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 … 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.
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Let me start by saying that I would not consider The Stillwater Girls to be a thriller. The pacing is a bit on the slow side and while it did have thriller potential during the chapters about the girls, the parallel chapters from Nicolette’s point of view barely held my interest. The storylines do come together eventually, but up to that point, I was sorely tempted to skim Nicolette’s chapters. There are a few hints about where those chapters might be heading, but you have to be prepared to head into dark territory. That said, Wren’s chapters did keep me reading, and once the man shows up, the story started to lean in the direction of a thriller for me. Then, it fell apart again with the big twist. In fact, I can pinpoint the exact sentence where it all went wrong and I started rolling my eyes – it’s roughly 61% into chapter 40. There was no turning back from that point because the whole idea was so completely over the top. I’m trying to be deliberately vague here so I don’t give spoilers, so let me just say that the idea of how things happened is far-fetched, but not completely beyond the realm of possibility. However, the idea that so many people knew without saying a word, including casual people about town, is where this one completely lost me. I find it impossible to believe that this town, small or not, did not have a single gossip who would’ve been all too happy to share that kind of information. I realize that this is fiction, and some leeway can be given, but this one pushed way past that for me.
This was my first book by Minka, I was really intrigued by the storyline, which captured my attention from the first page, not usually my kind of book but I really enjoyed this!
There are 2 separate story lines that run in tangent together before coming together and forming one whole story as they merge together. It’s very good how its done, it creates a very intriguing and mysterious feel to the story and has you eager to find out more.
Nicolette and her photographer husband Brent live on the edge of town. She seems to suffer from anxiety and depression and has bad episodes every so often. Her and Brent are unable to have a family of their own and are looking into adopting, but she is questioning her relationship with Brent lately, she thinks he is cheating on her things just aren’t adding up, the further she looks the more questions she needs answers to.
Wren and Sage are young adult girls living in an isolated cabin in the woods with their mum and younger sister. They are completely cut off from the rest of the world, living in their own bubble, unaware of life carrying on around them – they do not trust strangers and men, never leaving their cabin for anything including school, supplies are delivered to them and mum fetches them to their cabin. When their younger sister falls ill their mum takes her towards town to be treated, but never returns back to the cabin. Many days pass and their food supplies are running low, decisions need to be made as to whether they leave the cabin and search for help or stay and hope for the best. But a stranger appears at the cabin and the decisions are taken out of their hands as events start to spiral out of their control.
These completely different stories end up merging into one gripping read. I loved it, a real page turner with a twist at the end I didn’t see coming! I really enjoyed this and recommend you give this a try, well worth it.
The book is written from two women’s viewpoints. Wren, a worried young woman in a remote cabin, and Nicolette, a wealthy woman who feels like her marriage and life are coming apart. I haven’t read a true mystery in a while. I was an avid reader of Mary Higgins Clark, Barbara Michaels, Phyllis Whitney, Anne Perry (who I still read on occasion, and lots of cozy mysteries). This book reminded me of when I first read Mary Higgins Clark many years ago. It gives me that same feeling (A Cry in the Night came to mind). I loved this book. I enjoyed the dual POV and the twists and turns. Why are Wren and her sister, Sage, out in the remote cabin? Where is their mother & sister? Why has Brant (Nicholette’s husband) withdrawn from his wife? All those questions are answered by the time the book ends, which is one thing I look for in my mysteries….I want all the loose ends tied up at the end. This book delivers on that. I read this in almost one sitting. I received a review copy from NetGalley. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
Minka Kent brings us an interesting and exciting tale told in the first person, alternating chapters, by 34-year-old Nicolette, wife of photographic artist Brant Gideon, and Wren, oldest of three girls being raised in upstate New York off the grid and in very primitive conditions by a single mother. Time is pretty modern, Wren is 20, Sage 18, and Evie is 9. None of the girls can remember even going to town. Their whole world is the homestead they inhabit, the goats and chickens that provide them with eggs, milk, butter and cheese, and the unseen man who meets their mother in the woods with the occasional order of supplies.
Until Evie becomes dangerously ill with a soaring temperature and difficulty breathing. Mama bundles her up and heads into the late night woods, looking for help. Sixty-three days later, Mama and Evie have still not returned. Food is running out, the chickens are dying and winter is just weeks away. And with the first light snow comes a strange man looking for their mother. His is big, mean, and dangerous – that man Mama has always warned them about, wandering in from that wicked world she has always protected them from. Wren sprinkles ground up sleeping herbs on his serving of the baby goat he killed and made her cook, and while he is passed out she and Sage take his well-equipped backpack and escape. The only problem is where can they escape too? Neither can ever remember leaving the clearing the cabin is centered in.
