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Stranger in the Woods
Photographer Isla Wilson is thrilled she’s landed her dream job, but the clients who hired her are getting stranger by the day.
It sounded so perfect - a month‘s assignment at the misty, sprawling Scottish Highlands property of brilliant architect Alban McGregor, and his wife, Jessica.
But deep in the woods, there is a chilling playhouse.
Two years ago, the McGregors’ daughter, Elodie, died after being abducted and taken there. Alban refuses to knock the playhouse down, and he keeps a picture of it on his wall.
Isla senses that both Alban and Jessica are keeping terrible secrets.
The closer Isla comes to getting answers about Elodie, the more the danger mounts. And with a dense cover of snow now blanketing the town, all chance of escape might already be gone.
It sounded so perfect - a month‘s assignment at the misty, sprawling Scottish Highlands property of brilliant architect Alban McGregor, and his wife, Jessica.
But deep in the woods, there is a chilling playhouse.
Two years ago, the McGregors’ daughter, Elodie, died after being abducted and taken there. Alban refuses to knock the playhouse down, and he keeps a picture of it on his wall.
Isla senses that both Alban and Jessica are keeping terrible secrets.
The closer Isla comes to getting answers about Elodie, the more the danger mounts. And with a dense cover of snow now blanketing the town, all chance of escape might already be gone.
404 pages, Paperback
First published September 16, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,159 reviews
January 4, 2019
Note: There are no overt spoilers here, but there are mentions of things that could lead the more astute reader to the plot twist.
Stranger in the Woods is a prime example of an author who just tried too hard. The dialogue, the threads of plot and the resolution all felt contrived and pushed the limits of credibility, whilst the equally implausible “twist” failed to impress and was guessable less than halfway through the novel.
When the story begins, Isla, a 26 year old Australian photographer, has decided to move beyond her comfort zone and accept a short term job in Scotland, creating a portfolio that reflects accomplished architect Alban. Alban and his wife Jessica have one child, 2 year old Rhiannon, and are still mourning the loss of their 8 year old daughter Elodie, who was abducted and died the same night Rhiannon was born. Isla is drawn to the mystery of who was responsible for Elodie’s death and finds herself drawn into a tangled web of lies and deceit.
My first problem is one of consistency that I am hoping is the result of poor Kindle editing and not careless writing. In one scene, Isla meets Trent, another Australian in Scotland, and is the target of marked hostility from the strange man. They meet once more at a house party, where Trent is confrontational, insisting he knows Isla, though she swears she has never met him. Later in the book, Isla tells another character, Aubrey, that Trent hit on her. It never happened. Then, on two separate occasions, the book mentions that Trent attempted to kiss her. Now unless that scene somehow ended up on the Kindle cutting room floor, that event never occurred. I even paged back through the entire story but was unable to locate the elusive kiss. If another reader finds it in the Kindle edition, I would appreciate a heads up. I just can’t imagine that I’ve missed it, but it’s possible.
The second issue with which I take umbrage is the author’s predilection for the advancement of her red herrings, particularly in the form of stilted dialogue and over-the-top feints. For example, when Isla and local school teacher Rory are discussing Elodie’s disappearance, their conversation is chock full of innuendo and inferred guilt.
“There has to be an answer in this somewhere.”
He studied my face with his intense blue eyes. “Yes,
indeed there does.”
These attempts to derail the reader and cast doubt are not only far too frequent but also distracting and obvious.
The next failure here is in the inclusion of too many plot threads. There is a lesbian love affair, a spotlight on epilepsy and how it can effect one’s lifestyle, the morality of surrogacy, mentions of cults, allegations of child abuse, and the list goes on. Some of these admittedly attempted to move forward the storyline, but some were extraneous and tested my patience. Championing one or two causes produces empathy. Taking on all of the ills of society just stretched my sensibilities to the point of being overwhelmed. It began to feel like one huge public service announcement attempting to hide behind an opaque narrative.
