The House in the Pines: A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick and New York Times bestseller - a twisty thriller that will have you reading through the night

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Ana Reyes’s debut is chilling, atmospheric, and addictive—a perfect thriller. I didn’t want it to end.”

The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes: 9780593186732

The novel works as an intense psychological thriller that thrives on subtle, but forceful, action.” Isn’t it interesting two healthy young women dropped death after talking with the same guy? Is he death whisperer? Is he an evil magician? At the end of the novel, Maya decides that she will return to Guatemala and finish her father’s story by ‘writing Pixan home’. What’s the significance of this decision? This book is REALLY invested in this murder-by-hypnosis plot. SO much of the book is intended to convince us that YES, this could actually happen IF a person is susceptible. (And that people who read a lot are susceptible!) Maya gets off drugs and begins to work on finishing her father’s book. Spoiler Discussion for The House in the PinesMaya and Dan’s characters have depth. Maya is intelligent, loves poetry and reading, and likes a good buzz. However, she hasn’t been able to write after college. Is she delusional, is she in danger, or is it all a dream? Dan is kind, open and honest, loves books, is studying for law school exams, and is a procrastinator. The secondary characters of Maya’s mom, her friend, Aubrey, and Frank play pivotal roles in the story.

House in the Pines - Jen Ryland Spoiler Discussion for The House in the Pines - Jen Ryland

I was able to listen to a final version as well. Although the narrator was fine there was not a heads up when we were in the past, I like a heads up.

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My opinion: House in the Pines was kind of just a book about a creepy old librarian who gaslit a teenage girl, possibly abused her (did he sleep with her or just invade her mind?), and basically ruined her life by either killing her best friend (who was trying to get Maya to leave Frank) or convincing her that he did. So he’s either a murder and/or an abuser. 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.” THE HOUSE IN THE PINES focuses on Maya's grief and determination to find out the truth about her high school best friend Aubrey's death. Maya suffers from a lot of trauma after her best friend's death and she abuses Klonopin and alcohol to mask the grief. Her boyfriend Dan is supportive towards Maya's grief, but Maya knows that she needs to learn how to cope with these memories. When Maya visits her mother's house, years after Aubrey's death, she believes she can handle the emotional baggage her hometown once gave her. However, when clues to Aubrey's death in fact link her to her ex-boyfriend Frank, Maya has to find out the truth about what happened to her best friend. Overall, this was fine as a debut. I can't say I was overly invested with the story or with how unreliable Maya was, but I'm not mad I read it. I wouldn't put this in the thriller category either, a psychological something, not sure what.