I was intrigued and anxious to read this one. I was hoping it would be a great supernatural-type story, but it wasn't. It was a good suspense story but not with supernatural aspects like I thought/hoped there might be.
This was about Alex, a single mother with two kids that moves to start over in a new place and get away from her abusive ex. In this new place, there are tales spread around the village about a witch that comes and takes your kids. Weird things happen and Alex finds out about Renee who used to live in an empty farmhouse where her son Gabe disappeared. In the end, the solution makes sense to what's going on in this new place as the timelines and stories converge and are pieced together so if you like real-life solutions that make sense, you'll enjoy that. There is a gruesome killing of a cat and some language but other than that it's a decent mystery read. ( )

The Shadow House had a lot of interesting elements: a spooky house, an isolated community, a woman on the run, secrets, unexplained events, and a local legend. And while I enjoyed the overall story and thought there was a lot of potential, there was way too much telling rather than letting the suspense build up. I did have high hopes when I first started reading it, but that fizzled rather quickly and I was assaulted with mundane romance tropes that took the thrill right out of the thriller novel.

First of all, I'll start with Alex, a character I sort of grew to dislike throughout the novel. On the run from an abusive husband, she also has no relationship with the father of her teenage son, so it made me wonder about the direction of the story when she began to develop an interest in the 'leader' of the Pine Ridge community. The author made a big deal about her relationship with her son and how she prefers her baby daughter because she is much easier to manage, to the point where it was turning me off the book and the character. Maybe she should listen to her son once in a while? But then her daughter would start screaming and the focus would be on that aspect of being a parent. I get that being a parent is difficult as I have two children, but I think it's the way it was written that turned me off. Was the author purposefully trying to make Alex look like a bad mother because that's how it came across.

Personally, I preferred Renee's story, just for some relief. However, it was quite jarring to realize the story lines were only a few years apart as I kept thinking they were very far apart and I had to stay focused on the short time difference. What was going on with Renee's family was far more interesting, and that's saying a lot, but I liked the family dynamics, even if there were some major issues going on.

I did find the overall story to be weak, and while there were some nice moments at the beginning of the book with some good, creepy supernatural vibes happening, it unravelled pretty quickly. Instead of trying to keep that nice eerie tension going, with more creepy stuff and more happenings, it kind of simmered into a lot of mom issues with complaints about their teenage children and a lot of winging about crying babies and so on. I also felt the timelines were very misleading as it felt like years between them, and I was kind of wondering how such a community could be built in such a short time line when it takes years to even get a local high school built in my area. And don't even get me started on the ending as I felt like I was reading a woman's literary fiction novel instead of a mystery/horror novel. That epilogue was a doozy, and not in a good way, with nothing dark, creepy, or supernatural about it.

Verdict
The Shadow House had a lot of potential, but definitely did not live up to it. While it started strong, with some nice creepy, supernatural happenings, it jumped rather quickly into a women's literary fiction with some mystery thrown into it, with a lot of mom angst and romance, not quite what I was expecting. It was predictable, so I figured out quite early on what had happened although it did take me a while to figure out the witch legend. The time line did not do this book any favours though, and while I just went with it, as I am writing this, it still bothers me. I was not a fan of the ending, and that epilogue was an even bigger disappointment. For horror fans, I do not recommend this book, but those of you who like a more literary mystery, this might be your cup of tea. ( )

The Shadow House by Anna Downes is a 2022 Minotaur publication.

Alex is starting over once again. She and her two children have left an abusive relationship to live in the rural community of Pine Ridge.

Unfortunately, things get off to a bumpy start for Alex. Her teenage son, Oliver, is having trouble adjusting, while baby Kara, is keeping Alex awake around the clock. If that weren’t bad enough, the not always welcoming community also comes with its own legend about a witch that kidnaps children.

The secondary POV is centered around Renee, a mother whose husband’s family was one of the original builders of Pine Ridge. She, too, has a troubled teenage son, which points to an eerily troubling connection between Renee and Alex…

This book has some super creepy vibes. I wondered just what kind of community Alex had planted herself in!! The people were all a bit standoffish, and some are downright rude, except for Kit- but we aren’t entirely sure what his story is- and he never seems to be in the mood to share.

Without knowing who to trust or how Alex’s story is related to Renee’s, the reader is mostly in the dark without any way to gain their footing. I was very invested early on, but the middle portions of the book dragged, losing most of its momentum. Just as I was about to lose patience, though, the story suddenly got very interesting with a few startling revelations I never saw coming.

The last quarter of the book more than made up for the sluggishness that preceded it, and I ended up enjoying the story more than I had anticipated. Without giving too much away, this story has an ‘Ann Radcliffe’- Terror vs. Horror- approach- (and yes, there are a few Gothic undertones in this novel, to my great delight)-just in case that information helps those more inclined to one over the other.

That said, this would be a good book to read close to Halloween because it has all those great, ‘jumpy’ vibes to it, but will appeal to anyone who likes a good twisty psychological thriller, too.

3.5 stars rounded up ( )

Author Anne Downes follows up her debut work, The Safe Place, with another story about a woman looking for a safe place to call home.

