Elinor and Topher Leighton are at a turning point in their marriage when Elinor discovers she is pregnant, unemployed and unexpectedly inherits an estate from an estranged uncle in rural Vermont. For Topher, an ER doctor who loves the energy of city life, Wildwood is not exactly the dream, but it could be a chance to start over, slow down, raise their child and perhaps understand why Elinor has become so estranged from her extended family. Of course, arriving at Wildwood comes with one tiny problem. Nothing is quite what it seems.
I was completely hooked by the atmosphere of this book. A creepy mansion, Vermont woods, autumn, ghosts, witch history, mysterious neighbors and enough family secrets to make me suspicious of everyone? Yes, please. Woo creates this delicious sense of dread through nightmares, unexplained noises, apparitions and the woods surrounding the estate, but it is the Forest of the Dead mural that really got me. It is not simply creepy decoration hanging on a wall. It becomes part of the mystery, and as Elinor becomes increasingly obsessed with it, the line between what she is seeing, what she is remembering and what may actually be happening begins to disappear.
The big question remains – Is Elinor experiencing something supernatural, or is everyone around her slowly convincing her that she is imagining it? I loved that uncertainty. I loved not knowing who could be trusted. I loved watching the past begin bleeding into the present, Elinor questioning her memories and her dreams and realizing that Wildwood had far more to say than simply “welcome home.” With its haunting atmosphere, buried family secrets, and history that refuses to stay buried, Wildwood is gothic suspense at its most patient and unsettling.
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