Luckily the first place they come across is that of Nicolette. And Nicolette, motherless since an emergency hysterectomy when she was 25 and home alone since her husband is off on a photo shoot in South America, has been getting set up to become a foster parent to needy kids. Wren and Sage in their threadbare homemade nightgowns and hunger-induced thinness with no knowledge of electricity or indoor plumbing or kitchen appliances very much qualify as needy. All three of them very much need each other. But where is their mother? And where can Evie be?
I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Minka Kent, and Thomas & Mercer. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have voluntarily read and reviewed this novel. This is my honest opinion of this work.
pub date April 9, 2019
The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent
Published: April 9, 2019
Thomas & Mercer
This title is free to read with a Kindle Unlimited subscription.
Minka Kent is the author of The Thinnest Air; The Perfect Roommate; The Stillwater Girls; and The Memory Watcher, which has been optioned by NBCUniversal. She is a graduate of Iowa State University and resides in Iowa with her husband and three children.
“Thank goodness it’s fiction.”
This is a twisted tale that starts out telling two separate stories. We meet Wren, who is determined to keep her and her younger sister, Sage, alive despite their mother leaving them months before to get their youngest sister, Evie, medical attention. We also need Nicolette, a wealthy heiress married to a famous photographer who is desperate to start the process to foster children. It consumes her almost as much as how secretive her husband is behaving.
At the beginning of this book, I expected some sort of “The Village” plot to go down. How wrong I was! This is such a unique and clever story, with dynamic themes and charming characters.
This is a story about family, forgiveness, and strength. I loved Wren and Nicolette. They were such beautifully written characters. The bond between sisters is strong, and the love of a family is stronger. This is such a fantastic novel. I absolutely recommend this one!
I really enjoyed the way this book had two different story lines. You cannot imagine how the two can eventually intertwine. But when that happens, you’ll be in for a roller coaster ride with twists and turns. While presented as a thriller, I feel like this should have been considered a good mystery.
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
If you enjoy psychological thrillers, this should go right on the top of your list. A page-turner full of dark secrets and twists!
I borrowed The Stillwater Girls from Amazon Prime when it came up as a recommended read. The idea of girls raised away from civilization had a promising premise, and the book didn’t disappoint. I became oddly fascinated at the strict rules imposed on the girls, on how naïve they were, and wondered why a single mother would raise her girls in this way. But then Kent added a mystery element, and I knew something was afoot.
I liked that we not only had the girl’s story, but we also had an alternating viewpoint involving Nicolette, who was desperate for a child. It made me curious how Kent would tie these two seemingly unrelated households together. If I had any issue, which was incredibly minor, it’s that their mother grew herbs which play a big role later on in the story. Wren grinds up melatonin, and that’s not an herb you can grow. She also grinds up valerian root, and that is the farthest thing from a scentless herb I have ever grown. The way Wren uses them, there is no way it wouldn’t smell like the rotten, stinky gym sock scent that ground valerian root has.
When I look past that minor issue, this was a fun read. I didn’t have to relate to the characters to enjoy them. The story immediately draws you in and makes you want to get to the finish to find out what is really going on.
This book was just okay for me. The author has the talent and everything, but I didn’t seem as connected to the story as I thought I would have. I felt like I saw what was coming so it didn’t really leave me hanging. I might pick up another book by this author to see if I feel differently.
I listened to and read along this book. I got both audio and kindle versions through Kindle Unlimited.
There were two narrators, Lauren Enzo and Melissa Moran. I thought both did a good job. I would certainly listen to more audiobooks by both of these narrators.
The audiobook was a little confusing at first because we were listening to Wren tell her story in one chapter then Nicolette telling her story in the next. Because the stories were so different and did not seem to be connected, I had a little trouble following. This was why I decided to read along. Once I got into the stories, though, it was easier to follow along. I continued alternating between book and audio as I was at the hospital and it was easier for me.
I liked Wren a lot. I thought she was very intelligent. I appreciate the author showing that someone who comes from a background of living off the grid can still be educated. I have personal experience with this and I learned to read at three. I loved reading and would read everything I could; from food labels to encyclopedias to books of various genres and age levels. I was taught a dictionary was my friend and nothing was banned. Seeing a character who was at disadvantage in her living situation still be educated and intelligent made my heart swell. I loved the way she loved and cared for Sage and, later, Evie.
