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The House in the Pines

Reese's Book Club: A Novel

Audiobook
5 of 5 copies available
5 of 5 copies available
An instant New York Times bestseller!
“This is an absolute, can’t-put-it-down thriller. . . . It’s truly a wild ride that had me flying through chapter after chapter—which I think is the perfect way to kick off your year of reading.”—Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club Pick January 2023)

Armed with only hazy memories, a woman who long ago witnessed her friend’s sudden, mysterious death, and has since spent her life trying to forget, sets out to track down answers. What she uncovers, deep in the woods, is hardly to be believed. . . .

Maya was a high school senior when her best friend, Aubrey, dropped dead in front of the enigmatic man named Frank whom they’d been spending time with all summer.
 
Seven years later, Maya lives in Boston with a loving boyfriend and is kicking the secret addiction that has allowed her to cope with what happened years ago, the gaps in her memories, and the lost time that she can’t account for. But her past comes rushing back when she comes across a recent YouTube video in which a young woman suddenly keels over and dies in a diner while sitting across from none other than Frank. Plunged into the trauma that has defined her life, Maya heads to her Berkshires hometown to relive that fateful summer—the influence Frank once had on her and the obsessive jealousy that nearly destroyed her friendship with Aubrey.
 
At her mother’s house, she excavates fragments of her past and notices hidden messages in her deceased Guatemalan father’s book that didn’t stand out to her earlier. To save herself, she must understand a story written before she was born, but time keeps running out, and soon, all roads are leading back to Frank’s cabin. . . .
 
Utterly unique and captivating, The House in the Pines keeps you guessing about whether we can ever fully confront the past and return home.
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      November 28, 2022
      The summer before Maya, the heroine of Reyes’s intriguing if flawed debut, entered college, 17-year-old Aubrey West, her best friend from high school in Pittsfield, Mass., dropped dead while talking to Maya’s then boyfriend, Frank Bellamy. While Aubrey’s death was ruled accidental, Maya was sure that Frank killed Aubrey, but she had no way of proving it. Now, eight years later, Maya is living in Boston with a new boyfriend and is trying to kick her addiction to the medication she’s been secretly taking to cope with the trauma of Aubrey’s death. One sleepless night, while watching a trending YouTube video, Maya sees a young woman fatally collapse while sitting across the table from Frank in a diner. Convinced that Frank has somehow murdered another victim, Maya returns home to Pittsfield to search for answers, which may just lie in the cabin in the woods where Frank used to entertain Maya and Aubrey. Well-developed characters and a nice balance between the main narrative and the backstories draw the reader in, but the action builds to an implausible and disappointing ending. Reyes shows enough talent to suggest she can do better next time. Agent: Jenni Ferrari-Adler, Union Literary.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Marisol Ramirez gives a pleasing steady performance in this story of love, manipulation, and death. Maya is 25 and a closet drug addict who is struggling to get clean. She also has an overfondness for alcohol. Maya is haunted by the death of her best friend, Aubrey, who died seven years earlier, when she was with Frank, a man Maya had been dating. When the older Maya sees a video of another woman dying in Frank's company, she decides to find out exactly what happened in her Berkshires hometown. Ramirez enhances the audiobook, strengthening characters and their dialogue. While some listeners may find the story strains credulity, Ramirez's narration is expressive without being overbearing. G.S. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      June 10, 2024

      After witnessing her friend Aubrey's mysterious death, Maya self-medicated to cope with the trauma. Now, seven years later, she is facing withdrawal and is desperate to discover the truth and find the man she believes is responsible for the killing. When she comes across a YouTube video of a young woman dying just as Aubrey did, she takes off to her Berkshires hometown to track down Frank, who was once Aubrey's boyfriend and was also the boyfriend of the woman in the video. There, while living with her mother, Maya must reckon with her past and return to a mysterious cabin in the woods, which may hold the answers she seeks. Narrator Marisol Ramirez Maya takes listeners on this twisted journey, where the boundary between dreams and reality becomes increasingly blurred. Ramirez deftly portrays the innocence of the younger versions of Maya and Aubrey, as well as the depth of the adult Maya's pain. VERDICT Listeners may be disappointed by the rather obvious twist and implausible ending, but Reyes's debut should appeal to diehard psychological-thriller fans. Recommend to listeners who enjoy Riley Sager, Jennifer McMahon, and Simone St. James.--Elyssa Everling

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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  • English

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