Penhale Wood ~ Reviewed by Elizabeth Barnes

"All roads lead back to Penhale Wood."








"Penhale Wood" opens with Iris Flynn, a grieving mother whose daughter was murdered a year before. (The killer has yet to be found). Arriving back at the scene of the crime in England from her new home in Australia for one last effort to find out why this happened to her daughter Sophie, with the help of Rob McIntyre- the original police detective.

McIntyre has his own demons and does not believe that he would do any better now in finding Karen Peterson (Nanny) during the original investigation a year earlier. He agrees, reluctantly, to examine the case again, and discovers a few more leads.

This was an "out of the blue" crime novel. The plot was interesting and kept me wanting to read more, but it was too overdone and not original.

I wanted to like this novel but there were certain aspects that bugged me:

The murderer is somehow presented as an intelligent, sex crazed, sociopath, who has managed to hide from the police for over a year. Yet, the crime she committed is so inexplicable that the two sides of her personality do not match up. The novel seems like it has quickly passed over the murder of a child.

I was also disappointed because the women in the novel could have been very interesting. The questions of motherhood, sexuality, and career aspirations are inspired in the story but the author seemed to completely ignore them. The characters also behave in CRAZY ways.

This novel was an entertaining mystery, with way too many coincidences.

Special thanks to NetGalley & the Publisher for the copy!

I give this book a 2 out of 5 stars.

Missing ~ Reviewed by Elizabeth Barnes

"Here I am, children. Right over here. Step off that safe, moonlit path and come meet me. You aren't afraid, are you? "








The novel opens with Winter Crane who lives in a small poverty stricken town in Kentucky. Like many teens in town, she has one hope - to graduate high school and escape to the big city. Just like her older sister and her best friend did. Except Winter cannot seem to get ahold of them.

Due to an abusive home life, she tends to take care of herself. One day in the woods, Winter rescues a young man in trouble who happens to be looking for Winter's best friend - the same friend that Winter has been unable to reach. While trying to figure out the whereabouts of her missing friend, Winter begins to think that not everyone in town made it to the big city. Can she solve the mystery before anyone else goes missing?

This novel was SO CREEPY. Small towns, dark forests, and a psychopath playing twisted games was definitely a novel for me.

What I liked the most about "Missing" was its social criticism. Winter, who lives in a small town trailer park and often goes hungry, and Lennon and Jude, who are the adopted sons of billionaires, the author explores class divides and prejudices. Interactions between the characters shows consideration of class, wealth and privilege, and Winter also criticizes the idea of Southern "charm".

The only reason this novel did not receive a 5 start rating from me was because I was so disappointed in how the mystery was resolved.

I do not regret reading this novel, and I love how this main
character was so atmospheric. I am very interested in reading more books by this author.

Special thanks to NetGalley & the Publisher for the copy!

I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars.