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Gull Island: A Novel
A haunting psychological suspense novel about a young woman who visits her remote family cottage seeking answers to a murky past—for fans of Catherine McKenzie and Amber Cowie.
When her estranged father goes missing, Jude is persuaded by her mother to find his will. She travels to the family cottage on remote Gull Island, glad to be away from the city and to have the chance to sort through old memories, but is unsettled by what she finds there.
While contending with the neglected cottage and encroaching wild animals, Jude looks not only for her father’s will, but also for photographs of herself as a baby, desperate for proof that she was loved as a child. However, loneliness and terrifying dreams soon wear on her, bringing back frightening memories. Thoughts of her distant mother and intimidating father, her jealous sister, and her mother’s mysterious friend infest Jude’s increasingly clouded mind.
Then a fierce storm sweeps away her boat and severs her from the outside world. Forced to reckon with long-buried truths and filled with the terrible sense that the cottage may be haunted by more than the past, Jude begins to fear for her sanity—and her life.
When her estranged father goes missing, Jude is persuaded by her mother to find his will. She travels to the family cottage on remote Gull Island, glad to be away from the city and to have the chance to sort through old memories, but is unsettled by what she finds there.
While contending with the neglected cottage and encroaching wild animals, Jude looks not only for her father’s will, but also for photographs of herself as a baby, desperate for proof that she was loved as a child. However, loneliness and terrifying dreams soon wear on her, bringing back frightening memories. Thoughts of her distant mother and intimidating father, her jealous sister, and her mother’s mysterious friend infest Jude’s increasingly clouded mind.
Then a fierce storm sweeps away her boat and severs her from the outside world. Forced to reckon with long-buried truths and filled with the terrible sense that the cottage may be haunted by more than the past, Jude begins to fear for her sanity—and her life.
256 pages, Paperback
First published September 5, 2023
109 people are currently reading
2001 people want to read
About the author
Anna Porter
38 books80 followersAnna (Szigethy) Porter began her Canadian publishing career in 1969 at McClelland & Stewart (M&S) as editorial coordinator, under Jack McClelland’s directorship. Porter eventually rose to become VP and editor-in-chief at M&S. She worked with, among others, Margaret Laurence, Matt Cohen, Al Purdy, Irving Layton, Peter C Newman and Margaret Atwood.
Porter started her publishing company, Key Porter Books, in partnership with Key Publishers' Michael de Pencier in 1982. They published, among others, Allan Fotheringham, Jean Chretien, Joe Clark, Margaret Atwood, Peter Lougheed, Fred Bruemmer and Conrad Black.
Anna Porter is an Officer of the Order of Canada and the recipient of the Order of Ontario.
Anna Porter retired from publishing in April 2005. She is the author of, so far, 12 books.
Porter started her publishing company, Key Porter Books, in partnership with Key Publishers' Michael de Pencier in 1982. They published, among others, Allan Fotheringham, Jean Chretien, Joe Clark, Margaret Atwood, Peter Lougheed, Fred Bruemmer and Conrad Black.
Anna Porter is an Officer of the Order of Canada and the recipient of the Order of Ontario.
Anna Porter retired from publishing in April 2005. She is the author of, so far, 12 books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 261 reviews
August 9, 2023
Oh my God this fucking bored me to death that I couldn't even bring myself to finish it. It felt like a chore to read and reading should never feel like a chore. Not only that, its all single person narrative with no dialog to give you a break. Its dark moment after fucking dark moment that just depresses the reader and I just couldn't take anymore of it. I dreaded picking it up and felt like I could be reading something better. So I have DNF this book and it took me awhile to come to the conclusion to do so for this moment when a month later I am not even 100 pages in. Sorry. Really looked forward to this one only to be let down.
September 27, 2023
This book kept showing up in my feed, so as I liked the cover, I became curious about it and was able to immediately obtain a copy from the library.
It’s a slow burn but I did love the storytelling.
The writing is also very good.
I just wanted more POV.
Regardless, I really enjoyed this small book, written in first person. There are not a lot of dialogues.
It’s more like a search for yourself, a trip to those memories that are deep in your soul, looking for answers to things that you couldn’t understand.
Anyways, I didn’t find it that suspenseful, as described in the synopsis, but I was entertained, and that’s what I expected.
Ebook (Kobo): 251 pages (33 chapters), 77k words
Audiobook narrated by Madeleine Maby: 7.8 hours (normal speed)
It’s a slow burn but I did love the storytelling.
The writing is also very good.
I just wanted more POV.
Regardless, I really enjoyed this small book, written in first person. There are not a lot of dialogues.
It’s more like a search for yourself, a trip to those memories that are deep in your soul, looking for answers to things that you couldn’t understand.
Anyways, I didn’t find it that suspenseful, as described in the synopsis, but I was entertained, and that’s what I expected.
Ebook (Kobo): 251 pages (33 chapters), 77k words
Audiobook narrated by Madeleine Maby: 7.8 hours (normal speed)
August 16, 2023
Jude returns to her family’s secluded cottage searching for some answers from her past. Along with her father’s will as he’s disappeared and Jude’s mother has asked her to locate the will.
A nasty storm hits, the power is out and Jude’s only transportation off the island has drifted off.
Will Jude escape? Or will her drinking habit get the best of her?
If this wasn’t an ARC, I would have abandoned this read at the beginning. I had such a hard time with it. The characters weren’t introduced well at the beginning. The author didn’t really explain where the story took place. Had I not been from Ontario, I wouldn’t know where the location was.
I really didn’t understand the plot of the book and I didn’t find it matched the actual story. It went around in circles, repeated the same things.
I was ready for a real, gripping psychological thriller, but this wasn’t it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for a DRC. Gull Island is available September 5.
A nasty storm hits, the power is out and Jude’s only transportation off the island has drifted off.
Will Jude escape? Or will her drinking habit get the best of her?
If this wasn’t an ARC, I would have abandoned this read at the beginning. I had such a hard time with it. The characters weren’t introduced well at the beginning. The author didn’t really explain where the story took place. Had I not been from Ontario, I wouldn’t know where the location was.
I really didn’t understand the plot of the book and I didn’t find it matched the actual story. It went around in circles, repeated the same things.
I was ready for a real, gripping psychological thriller, but this wasn’t it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for a DRC. Gull Island is available September 5.
October 3, 2023
This was so depressing. I thought it would get better…but it didn’t. Never trusting a B&N monthly pick again.
December 1, 2023
how did this get published
November 14, 2023
This book was a total let down. I'm still waiting on the book that the synopsis promised, cause this wasn't it.
I mean, so many things wrong with this book, but I absolutely hated that there were never any answers. Ever.
Also wish it had been advertised as a "stream of consciousness" writing style. Had I known that, I would have never picked this book up.
But seriously...what did I read? Where was the plot? WHAT EVEN HAPPENED?!?
I mean, so many things wrong with this book, but I absolutely hated that there were never any answers. Ever.
Also wish it had been advertised as a "stream of consciousness" writing style. Had I known that, I would have never picked this book up.
But seriously...what did I read? Where was the plot? WHAT EVEN HAPPENED?!?
April 14, 2024
There's a lot to criticize about this book but I still honestly kind of liked it
December 10, 2023
I don't even want to give one star. What is going on? Where am I? What day is it? No food for 3-4 days? Bam here's a body.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 26, 2023
A slow burn, this gothic-inspired novel is dark, claustrophobic and brimming with fetid secrets.
Jude, our middle-aged first-person POV narrator, is as unreliable as they come. Never fully sober, Jude is hallucinatory, and traumatized as she takes a trip down memory lane. On her first solo visit to the the family’s rotting cottage, a creepy collection of cobbled-together cabins on their deserted private island, Jude is on a self-appointed mission to provide closure to a number of toxic family secrets. Including getting to the bottom of her uber-strange parents and their behavior. Jude’s mother, a repressed academic now suffering from dementia, is almost, but not quite, as unpleasant as her father, - a malevolent, abusive, dictatorial hunter with no regard for any member of his family, and a growing stockpile of mysteriously accumulated millions.
