For fans of David Joy and Christopher J. Yates, comes Ian Pisarcik’s haunting debut novel exploring the fraught nature of families and the inescapable secrets that are out to cripple them.On the outskirts of a town too tired for its own happenings, the boys were found dead inside a tent. Three years later, their fathers have disappeared, too.Ruth Fenn’s son was the boy they blamed. For three … Fenn’s son was the boy they blamed. For three years, Ruth has accepted her lot as pariah, focusing on her ailing mother and the children left in her care by the struggling single parents of North Falls, Vermont. But now the additional loss of her husband is too much to bear, and she has no choice but to overcome the darkness or be consumed by it. But as she edges closer to the truth, she begins to uncover some secrets that are better left buried.
That’s when she meets Milk Raymond, a war vet who comes home to find his nine-year-old son abandoned by his mother. Unable to find work, with no idea how to be a father, Milk turns to Ruth for help. But as the mystery of Ruth’s missing husband deepens, the fragile stability Milk has created for Daniel is shattered by the ill-fated return of Daniel’s mother, who will stop at nothing to get her boy back.
As these unsettled and interconnected lives hurtle towards a devastating conclusion, both Ruth and Milk are about to learn that their dying Vermont town has more secrets than they ever thought possible–and there are those who will do anything to protect them.
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Five stars is not sufficient.
Before Familiar Woods grabbed me from the start. It’s dark. And honest. It’s left me wondering which of the characters truths are the author’s truth. Because I feel he’s in there somewhere and I want to expose the truth from the imagination. Discover who he really is.
I strongly recommend this book. And even that is an understatement.
So many hurts, so many secrets and yet so many unknowns. This is a beautifully written story about living with hurts, gossip, questions, and secrets in a small town. Doesn’t sound much different than any small town but this one is a story that develops and deepens. One that sort of carries you away. The kind of book that you want to turn the pages as fast as you can but yet you don’t want it to end either.
When I began reading this book, I wasn’t sure what it was going to be. Which genre it really was. I’m not super fond of thrillers. But this wasn’t really a thriller or at least it didn’t have that cover your eyes, scream, or cower kind of feeling. It was full of suspense and written to make you wonder all the way through 300 pages what really happened. It created a tension and yet all along it was a good story of many people living their lives. I’m not doing this justice. You’re going to have to read this one. It’s worth it.
This is the author’s debut novel. Can’t wait to see what the next book brings.
Two mothers bury their sons at the same time. The young teenagers were found dead inside a tent among the woods.. most likely from a drug overdose.
Ruth’s son was the boy they blamed for the drugs. For 3 years she has accepted this as the truth… but is it the truth?
Three years later the mothers’ husbands have disappeared at the same time. Is this a copy of what happened to the teenagers?
Milk Raymond is a war vet that came home to find his wife gone ..and his son living with his wife’s mother. Unable to find work, and having no idea how to be a father, he turns to Ruth for help. And then his wife shows up …. willing to stop at nothing to regain her son.
As the women look for their husbands, Ruth begins to uncover secrets … secrets that should never be unearthed.
These lives will never be the same again….
Described as a domestic thriller, this is a well-written story of love, loss, death, in dark, gritty style. The characters are deftly drawn, the setting a small place, filled with desperation and family survival. It’s a debut novel that will leave the reader reeling.
Many thanks to the author / Crooked Lane Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this novel. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
This book is a bit different from most I read. It’s not a thriller but definitely will keep you on edge at times. It’s a mystery for sure as you will want to know what happened. You’ll want to know where the two husbands who are not really friends are. They were together and you’ll want to know why. It’s somewhat of a sad story in many ways. It’s about what drugs will do to a person. Things they never imagined they would ever do. I felt bad for some of the characters in this story but hated some also. Though you can’t really blame another person if someone you love gets hooked on drugs you can get angry that they would take advantage of someone or get a kid hooked. Some things are just wrong no matter what. I’ve seen up close and personal what drugs do to good people. I’ve lost family members to drugs and it makes you so angry. This country does have a huge problem with drugs and it can only blame itself. The big drug companies get things started then the person has to turn to something they can afford. They feel helpless and hopeless. It’s truly sad what drugs does to people. What they will cause you to do just to get that high.
This book hits hard on drugs. It is also about two families who lost their only children to a crazy camping trip and supposed drug use. Also a mother who abandons her child to run away with someone so she can get drugs. A man back from Iraq who loves his son and wants what is best for him. A mother who blames herself. Another mother who tries praying to get her through the loss of her son. Two dads who have to live with choices.
This book is told in two stories. One is Ruth Fenn telling a story of love and loss. Of looking into herself to try and fix things. She wants to find her husband before something happens to him. The loss her her teenagers son. She is a hard woman now but loves children and helps people also. She’s a kind woman in many ways but will not be messed with about some things. I loved her. Then we have Milk’s story. He has a son also. A nine year old son who he is trying to raise since his return from Iraq. He’s alone. His wife and the mother of his son left. But she returned and will try anything to get Daniel back. Even though it’s the worse place he could ever be. Ruth and Milk become friends via a social worker who recommended Ruth to Milk as someone who would help him out with his son so he could find a job.
As this story progresses you will wonder what happened to the men. What happened to the boys who were found dead in a tent. Were they murdered or was it a night of doing drugs gone horrible wrong. That one you’ll have to read and figure out for yourself. One father in this story I loved. One I totally detested. In that I mean the father’s of the dead boys.
This is a good story to help you understand what drugs do to people. To people who are good until they get involved with that drug for the first time. How they change and how it changes a family is horrible. But it’s reality unfortunately.
I felt so many conflicting emotions reading this book but it is what it is. It’s the raw truth as to what happens in towns where no one seems to care that drugs are taking over. Where the law turns a blind eye to things and blames an innocent person totally for something that he may or may not have done.
I have to thank #NetGalley #Ian Pisarcik and #Crooked Lane Books for the eARC of this book.
I gave it 5 stars for the lesson I hope can be learned from reading it and I believe the author did a fantastic job of bringing this story to life. It felt real. From the cold to the addicts to the deaths. It felt like I was seeing these things as they unfolded. To me that is what a good book is suppose to do. I give this a high recommendation.
This is a first time read from author Ian Pisarcik and has been a remarkable experience. The narrative has that Americana feel of impoverished and forgotten small town USA. Pisarcik’s depiction of the town, the setting, and the overall gravelly, raw nature of the characters – it’s an entire entity in itself. The characterization of the cast is unique in that the reader is (what I think is purposefully) held at arms length, adding a whole other edge of suspense to the storyline. This may not play well for audiences who like to submerse themselves thoroughly into characters. However, I’ll speak for myself and say that Pisarcik’s creative expression is well appreciated. While this is a suspense novel by genre, it holds a multitude of other complex dynamics within the plot that makes it feel like so much more. Loved it. 5 stars.
Thank you to #NetGalley and @CrookedLaneBooks for this ARC. #BeforeFamiliarWoods read and reviewed voluntarily by #wayward_readers and all thoughts and opinions are my own.