirth find their lives interwined in very strange way...

These seemingly unrelated stories intertwine themselves in an interesting way. However, for most of the book it does feel like two completely different stories and (just my opinion) they probably should have been because they didn't intersect in a meaningful way for me. I was much more invested in Ian and Emma's story. It was tragic, it was weird and it was suspenseful. With Jan's story, it had it's moments and gave me some creepy vibes for sure, but my attention did waiver during her chapters. As a writer of suspense thrillers I often ask myself what if? What if this happened instead of that? Or why a particular person reacted as they did. So often fact is stranger than fiction and these books start with a fact which I develop. You may be surprised to know, for example, just how many patients experience changes in their likes and dislikes after a transplant operation ~ The Darkness Within. Or how easy it is to look into someone’s home through their CCTV ~ Stalker.Absolutely brilliant! … Read in less than 24 hrs. I couldn’t put it down. Every chapter is gripping … Bookbub 5 * review This is a really unusual story. It's definitely a thriller, but it had a real horror movie feel to it. If I had to sum it up, I would say it was a mixture of The Strangers and Offspring. It was super creepy and unsettling, even if it was pretty predictable. They can also determine the sex of the baby from this scan." Again, in casual conversation with a shopkeeper. It sounds more like a formal letter than a casual conversation. I can take no more. This will be a did not finish for me. I almost plummeted deliberately off the ladder just to make it end. Could anyone with an actual brain read this awful nonsense? The midwife who delivers the so-called dead babies (obviously they weren't dead) has been keeping them because she knew they'd die soon and that would distress the parents? Seriously? She works full time but has a house full of babies and children with birth defects she's tending to and loving until they die to save the parents having to go through this? Uh huh. A house full of mutant children and babies. And she works full time. And the neighbours know nothing. But this life is better for the children than remaining with their own parents until they die. Uh huh. How old is this author? I'm guessing she's never had a baby herself or known anyone who did? She knows exactly the right thing to say. She doesn’t mind talking about what happened to David. She said I could talk to her whenever I wanted to. She understood. I even asked her what David looked like."

After losing her job and long-term boyfriend, Jan Hamlin is in desperate need of a fresh start. So when the opportunity arises to rent a secluded cottage on the edge of Coleshaw Woods, she jumps at the chance. It formed part of the storyline in the film Shallow Hal." Who talks like this in a regular conversation? You'd say "Like in that movie, Shallow Hal". If police were looking for footprints and it had rained within an hour or two, it was explained that the rain would have washed the prints away! Surely a reader could deduce this without a verbal teaching aide? This is one of those books, once started, the reader will not want to put down. The atmosphere is dark .. with an isolated cottage set alongside a forest, devoid of light and full of shadows. Well written, the story line is positively full of many twists and turns that lead to an unexpected conclusion. Jan refuses to be scared off.. but whoever or whatever isn't going away. The forest is holding secrets ... and Jan finds the nightmare is only beginning.Jan refuses to be scared off. But whoever is outside isn’t going away, and it soon becomes clear that the nightmare is only just beginning… It didn’t work out that way though, there were things going on, spooky eerie things. Was it man or beast? It’s not turned out the quietest of places to rest her head! Some of the topics may be disturbing for some readers Miscarriage. Same-generation incest between half-siblings who genuinely did not know they were related. Couples who have used sperm donor may also find the topic of "fertility fraud" disturbing. A change of life a breakup, all that might be able to be eased by making a new start somewhere else. For one thing, the author is simply too prolific for quality to enter the equation. She has a good working idea of how these things are done and plies the formula. Flat writing and flat characters and a thoroughly predictable plot included.

Overview: I've been looking forward to reading this book ever since my friend said she read it in a day because she couldn't put it down. It certainly didn't disappoint and I finished it early because I was so intrigued to keep reading, but in all seriousness, this is the most f**ked up book I've read! And it's based on a true story? 🤢🤢 PS: Its odd that the main characters were called Jan/Ian. And why so many authors have started to name their heroines with gender-neutral names? What's wrong with Janet or Janice? Or is that some sort of new requirement now?