“It was the familiar pain of my childhood, one of rejection, of knowing that no matter how much I cried, no one would come to comfort me”.
When Jude encounters an unexpected storm that will limit her options to leave the island, her visit becomes a hazy non-linear stream of revelations, rememberings, discoveries and imaginings, with no one, including the reader, able to parse out exactly what falls into each category. Populated by rank and rotting animal carcasses, bloody falls and scrapes, and all sorts of things that go bump in the night, as the tension climbs to a fever pitch, the story assumes a sinister tone that echos the best of Daphne Du Maurier.
A disturbing and engrossing read, I enjoyed this book, and the author’s skill in crafting it.
A great big thank you to the publisher and the author for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.
#simonschusterCA @AnnaPorter_Anna
Jude, our middle-aged first-person POV narrator, is as unreliable as they come. Never fully sober, Jude is hallucinatory, and traumatized as she takes a trip down memory lane. On her first solo visit to the the family’s rotting cottage, a creepy collection of cobbled-together cabins on their deserted private island, Jude is on a self-appointed mission to provide closure to a number of toxic family secrets. Including getting to the bottom of her uber-strange parents and their behavior. Jude’s mother, a repressed academic now suffering from dementia, is almost, but not quite, as unpleasant as her father, - a malevolent, abusive, dictatorial hunter with no regard for any member of his family, and a growing stockpile of mysteriously accumulated millions.
“It was the familiar pain of my childhood, one of rejection, of knowing that no matter how much I cried, no one would come to comfort me”.
When Jude encounters an unexpected storm that will limit her options to leave the island, her visit becomes a hazy non-linear stream of revelations, rememberings, discoveries and imaginings, with no one, including the reader, able to parse out exactly what falls into each category. Populated by rank and rotting animal carcasses, bloody falls and scrapes, and all sorts of things that go bump in the night, as the tension climbs to a fever pitch, the story assumes a sinister tone that echos the best of Daphne Du Maurier.
A disturbing and engrossing read, I enjoyed this book, and the author’s skill in crafting it.
A great big thank you to the publisher and the author for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.
#simonschusterCA @AnnaPorter_Anna
September 8, 2023
A personification of the ghosts who haunt us throughout life.
How did the book make me feel/think?
I don’t know who my father is — but I do know I’m 48% Norwegian. I watched my father die twice, once literally and once metaphorically.
“Gull Island” resonated with me as a representation of the unresolved questions and emotional ghosts that can haunt us when we lack critical pieces of our personal history and identity. This kind of uncertainty indeed leaves many of us feeling adrift and disconnected from ourselves, like we’re wandering alone in a fog.
When everything we hold dear seems to slip away or becomes lost in the darkness, it can be an incredibly challenging experience. The feeling of being crushed by the walls of discovery can be overwhelming, and it’s natural to seek coping mechanisms like alcohol to numb the pain.
“Gull Island” is about surviving and finding a way to get back up regardless of how daunting the journey in front of us appears to be and what creatures lurk in the dark.
As the pages turn and the darkness begins to recede, readers become emotionally invested in the protagonist’s (Jude) quest for answers and self-discovery. They share Jude’s hopes, fears, and triumphs, and they will find them cheering for her as she navigates the twists and turns of her journey.
That’s how “Gull Island” made me feel.
WRITTEN: 9 September 2023
How did the book make me feel/think?
I don’t know who my father is — but I do know I’m 48% Norwegian. I watched my father die twice, once literally and once metaphorically.
“Gull Island” resonated with me as a representation of the unresolved questions and emotional ghosts that can haunt us when we lack critical pieces of our personal history and identity. This kind of uncertainty indeed leaves many of us feeling adrift and disconnected from ourselves, like we’re wandering alone in a fog.