This time the woman is Alexandra Ives, a thirty-seven-year-old single mother. As the story opens she is just arriving at a temporary new home in the quiet ecovillage of Pine Ridge. She has escaped a bad relationship, the salient details about which Downes gradually reveals in succeeding chapters, with her two children in tow: fourteen-year-old Oliver, who is sullen and unhappy about the move, and Kara, just eight months old. Their residency gets off to a rocky start when, before Alex has even begun unloading their belongings from the car, she finds a box on the porch of their new residence. It contains the remains of a dead bird. Alex begins to panic, questioning her decisions and choices that have led her to the unconventional community where they are scheduled to live for three months on a trial basis designed to reveal whether the ecovillage is a good fit for her and her family, as well as their neighbors. Recognizing that she must hold herself together for the sake of her children, Alex regains her composure, telling herself that everything will work out in this new environment. With that opening scene, Downes deftly tells her readers a great deal about Alex. She is desperate -- only a person with no other viable options would remain in a place that is so inhospitable from the very start. She is determined and resolved, as demonstrated by the way she quietly disposes of the box in a nearby trash receptable, and protective of her children, as evidenced by her relief that she kept Ollie from seeing the parcel. And Alex's fresh start is off to a very rocky beginning.

As Alex works to settle into the close-knit Pine Ridge community, she meets the other residents. They are an eclectic group, ranging from other mothers of teenagers with whom she instantly bonds, to an environmental scientist, a botanist, an architect, a physician, and the perpetually grumpy Maggie. One of the first residents of Pine Ridge, Maggie makes her feelings about newcomers known. Jenny, an older woman who lives in the adjacent downstairs unit, is gaunt, thin, but friendly. She seems frail and because she always wears headscarves, Alex wonders if she is undergoing treatment of some sort. Jenny lives alone, and not only offers Ollie an old television, but offers to babysit when needed. Alex leans on her for support, friendship, and childcare. She also finds herself drawn to the community's charismatic founder, Kit. He's a handsome younger man who asks Alex a lot of questions about her background but reveals little about his own.

In subsequent chapters, Downes alternates Alex's first-person narrative with a story told from the perspective of Renee, who lived in the abandoned house that remains on the Pine Ridge property. Shortly after arriving in Pine Ridge, Alex is informed that a family lived on the land and operated a flower farm, but their son disappeared years ago and was never found. The missing boy is the subject of a dark legend that is intensified by the foreboding presence of the empty, dilapidated-looking farmhouse that stands in the distance. In fact, Alex catches a glimpse of the old witch who is said to wander the neighborhood, telling the children that they must be good or monsters will arrive and take them away. Through the narrative focused on Renee, Downes reveals how she and her husband, Michael, took differing approaches to dealing with their troubled son, Gabriel. Michael wants the almost sixteen-year-old to help him around the farm in the same ways that Michael worked with his father. But Gabriel grows increasingly withdrawn, secluding himself in his room, playing video games and refusing to even emerge to eat dinner with his family. It is all Renee can do to make him attend school. She is horrified when she discovers the depth and manifestations of Gabriel's emotional struggles. A string of increasingly disturbing and frightening events, beginning with the discovery of the decapitated family cat in a box on the porch, culminated in Gabriel's disappearance six years ago.

Now Alex fears that the same fate will befall Ollie, but she is intent on protecting her son, whose behavior at school was one of the reasons for their relocation to Pine Ridge. Alex has moved numerous times, always opting to run when things got tough, but as Ollie makes new friends, especially the lovely Violet, and looks forward to attending the local school, he makes it clear that he is tired of moving and wants to remain in Pine Ridge for the foreseeable future. Despite her desire to make Ollie happy, Alex cannot ignore what she believes are warnings from someone or something that she and her children are in danger. The events are unfolding as the children say the witch describes them, and they always lead to a tragic conclusion: a missing child. But who is behind the effort to frighten Alex and make her believe that her son is in danger? Why is Ollie being targeted? Is there anyone in Pine Ridge that she can trust? Could the events unfolding be connected to Stuart, the abusive man she left who has now gone missing, too?

The Shadow House is a cleverly engrossing mystery. Downes hints at supernatural elements and dark forces as Alex undertakes a risky investigation into what is really happening in the communal Pine Ridge development. Downes expertly employs misdirection, injecting clues that fail to yield revelations and making several characters potential suspects, only to deliver a shocking conclusion that showcases her intricately-constructed plot. Downes explores the challenges of parenting a child with emotional issues in the age of hypnotic video games and other electronic devices, as well as the difficulties inherent in parenting without a partner. Her setting is key to the story's effectiveness, and Downes' prose makes Pine Ridge, along with her characters, come alive. Her cast of supporting characters is fascinating and well-developed, as are the two key female characters. Both Alex and Renee learn that they are stronger than they ever thought they could be, and running away from problems never really solves them. They both are protective mothers, but flawed human beings, who must learn to stand on their own, rather than in the shadow of a man who is no match for their inner strength. And both find the truth. Even though it leaves one of them "broken in ways she'd never imagined possible," it also provides both a path to peace for her and a satisfying conclusion to the story.

The Shadow House is an inventive tale of secrets, betrayals, and a shattered family whose tragic history looms over and threatens to destroy Pine Ridge and its new residents. It is a tense but surprisingly touching story, replete with unpredictable twists, and compelling and memorable characters.

Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book. ( )

Alex left her abusive husband and settled in a rural, eco-friendly community that was to be peaceful.

It wasn’t that peaceful when Alex finds a box with a dead animal in it and other odd things happening as each day went by.

Are they really safe from her husband, other people, and things?

Then we meet Renee and her family - the same things seem to have happened to them along with a kidnapping of their son.

Somehow Renee’s story and Alex’s story were related.

THE SHADOW HOUSE was very confusing and very dark with odd, angry characters. I actually couldn’t follow the story line until half way through the book.

It also had too much of a sci-fi/paranormal feel for me.

I honestly wasn’t a fan and was disappointed because I really liked her first book.

I do have to say the last quarter of the book redeemed itself. 3/5

This book was given to me by the publisher for an honest review. ( )