Many thanks to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing, and C.J. Cooke for the opportunity to read this wonderful atmospheric novel - 4.5 stars!
It's fall and the perfect time to lose yourself in a Nordic suspense/folklore novel! This one will surely fit the bill as the book opens with the death of Aurelia - as she plunges off a cliff to her death. But was she killing herself due to postpartum depression or was it an abusive husband or something unworldly? As we settle back in present time, Lexi is just recovering from a suicide attempt when her boyfriend breaks up with her. She is instantly homeless with no prospects. A chance bus encounter leads to her becoming Sophie and a nanny to Aurelia's two young girls in a very remote house in Norway. Lexi/Sophie just wanted some time to recover, to work on her book, and have a place to live. She never dreamed of falling in love with the two girls in her charge. When things take a creepy turn, she realizes she'll do anything to keep them from harm.
The book went from chapters of "Then" when we learn what Aurelia was going through to "Now." The similarities of the possible hallucinations of both women are scary. I really loved how Lexi/Sophie evolved - from being a depressed girl with no prospects to being so wonderful with the girls.
This is a perfect creepy book to curl up with under a thick blanket. The descriptions of the stark Norwegian landscape and the house literally hanging over the cliff add to the suspense in this book. I loved the subplot of the repercussions of changing nature - very apt in this time of such climate worries.
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