When everything we hold dear seems to slip away or becomes lost in the darkness, it can be an incredibly challenging experience. The feeling of being crushed by the walls of discovery can be overwhelming, and it’s natural to seek coping mechanisms like alcohol to numb the pain.
“Gull Island” is about surviving and finding a way to get back up regardless of how daunting the journey in front of us appears to be and what creatures lurk in the dark.
As the pages turn and the darkness begins to recede, readers become emotionally invested in the protagonist’s (Jude) quest for answers and self-discovery. They share Jude’s hopes, fears, and triumphs, and they will find them cheering for her as she navigates the twists and turns of her journey.
That’s how “Gull Island” made me feel.
WRITTEN: 9 September 2023
May 23, 2024
BORING. WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY. I really should have read the Barnes and noble, and good read reviews. Don’t bother wasting your time.
March 18, 2024
Gull Island, man, what a bummer.
This book's synopsis and cover drew me right in, but sadly, it didn't live up to my expectations in terms of a captivating and thrilling read.
Despite the engaging family mystery; the slow pace, repetitive nature, and confusing writing style made it hard to stay focused. Many characters felt underdeveloped, leading to a disjointed plot.
Listening to the audiobook, I often found myself zoning out. It leans more towards literary fiction, a genre that isn't my usual preference. Fans of mystery and gothic themes might find more enjoyment in this book.
This book's synopsis and cover drew me right in, but sadly, it didn't live up to my expectations in terms of a captivating and thrilling read.
Despite the engaging family mystery; the slow pace, repetitive nature, and confusing writing style made it hard to stay focused. Many characters felt underdeveloped, leading to a disjointed plot.
Listening to the audiobook, I often found myself zoning out. It leans more towards literary fiction, a genre that isn't my usual preference. Fans of mystery and gothic themes might find more enjoyment in this book.
August 17, 2023
[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Gull Island releases September 5, 2023
I fully regret spending my time on this title.
Straight away, I noticed that the writing style was very different with a lot of short and choppy sentences. The fluidity just wasn’t there and it really impeded the reading experience.
Not once did we actually see the fmc interact with anyone else in the present timeline on the secluded island (any and all dialogue is presented as flashback styles). I never realized the exclusion of any active dialogue would bother me so much until I read this.
I was hoping to get something eerie and atmospheric, but the story really fell short.
This read like such a flat trip down memory lane from the perspective of an alcoholic, rather than a gripping mystery about the search for a missing father.
The characterizations were so odd and I felt like I knew more about the main characters sister, Gina, than I did about the main character.
Gull Island suffered from a lot of tell, not show, and it took too long to convey the plot to the reader.
Jade’s motivations as a character (especially tying into the end reveal) made absolutely no sense, and nothing was explained properly.
In my opinion, this just wasn’t a strong psychological thriller, and probably would have fared better with a completely different approach to the writing structure, with more opportunities to be outside of the narrators head.
cw: alcoholic, parent with dementia, unfavourable views towards autistic people
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Gull Island releases September 5, 2023
I fully regret spending my time on this title.
Straight away, I noticed that the writing style was very different with a lot of short and choppy sentences. The fluidity just wasn’t there and it really impeded the reading experience.
Not once did we actually see the fmc interact with anyone else in the present timeline on the secluded island (any and all dialogue is presented as flashback styles). I never realized the exclusion of any active dialogue would bother me so much until I read this.
I was hoping to get something eerie and atmospheric, but the story really fell short.
This read like such a flat trip down memory lane from the perspective of an alcoholic, rather than a gripping mystery about the search for a missing father.
The characterizations were so odd and I felt like I knew more about the main characters sister, Gina, than I did about the main character.
Gull Island suffered from a lot of tell, not show, and it took too long to convey the plot to the reader.
Jade’s motivations as a character (especially tying into the end reveal) made absolutely no sense, and nothing was explained properly.