It took me awhile to decide who to trust in the marriage between Nicolette and Brandt. It was very obvious something was wrong. Both of them were likable so I had a time trying to pinpoint who to believe. The twist on that blew my mind.
The story held my interest. There were things I did believe would not happen in the real world. Most of this occurred at the reveal. I suspend reality when a book is fictional so while I noticed it, it did not detract from my enjoyment of the tale I was being told. Readers who have a difficult time suspending reality will most likely be disappointed in the ending. I loved the ending. It was crazy. I had the wrong person picked as the villain. Actually I caught on to one thing early on but, for the majority of twists, I was wrong. To me, the author did a good job sucking me in and leading me astray.
Would I read another book by this author? Absolutely! Would I recommend this book? Yes but to readers I know who can suspend reality. For all others, I would tell them they needed to let reality go and just enjoy the story. If they couldn’t do that, I would tell them this might not be a match.
I loved this book, I never saw the twist as I was reading this. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I couldn’t put it down… please read!
Whoa! You would think this was sci-fi. Suspend all belief, ye who enter here.
This story goes from far-fetched to unbelievable to all wrapped up in a neat package.
There is no way all this could have been going on for two decades and no one caught on, or the second part has been a community secret for the past ten years.
Can’t say more or will be pummeled for spoilers, so, just “no”.
Great story! Enjoyed this very much
Fast paced, original, a slow burn with a boiling point you won’t see coming! Minka Kent is a new favorite author I’ve mine. Her words suck you in, her stories grip you, and her intense scenes hold you in suspense until the very last word. A new favorite! The Stillwater Girls is a thriller that won’t disappoint!
There is just something special about Minka Kent. Her books are usually classified as thrillers or psychological thrillers. They feel like an easy mystery with a psychological element. They are very well written. I am happy to recommend this author.
This book was a bit aggravating as the author tells two separate stories in the first half of the book with seemingly no connection. As a reader, you know they are going to come together somehow, it just took forever. The one story is about a woman and three girls living off the grid under the most primitive of conditions and the second is about a young prosperous married couple where the wife has growing suspicions that the husband may be cheating on her. In the second half of the book the two stories intersect in ways that stretch believability a bit, but then it becomes a more interesting read. There were weak spots in that the characterization of the three girls was overly childish and dependent, yet their primitive life was depicted as blissful and idyllic. The married couple seemed too good to be true especially at the end. The second half of the book provided several twists and turns that kept the story interesting and made the read worth the time.
Original story idea! You’re instantly attached to the two main characters! Good read!
My second book and I’m hooked on Minka’s story telling! It’s the perfect amount of thriller, mystery and surprise! Her characters wrapping warmth around your heart. I loved every second of my curiosity of what was happening and the puzzle I kept trying to put together.
Three girls living in a forest a world of their own. Until one day there was only two and then the mystery of the unknown is opened to them. What they find out is unlike no other.
A wife and husband on a clasp of destruction. Lies and secrets threaten their future! How these two stories collide is a true shocker! You never see or can imagine how this all comes together!
good story line what I thought at the beginning was totally wrong
This book was a very suspenseful and gripping thriller. It merged together two strangely different narratives and wrapped it all together with a massive ‘happily ever after’ at the end. The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent was a captivating book, but the ending was way too unrealistic.
Nicolette is married to a world class photographer, but she feels like her world is disappearing all around her. She’s barely able to hold together her marriage with Brant. Unable to have any children, she’s desperate to have a foster child. Her husband, however, is not so keen. He’s content traveling the world taking photographs.
Wren and her little sister Sage are living in a cabin out in the forest, and they’re quickly running out of supplies. Their mother left them some months ago with their other sister, Evie, who is desperately ill. The only instructions their mother gave them was to never open the door to anyone but her. When will she return? Will they survive with the little supplies that they have, or will they freeze in the frigid cold? Then comes the impending late-night knock on their door.
These two narratives are completely different. It was like a jigsaw puzzle and I was trying to figure out how these two story-lines were going to come together, but once they were, it was clever and the story left me eager to keep reading. It was intriguing and I found myself hooked. It wasn’t until the end that I found myself rather disappointed by this book. I’m not going to spoil the book so I’ll leave it there.
Besides the unrealistic and disappointing ending, I truly found The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent enjoyable. I rushed through it in one sitting and found myself captivated by where the author was taking us. I thought the characters were fantastically well written and the dialogues where charming. I would definitely read another book by Minka Kent, but I will say, she needs to work on her endings.
Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Minka Kent for an ARC to read and review. This will be published April 9, 2019.
Read my full review here: https://bit.ly/2HRQWLW