Product Description
An instant New York Times bestseller!
"This is an absolute, can’t-put-it-down thriller...It’s truly a wild ride that had me flying through chapter after chapter—which I think is the perfect way to kick off your year of reading." —Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club Jan ’23 Pick)
Armed with only hazy memories, a woman who long ago witnessed her friend’s sudden, mysterious death, and has since spent her life trying to forget, sets out to track down answers. What she uncovers, deep in the woods, is hardly to be believed....
Maya was a high school senior when her best friend, Aubrey, mysteriously dropped dead in front of the enigmatic man named Frank whom they’d been spending time with all summer.
Seven years later, Maya lives in Boston with a loving boyfriend and is kicking the secret addiction that has allowed her to cope with what happened years ago, the gaps in her memories, and the lost time that she can’t account for. But her past comes rushing back when she comes across a recent YouTube video in which a young woman suddenly keels over and dies in a diner while sitting across from none other than Frank. Plunged into the trauma that has defined her life, Maya heads to her Berkshires hometown to relive that fateful summer—the influence Frank once had on her and the obsessive jealousy that nearly destroyed her friendship with Aubrey.
At her mother’s house, she excavates fragments of her past and notices hidden messages in her deceased Guatemalan father’s book that didn’t stand out to her earlier. To save herself, she must understand a story written before she was born, but time keeps running out, and soon, all roads are leading back to Frank’s cabin....
Utterly unique and captivating, The House in the Pines keeps you guessing about whether we can ever fully confront the past and return home.
Amazon.com Review
An Amazon Best Book of January 2023: The House in the Pines isn’t a whodunit, more of a head scratching howdunit. At least two young women have inexplicably died while in the company of one man, Frank. Seven years ago, Frank was the charismatic older boy that Maya was in love with, until she suspected he was interested in her childhood best friend Aubrey, too. And though she knows in her gut that Frank was responsible for Aubrey’s death, she can’t say how, and there are too many unexplained gaps and black holes in her memory for police to find her a reliable witness. Reyes’ debut has all a thriller reader could hope for: an unreliable narrator, addiction, misdirection, old secrets, and a seven-year old quest for justice. But it’s also an absorbing, cleverly plotted story of female friendship, loyalty repaid, maternal love, and the powerful desire to unlock secrets, even in the face of evil. —Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Editor
Review
"This is an absolute, can’t-put-it-down thriller...It’s truly a wild ride that had me flying through chapter after chapter—which I think is the perfect way to kick off your year of reading."
—Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club Jan ’23 Pick)
"Powerfully eerie and atmospheric, The House in the Pines is a compelling mix of psychological thriller and dark fairy tale. By focusing not on whodunnit but how and why, Ana Reyes' stellar debut explores the many ways our memories can fail us—and how they can set us free."
—Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of The House Across the Lake
“Loved it! Read in a single-sitting, totally enthralled and desperate to learn the truth!”
—Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“Reyes' debut is a gripping, intelligent thriller that chilled me to the bone. With its intricate plotting, gorgeous prose and complex, richly drawn characters, The House in the Pines is that rare book that you live inside from the first page to the last. I didn't want it to end—and I can't wait for readers to discover my new favorite author.”
—Andrea Bartz, New York Times bestselling author of We Were Never Here, The Herd, and The Lost Nig