In my opinion, this just wasn’t a strong psychological thriller, and probably would have fared better with a completely different approach to the writing structure, with more opportunities to be outside of the narrators head.
cw: alcoholic, parent with dementia, unfavourable views towards autistic people
August 9, 2023
LAKESIDE 🛶 book review featuring “Gull Island” by Anna Porter!
BOOK REVIEW: 🖤🖤🖤/5
Jude returns to her family’s remote cottage on Gull Island to search for ANSWERS. Her estranged father has gone missing and her mother has asked her to seek out his will.
Returning to the island and the destitute cottage now feels lonelier then ever … and Jude has flashbacks of the dark times of her childhood. As she looks for her father’s will, she is also looking for proof that at one time she had a happy and loving childhood. But sadly, slices of good times were far and few between 💔
When a terrible storm severs the tie to her boat, Jude is now a prisoner of the island and must come face to face with much more than the long buried secrets of her family. Jude has a drinking problem and this adds to the haunting and unreliable nature of the story. It is hard to decipher what is reality and what is not as she SPIRALS into the nightmares of her troubled family and the island ☠️
Thank you kindly to @simonschusterca @netgalley and Anna Porter for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on September 5, 2023! Always happy to support a Canadian author 🇨🇦
October 23, 2024
Did not finish. This book was boring and I couldn’t get into it
July 10, 2025
This book was interesting for me.
I could see the bones of the book and where it wanted to go, but it didn't execute as smoothly as it could of.
We follow one single character moving back and forth between the current day and her memories, and there's a few "mysteries" going on. Our lead, Jude, is trying to find out some important information about herself and her family, and comes across some interesting discoveries. We learn a lot about her family dynamic and how the family is not the "perfect" family.
There's lots of unresolved drama in the family, which is the most interesting part.
I think this book could have gotten a little more out of the author to make it really hit well. It's a bit too slow for me, and the ending just happens and I'm not even sure if it tied up the loose ends to make it feel like a rewarding read.
So I'm in between how I feel about it. I see a lot of potential and want to read more by Anna Porter, but I can also say this book wasn't for me and it was difficult to get through.
Bonus points for being set in Ontario.
Two out of five stars.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
I could see the bones of the book and where it wanted to go, but it didn't execute as smoothly as it could of.
We follow one single character moving back and forth between the current day and her memories, and there's a few "mysteries" going on. Our lead, Jude, is trying to find out some important information about herself and her family, and comes across some interesting discoveries. We learn a lot about her family dynamic and how the family is not the "perfect" family.
There's lots of unresolved drama in the family, which is the most interesting part.
I think this book could have gotten a little more out of the author to make it really hit well. It's a bit too slow for me, and the ending just happens and I'm not even sure if it tied up the loose ends to make it feel like a rewarding read.
So I'm in between how I feel about it. I see a lot of potential and want to read more by Anna Porter, but I can also say this book wasn't for me and it was difficult to get through.
Bonus points for being set in Ontario.
Two out of five stars.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
November 14, 2023
I kept waiting for this book to get interesting and I'm still waiting.
September 5, 2023
There’s nothing I love more than an unsettling and atmospheric thriller that completely sucks me in. While Gull Island sounded like it would fit the bill, unfortunately it didn’t work out for me. There is definitely a target audience for this book, but I don’t think I was it.
Gull Island starts off quite slow, but the ominous tone and mysteries surrounding Jude’s father—and her family as a whole—did keep me reading. However, I found the writing very choppy, scattered, and repetitive at times. I think this was a style choice from the author, since it reflected the mental state of our narrator, Jude, who was an alcoholic. I still found it distracting and hard to follow. There are also many characters introduced with little explanation or background, which added to the confusion. I was really hoping hoping for a knockout ending to save it for me but was left with more questions than answers.
I think Gull Island would fall into more of literary fiction category, which is a genre I rarely choose to read. Anna Porter is clearly an experienced author, so perhaps I just wasn’t a match for this one. If you enjoy literary fiction, a bit of mystery, and some gothic undertones, then I think is a novel you might enjoy.
