The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent

 

Summary (from the publisher): Two sisters raised in fear are about to find out why in a chilling novel of psychological suspense from the author of The Thinnest Air.

Ignorant of civilization and cautioned against its evils, nineteen-year-old Wren and her two sisters, Sage and Evie, were raised in off-the-grid isolation in a primitive cabin in upstate New York. When the youngest grows gravely ill, their mother leaves with the child to get help from a nearby town. And they never return.

As months pass, hope vanishes. Supplies are low. Livestock are dying. A brutal winter is bearing down. Then comes the stranger. He claims to be looking for the girls’ mother, and he’s not leaving without them.

To escape, Wren and her sister must break the rule they’ve grown up with: never go beyond the forest.

Past the thicket of dread, they come upon a house on the other side of the pines. This is where Wren and Sage must confront something more chilling than the unknowable. They’ll discover what’s been hidden from them, what they’re running from, and the secrets that have left them in the dark their entire lives.

Review: Raised in an isolated cabin in the woods, Wren has been raised by her mother to fear the outside world and is totally ignorant of civilization. But when their mother leaves Wren and her sister Sage to take their sick younger sister Evie to find medical help and never comes back, Wren is faced to confront that she may have to leave the security of their cabin or face starvation during the winter. When a strange man shows up claiming to be looking for their mother, the girls are terrified into action. Meanwhile, in alternating chapters, Nicolette is a well to do woman who has begun to suspect her husband is having an affair. When she finds incriminating evidence, she ultimately confronts him the truth slowly begins to make itself clear. 

This was a fast-paced thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat! For much of the book, I was wracking my brain to try to figure out the connection between Wren and Nicolette's storylines and was still puzzled even when the two worlds ultimately collided. 

My one disappointment with this book was the great reveal. There's a lot of holes and questionable things about the whole story and the author's explanations were a bit too convenient. The gaps in Nicolette's understanding were particularly difficult for me to believe. All in all, such a tragic storyline, with a mostly happy resolution. 

Stars: 3.5