Published September 14th by Orion
Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Crime Fiction
Today I’m delighted to be opening the the blog tour for this spine-chilling thriller. Thank you to Tracy at Compulsive Readers Tours for the invitation to take part, and to Orion for the proof copy of the book.
********
SYNOPSIS:
Leaving isn’t safe… But staying would be deadly.
‘An addictive read. . . Patricia Highsmith meets Shirley Jackson’ – GILLIAN MCALLISTER
‘The Short Straw practically pulses with foreboding and menace. Get ready to stay up all night! Fans of Shirley Jackson and Ruth Ware will love this. No one writes of family dynamics quite like Holly Seddon.’ – JACK JORDAN
Three sisters find themselves lost in a storm at night, and seek safety at Moirthwaite Manor, where their mother once worked. They are shocked to find the isolated mansion that loomed so large through their troubled childhoods has long been abandoned. Drawing straws to decide who should get help, one sister heads back into the darkness. With the siblings separated, the deadly secrets hidden in the house finally make themselves known and we learn the unspeakable secret that binds the family together.
********
MY REVIEW:
“Can there be anything more frightening than realising that a bad dream was actually a memory, and then finding yourself back in it?”
Sisters Nina, Lizzie and Aisa Kelsey find themselves stranded during a storm and are forced to take shelter in Moirthwaite Manor, an isolated mansion where their mother once worked. The house is swathed in darkness and appears to have long since been abandoned, leaving them wondering what happened to its former residents. Unable to agree who should go for help, the sisters draw straws to decide, and one of them heads out into the cold, dark, terrifying night. But are those inside the house any safe?
Darkly atmospheric, eerie, and forbidding, The Short Straw is a cocktail of nerve-shredding chills and adrenaline that you won’t be able to put down. There’s an unrelenting unease and a dark, oppressive feeling that permeates the pages from the start. I felt like I was watching the opening of a horror film as the sisters approached Moirthwaite Manor, which has an ominous and sinister presence. It’s the kind of place where you wouldn’t be surprised to see bloodstains on the surfaces or an empty chair creaking as it rocks back and forth. It feels claustrophobic, like you can feel the walls closing in on you. I wanted to scream at them not to go in and just run away from this terrifying place. But they couldn’t hear me. So I read on while frozen with fear, desperate to know what came next but also terrified of what might be waiting in that house.
“The first thing they notice is the cold. Somehow, it feels colder inside than out. A frozen silence, years in the making, is embedded in every crevice. This place is a stranger to sunlight.”
The story is told in dual timelines, moving between the night the three sisters are sheltering from the storm and flashbacks told by their late mother, Rosemary, that slowly reveal the dark, monstrous history of the house. The characters are all richly drawn and compelling, with Kelsey’s being easy to root for while the background characters felt menacing and unreliable. This compounded the heart-pounding tension and made me feel an even greater rapport with the sisters. I also loved Seddon’s decision to have Rosemary narrate the flashbacks as it makes her feel real and allowed me to form a real connection to her. It also offered a different perspective on the sisters’ memories that was fascinating.
A story about three sisters trapped together in a storm is a dynamic ripe for conflict and there is tension, acrimony and drama between them from the start. But the sisters aren’t only dealing with family conflict. Each of them is trying to come to terms with their grief after Rosemary’s recent death and the author explores the different ways grief can affect us while also exploring topics such as the complexities of mother-daughter relationships and abandonment. She seamlessly weaves these more emotional themes with the haunted house trope and sense of creeping fear to create a thriller that doesn’t just send shivers down your spine but also tugs on your heartstrings.
Clever, chilling and surprising, The Short Straw is an outstanding thriller. And I loved every second of it. Just make sure you read it with ALL the lights on.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5
********
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Holly Seddon is the international bestselling author of TRY NOT TO BREATHE, DON’T CLOSE YOUR EYES, LOVE WILL TEAR US APART, THE HIT LIST and THE WOMAN ON THE BRIDGE.
After growing up in the English countryside obsessed with music and books, Holly worked in London as a journalist and editor. She now lives in Kent with her family and writes full time.
Alongside fellow author Gillian McAllister, Holly co-hosts the popular Honest Authors Podcast.
********
BUY THE BOOK:
Waterstones* | Bookshop.org* | Amazon*
********
Thanks for reading Bibliophiles xxxx
Please check out the reviews from the other bloggers taking part in the tour.
*All purchase links are affiliate links