A big thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
TW: alcoholism, parent with dementia, cruelty and discrimination towards autistic people, child death by drowning
Gull Island starts off quite slow, but the ominous tone and mysteries surrounding Jude’s father—and her family as a whole—did keep me reading. However, I found the writing very choppy, scattered, and repetitive at times. I think this was a style choice from the author, since it reflected the mental state of our narrator, Jude, who was an alcoholic. I still found it distracting and hard to follow. There are also many characters introduced with little explanation or background, which added to the confusion. I was really hoping hoping for a knockout ending to save it for me but was left with more questions than answers.
I think Gull Island would fall into more of literary fiction category, which is a genre I rarely choose to read. Anna Porter is clearly an experienced author, so perhaps I just wasn’t a match for this one. If you enjoy literary fiction, a bit of mystery, and some gothic undertones, then I think is a novel you might enjoy.
A big thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
TW: alcoholism, parent with dementia, cruelty and discrimination towards autistic people, child death by drowning
October 9, 2023
This book stayed with me for awhile after I finished it. It didn't help that I read it at the family cottage in early October. (Fall being the most ominous season for Ontario cottages despite this story taking place in early April - which is a close second!)
The atmospheric elements produced by Jude's exposure to the island are many and varied. References to birds and weather, particularly, correspond with her eroding mental, emotional - and physical state as the reader wonders what to believe. This is a tool of Gothic lit and I always feel it's at home in our Canadian wilderness.
It reminded me of Margaret Atwood's "Surfacing" in these ways, but also through Porter's use of an unreliable female protagonist, themes of exploration and discovery of the past through the present lens, and, of course, a search for identity and sought after re-birth through the 'missing' parent motif.
I would say only that the dedication to manifesting and maintaining Gull Island in the reader's mind could have taken a step back at times to better reveal its characters' connections to it.
The atmospheric elements produced by Jude's exposure to the island are many and varied. References to birds and weather, particularly, correspond with her eroding mental, emotional - and physical state as the reader wonders what to believe. This is a tool of Gothic lit and I always feel it's at home in our Canadian wilderness.
It reminded me of Margaret Atwood's "Surfacing" in these ways, but also through Porter's use of an unreliable female protagonist, themes of exploration and discovery of the past through the present lens, and, of course, a search for identity and sought after re-birth through the 'missing' parent motif.
I would say only that the dedication to manifesting and maintaining Gull Island in the reader's mind could have taken a step back at times to better reveal its characters' connections to it.
January 1, 2024
I enjoyed this book. There was so much to unpack after finishing it that it stayed with me for a while. At first I was thrown off by the single pov and the 'stream of consciousness' style but after a few chapters I rather enjoyed this a-typical technique. It read like literary fiction, but it was not boring. There was so much foreshadowing and 'weirdness' I couldn't wait to get to the end to find out how it ends. The ending is ambiguous, not clearly spelled out which fit well with the unreliable narrator theme. Readers will have to ponder the ending and go deep within themselves to find closure.
July 10, 2024
Spoiler alert: Literally everything dies in this book. The dog dies, the birds die, ducks die, muskrat dies, the elephant dies, kids die, everything friggen dies. Zero stars. Do not recommend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 1, 2025
Cool book and creepy thriller ending
I like the layout of the book and going back and forth from past to present
10/10 would read again
Good family drama
I like the layout of the book and going back and forth from past to present
10/10 would read again
Good family drama
December 22, 2024
i think...this book is interesting because i like what it was trying to do. it truly picks you up and places you into a hazy, alcoholic, dizzy dreamlike void of depressing childhood memories and has you unable to orient yourself much like the main character. i had such a hard time picturing any actual settings or the characters as real people, much like how when you try to remember a dream but can only remember the IDEA of a person or place. i don't know if that was on purpose, the concept kind of works with the overall tone but i just don't know if it was done WELL is the thing. i spent the whole book trying to decide if a lot of it was intentional or just bad writing that i was giving intention to. i never really connected with any of the characters enough to care or feel effected by anything happening to them either so as i turned the final page it felt very "well ok. what was all that for"
March 9, 2024
What can I say about this book.. I have no idea. I’m no writer. However, I could think of a couple of ways on how to make this book 10x better. 1. I would make sure there was an actual time line or even alternating chapters between the past and present. Just make it make sense. 2. More descriptive wording and less contradictions ( make what’s going on to the MC actually make sense).
