The Spider's House

by Sarah Diamond

“Diamond twists the coils of suspense to breaking point . . . a first-class psychologi-cal thriller that’s probably best read with the lights on.”— The Daily Record (London)
“Unbelievably chilling . . . this gripping and unsettling book is bound to have you reading late into the night.”— Peterborough Evening News (England)
When Anna Howell makes the shocking discovery that a notorious child murderess of the 1960s was the previous inhabitant of her picturesque old cottage, an unseen enemy begins to threaten her marriage, her sanity, and ultimately her life.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

364 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Sarah Diamond groeide op in Weymouth (UK). Ze studeerde Engelse literatuur aan de Reading University en werkt fulltime als copywriter in de reclamewereld. 's Avonds schrijft ze ladythrillers, ofwel spannende chicklit. Ze wilde altijd al schrijfster worden en schrijft al vanaf haar dertiende. Diamond debuteerde op haar 24e met The Beach Road (2000), die meteen aansloeg in de pers. Ze stopt veel van haar eigen leven in haar werk. The Beach Road is grotendeels gebaseerd op haar eigen schoolperiode. Haar beste ideeën bedenkt ze niet, ze komen gewoon in haar op, vooral op winteravonden. Diamond hoopt ooit een wereld bestseller te worden en daadwerkelijk te kunnen leven van haar boeken.
De schrijfster heeft advies voor chicks, die ook een roman zouden willen schrijven: heb geduld. Het is niet leuk wanneer je eerste pogingen niet lukken – maar ook haar eerste schrijfsels werden afgewezen. Dus niet paranoïde worden als het niet meteen lukt!

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Sarah Diamond's novel, The Spider's House, isn't without its problems. She uses the word, "judgemental", far too many times. Some of her secondary characters (like 95% of the people that her heroine Anna interviews over the course of the book) tend to all sound the same. And finally, it seems a little too pat and convenient that Anna is able to interview as many people as she does just based on the fact that she tells them she is a writer researching a story (somehow, all these people have time to talk to her within hours or days of her initial phone call to them, even though they don't know her from Adam).

That being said, The Spider's House still managed to pull me into it's psychological web of murder, insanity, secrets, lies, wounded lives, and fear. This book immediately sucked me in. I felt a real connection to Anna's character and how she saw herself. As the story progressed, it was apparent that this was going to be more like a "story within a story", as Anna's search for the truth behind child murderess Rebecca Fisher began to reveal more and more about Anna's own troubled past.

The story flowed smoothly and the tension gathered quiet strength all the while. By the last 50 pages, I was actually on edge. I guessed where the story was going, but it in no way lessened the impact of the final pages for me. It literally creeped me out, because by that time I was fully invested in Anna and her quest for the truth. Not sure if all readers will feel the same way, but The Spider's House was a real winner for me.

[Lauren]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and thought it was really well written. It reminds you that everything is never as simple as it seems and in life few things are black or white.

[Talea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one a lot. You really understand what the main character feels in terms of isolation and being an outcast as a 'newbie' in a small, close-knit town.
The climax is really good and I found the whole thing to be fairly believable with a good amount of 'didn't see that coming' surprises.

[Dana McNeely · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Spider's House by Sarah Diamond is one of those "Brit Books" with insidious appeal.

First, it hooks you. Diamond begins: "I find it very hard to look back to the time before it all started. When the name Rebecca Fisher meant no more to me than it did to anyone else."

Then it lulls you, with gentle descriptions of the small Dorset village to which Anna and her husband move - a wonderful job opportunity for him and a perfect place for her to begin writing her second novel.

All is not as it seems in this picturesque rural setting. Rebecca Fisher, the notorious child murderess of the 1960s, previously owned their cottage. Tales of how the villagers drove Rebecca out repel Anna, then perhaps more disturbing, they give her an idea for her second book - a novel based on Fisher's crime.

Anna begins interviewing names from Rebecca's past. Frightening emotions surface as she realizes she has many things in common with Rebecca Fisher. And as she discovers hidden secrets, her marriage, her mental stability, and her life are endangered.

Finally, enthralled, I read "The Spider's House" far into the night, until I was falling asleep in spite of myself and re-reading the same paragraphs over and over. Then I set my alarm to wake early so I could finish the last 50 or so pages.

I highly recommend "The Spider's House" by Sarah Diamond to any Anglophile, also to lovers of Mystery and Suspense, maybe especially to what used to be known as "Gothic Fiction". Well worth your time.

[Shiela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, this psychological thriller was a bit too slow for me. There were parts that I quite enjoyed and found creepy but I still felt that there was something lacking. The other major disappointment was that I was able to somewhat predict the culprit behind the strange occurrences. It was an average read.

[Lisa Greer · Rating 4 out of 5]

With her spare prose, Diamond's novels are gripping. She is a young, new British talent, and I have enjoyed everything I've read. This one was perhaps most spare in the writing style; the psychological suspense is the key.

[Aline21 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prachtig verhaal, het duurt even voor je er in zit... maar als het verhaal je dan eenmaal te pakken krijgt... dan wil je alleen maar door en door... en dan neemt het boek ook nog een paar prachtige wendingen waar je niet op rekent...

[JenniferB]

Good authoress. Story becomes a bit melodramatic though.

[Patricia Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good thriller...lots of red herrings..surprise ending!

[Rosa Macpherson · Rating 4 out of 5]

delicious. A slow burner but kept ne engaged from start to finish :)