The Crooked House
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By Christobel Kent
avg rating
2 reviews
One fateful night. One unthinkable family tragedy. One survivor. This is Alison’s story. Perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train and Apple Tree Yard, this stunning psychological thriller follows one woman’s search for the truth about her family history. Alison is as close to anonymous as she can get: with no ties and a backroom job, hers is a life lived under the radar. But once Alison was someone else: once she was Esme, a teenager whose bedroom sat at the top of a remote house on a bleak estuary. A girl whose family, if not happy, exactly, was no unhappier than anyone else’s – or so she thought. Then one night violence was unleashed in the crooked house, in a nightmare that only Alison survived and from which she’s been running ever since. Only when she falls for the charismatic Paul does Alison realise that to have any chance of happiness, she must return to her old life and face a closed community full of dark secrets. As she seeks to uncover the truth of what happened that terrible night, Alison begins to question everything she thought she knew. Is there anyone she can trust?
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Bookworms
A really good thriller that had some of us guessing right to the end.
It is the story of Alison/Esme who returns with her boyfriend to the village where something terrible happened to her family. There are some strange characters and in part it rambled too much but there was enough story to keep us reading to the end. Some of us knew how it would end while others had not idea.
It is certainly worth a read.
Alison returns with her boyfriend Paul to Saltleigh to attend Paul’s friend’s wedding. Thirteen years previously Alison’s family had suffered tragedy in Saltleigh. Alison had lost her memory of this time, but while there she starts to remember what happened and talks to local people until eventually the mystery is revealed. This book has very atmospheric descriptions of the salt marshes, boats and the sea. It is a good read, if a little slow and confusing in parts. The mystery is gripping and keeps you reading until the final surprise.