I love reading but for only being 240 pages this book drug out longer than it should’ve. It was extremely predictable. I had guessed all the main plot twists by page 40..
This entire book the MC talks about her life and how awful it was. Jude (the MC) is an alcoholic/ pill popper. Her father has been missing for over a month. Her mother that has dementia wants her to go out to the family cottages to find his will. While she’s there she reflects back on her childhood. Jude would also think at some of her time there as an adult before she stopped going to the cottages. She seems to be incredibly naive and unaware of what has been going on her entire life..
Honestly, there’s no consistency in the story line. This story is all over the place. I had a hard time picturing anything that was going on with this book because of how poorly it was explained. The ending was rushed and terribly explained. I do NOT recommend.
I love reading but for only being 240 pages this book drug out longer than it should’ve. It was extremely predictable. I had guessed all the main plot twists by page 40..
This entire book the MC talks about her life and how awful it was. Jude (the MC) is an alcoholic/ pill popper. Her father has been missing for over a month. Her mother that has dementia wants her to go out to the family cottages to find his will. While she’s there she reflects back on her childhood. Jude would also think at some of her time there as an adult before she stopped going to the cottages. She seems to be incredibly naive and unaware of what has been going on her entire life..
Honestly, there’s no consistency in the story line. This story is all over the place. I had a hard time picturing anything that was going on with this book because of how poorly it was explained. The ending was rushed and terribly explained. I do NOT recommend.
March 14, 2024
2.5. I picked this book up because it was suggested as a Barnes and Noble pick for the month. Disappointing that I do not concur with their recommendation. The book seemed to take a long time to get to the crux of the uncomfortable situation, and then, just like that, the ending occurred. What a disappointing ending - rushed, many loose ends, so many questions.
April 2, 2025
This was one of the most difficult books to get into that I've ever read - had to keep going back and reading the first 3 or 4 pages to try to fill in the blanks about the characters and situation. My first thought was that it felt like a subsequent book in a series where the first book actually explained who everyone was and how they were related - but this seems to be a standalone and I'm still stumped about some of the names mentioned at the start. I ended up making a chart with each name mentioned listed along the side, and filling in where they fit in as I went along. I still had some lonely names on the list when I started skipping, because I just couldn't get a handle on the main characters and their reasons and purposes. At a sentence level, the writing here is competent and fairly clear - but looking at the big picture, there were too many plot and personality gaps and time slips, and I lost interest completely. 2 1/2 stars rounded up because Canadian, eh?
November 8, 2025
This book was horrible; repetitive & boring, with animal cruelty-- nope! I was going to try to power through but I stopped halfway. Literally nothing was happening. The main character obsessed over some family secret she couldn't figure out while constantly harping about her mother's dementia. Her father had this disgusting fetish for killing innocent animals. It was just too much.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 31, 2024
*2.5/5
Ugh unfortunately such a flop. Nothing thrilling about this whatsoever and even though it’s a pretty short book it felt so slow. I did like a few aspects of the plot, like the setting and the plot line of her sister’s son dying. The ending also left much to be desired.
Ugh unfortunately such a flop. Nothing thrilling about this whatsoever and even though it’s a pretty short book it felt so slow. I did like a few aspects of the plot, like the setting and the plot line of her sister’s son dying. The ending also left much to be desired.
July 18, 2024
this was literally one of the worst books I’ve ever read in my life, if I could give it 0 stars I would. nothing in this book felt necessary to the story, it felt like a lifetime movie but in the form of a book. this was truly so painful for me to finish. so bad, please don’t read this ever
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