Author: Emily Hepditch
Narrator: Krystin Pellerin
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Thriller
Publication date: April 22, 2020
Book description: On the coast of rural Newfoundland, Hannah Fitzgerald's mother has lived her life in near total isolation. When Hannah returns to the lonely saltbox house to prepare her mother for the transition into assisted living, her childhood home is anything but welcoming. Dilapidated from years of hoarding and neglect, the walls are crumbling, leaving Hannah’s wellness crumbling along with them.
While packing her mother's things, Hannah discovers a trap door to the house’s attic, the one she believed for most of her life had been permanently sealed shut. Blinded by curiosity, Hannah enters the attic and finds a mysterious bedroom riddled with dark secrets. Desperate to know more, Hannah begins to scramble for answers, combing the house for clues that may lead her to the truth.
Hannah must navigate through the violent outbursts of her senile mother, the prying questions of a nosy hospice nurse, and the rage of the coastal wind that threatens the structure of the house. Piece by piece, she assembles a picture of her mother’s not-so-distant past—a twisted tangle of infatuation, lies, and maybe even murder.
The Woman in the Attic is a claustrophobic psychological thriller wrought with suspense. This novel will put you on the edge of your seat . . . and make you wary of the unused spaces collecting dust in your home.
Thoughts:
I found this book by chance available on Rakuten Kobo Plus. It was not in my initial TBR, but I rarely stick to reading only my TBR. It was after I was done with it that I found out this book was a prize winner:
Winner — Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize (Mystery)
Winner — NL Reads 2021
Gold Medal Winner — Independent Publisher (Canada - East - Regional Fiction)
Finalist — Crime Writers of Canada Awards (Best First Crime Novel)
Long-listed — BMO Winterset Award
A page-turner, I was hooked from the start, and such a heartfelt story. Very character-based and with a few plot reveals- not all of them as predictable.
A few warnings: It does mention mild child abuse, and mental distress from a child who was raised in near isolation by emotionally manipulative and distant parents.
The audiobook format was an amazing pick, Krystin gives it such emotion and you find yourself immersed in the story. I just love it when books make you feel so much.
This is an amazing debut novel.
Highly recommend for people who enjoy mysteries. This is more suspense than murder mystery because it does mention a murder that took place years ago, but the majority of the book is not spent looking for clues. This is a good option for those people who do not want a novice detective/police work type of story.
It starts very realistically. Hannah, (that name seems to be following me, that's just my imagination really) arrives at her mother's house. It is in a very remote location and she is dreading the return to a childhood home she has very little positive memories from. Her mother is suffering from early dementia at only 52. This itself is very rare, and unfortunately, it's not unrealistic. I am not going to share statistics but it's medically possible, quite scary thought especially if you have family members who are suffering from it, if having them the symptoms start at 80 plus is bad, and going at 50 is brutal.
She will be transported to a care facility as having a live-in care provider is not enough anymore. The whole story takes place in the Canadian East Coast. The descriptions are so well-developed, that you can almost imagine the sounds of the ocean and the wind hitting the house. I am not always very keen on overly descriptive narratives, so I was glad that they did not go on for pages and pages, I need enough to set the mood and then we can move along.
While working on packing the house, and getting over the filthy state the property has fallen into Hannah discovers that there is an attic, one she never knew existed. And while snooping around in there she finds many questions:
Who is Ada Fraser?
Who is Adeline Fitzgerald?
Why did her mother hide that she ran a bed and breakfast in the house at some point when she was 2 years old?
What do the checks in the basement have two different names?
What was her mother hiding?
The pacing felt a bit off, and some of the characters like her friends from school, the professors, the people she meets in town- It felt like there was a bit more that they were meant to provide, but they were not fully developed. It was a fun ride.
Do not expect this ending and twists to be realistic, they are not!
But it makes for an interesting rollercoaster storyline.
I will definitely try to read more by this author. Initially, I wasn't sure what rating to give this story 3 to 3.5 but after thinking about it a few days after completing the book my mind is settled
I used this story for the challenges:
Debut
Around the world challenge: This author is from Canada and the story takes place there.
Award-winning books
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