Tag: Cass Green

In a Cottage in the Woods by Cass Green | Review

I really liked how In a Cottage in the Woods opened. Cass Green sets up the story in just a couple of pages.

She introduces a troubled heroine, Neve Carey and a suicidal woman called Isabelle.  Neve meets Isabelle on a bridge and they have a brief conversation just before Isabelle jumps. Although brief, we learn a lot about Neve from this conversation. For one thing, she’s kind enough to stop and help a stranger. She’s also very hard on herself. She questions her own motivations, and thinks that she falls short.  She’s someone who does the right thing when it matters, but she’s also troubled and unhappy. Within just a couple of pages, you get a really strong sense of who she is and why she does what she does.

Believable character

Neve’s a very believable character. There’s a lot going wrong in her life — her relationship has broken up and she’s temporarily staying in sister’s house because she can’t afford to stay anywhere else. Her work is boring and she’s underpaid. Her financial insecurity and emotional unhappiness impact her relationships, stirring up conflict that isolates her from family and friends. This isolation is what makes her the perfect heroine for Cass Green.

Cottage in the Woods

Neve inherits Isabelle’s cottage in the woods when she has hit rock bottom — no home, no relationship, no money, no job. So she has no choice but to move in. The cottage is isolated and creepy, making it an excellent setting for Neve to face her demons. And not all of them are internal. Someone doesn’t want Neve in the cottage.  The question is who? And why?

In a Cottage in the Woods is an entertaining page turner and a fast read. I enjoyed it. If you like the sound of it, you might also like The Woman Next Door.

Disclosure: HarperCollins provided a review copy.

The Woman Next Door by Cass Green

The Woman Next Door by Cass Green is a dark psychological thriller about two women who become unlikely partners in crime when they collude to conceal a murder.

Hester is a widow. We first encounter her in the library where she is learning to use computers. She talks to herself and she’s clearly a bit eccentric. She has a distorted view of the world and her stream of consciousness quickly shows that she’s not a likeable character. She’s needy and she always sees the worst in people but, in many ways, she’s her own worst enemy.

Hester and Melissa are neighbours. Melissa is married. Her husband is a successful doctor and they have a teenage daughter, Tilly.

On the surface Melissa’s life seems comfortable but secrets from the past are a threat to her peace of mind. And, when a visitor turns up at Tilly’s birthday party, it seems those secrets are about to spill. Events take a dark turn and the first part of the novel culminates in a shocking manner.

Cass Green draws believable characters

By the end of Part 1, Cass Green has established a nice bond between Melissa and Hester that’s destined to last a very long time indeed.

There are a lot of things to like about The Woman Next Door. Cass Green draws believable characters and it is easy for the reader to understand why they do what they do.

Hester and Melissa both make bad decisions but there’s a satisfying inevitability to the way that the story unfolds and there are some good twists and surprises along the way.

The chapters lead nicely into each other and Cass Green sustains a good pace throughout.

All in all, The Woman Next Door is an easy and entertaining page turner. It should appeal if  you enjoy an unreliable narrator and a good, dark yarn

The Woman Next Door by Cass Green is a Harper Collins ebook.
Disclosure: I received an ARC via Netgalley for the purpose of this review.