Finally, the resolution in the form of the book’s epilogue is rushed, ridiculously out of character for those involved and far too implausible to possibly believe. Once again, the author was maddeningly transparent in her haste to tie up loose ends and did so by telling the reader what happened rather than allowing it to unfold through the characters themselves.
In the end, there were just too many issues to find this one enjoyable. Two stars for effort.
Stranger in the Woods is a prime example of an author who just tried too hard. The dialogue, the threads of plot and the resolution all felt contrived and pushed the limits of credibility, whilst the equally implausible “twist” failed to impress and was guessable less than halfway through the novel.
When the story begins, Isla, a 26 year old Australian photographer, has decided to move beyond her comfort zone and accept a short term job in Scotland, creating a portfolio that reflects accomplished architect Alban. Alban and his wife Jessica have one child, 2 year old Rhiannon, and are still mourning the loss of their 8 year old daughter Elodie, who was abducted and died the same night Rhiannon was born. Isla is drawn to the mystery of who was responsible for Elodie’s death and finds herself drawn into a tangled web of lies and deceit.
My first problem is one of consistency that I am hoping is the result of poor Kindle editing and not careless writing. In one scene, Isla meets Trent, another Australian in Scotland, and is the target of marked hostility from the strange man. They meet once more at a house party, where Trent is confrontational, insisting he knows Isla, though she swears she has never met him. Later in the book, Isla tells another character, Aubrey, that Trent hit on her. It never happened. Then, on two separate occasions, the book mentions that Trent attempted to kiss her. Now unless that scene somehow ended up on the Kindle cutting room floor, that event never occurred. I even paged back through the entire story but was unable to locate the elusive kiss. If another reader finds it in the Kindle edition, I would appreciate a heads up. I just can’t imagine that I’ve missed it, but it’s possible.
The second issue with which I take umbrage is the author’s predilection for the advancement of her red herrings, particularly in the form of stilted dialogue and over-the-top feints. For example, when Isla and local school teacher Rory are discussing Elodie’s disappearance, their conversation is chock full of innuendo and inferred guilt.
“There has to be an answer in this somewhere.”
He studied my face with his intense blue eyes. “Yes,
indeed there does.”
These attempts to derail the reader and cast doubt are not only far too frequent but also distracting and obvious.
The next failure here is in the inclusion of too many plot threads. There is a lesbian love affair, a spotlight on epilepsy and how it can effect one’s lifestyle, the morality of surrogacy, mentions of cults, allegations of child abuse, and the list goes on. Some of these admittedly attempted to move forward the storyline, but some were extraneous and tested my patience. Championing one or two causes produces empathy. Taking on all of the ills of society just stretched my sensibilities to the point of being overwhelmed. It began to feel like one huge public service announcement attempting to hide behind an opaque narrative.
Finally, the resolution in the form of the book’s epilogue is rushed, ridiculously out of character for those involved and far too implausible to possibly believe. Once again, the author was maddeningly transparent in her haste to tie up loose ends and did so by telling the reader what happened rather than allowing it to unfold through the characters themselves.
In the end, there were just too many issues to find this one enjoyable. Two stars for effort.
October 8, 2022
I need to remind myself that odds are if the book is a freebie from Audible, it’s likely to not be awesome. I found this one to have too many characters, many not developed, a confusing plot, and was generally a drag. The audible book was narrated with a heavy brogue and that, in addition to names my brain struggled to keep track of, made the whole book a lesson in frustration. I was glad when it ended and (without spoilers), the whole ending was as complicated and unbelievable as the rest of the book.
November 21, 2018
Isla Wilson was a Sydney girl through and through. Her love of photography led her to many interesting jobs, and many not-so-easy-to-work-with clients. But when she applied for a month-long assignment in the Scottish Highlands and was given the job immediately, she didn’t know whether to be excited or nervous – perhaps both.
Architect Alban McGregor and his wife Jessica owned the property where Isla would be staying and working, and Greer was the person who was coordinating it all. But as Isla began to learn the history of Braithnoch, she also learned about the abduction of Alban and Jessica’s eight-year-old daughter Elodie two years prior, and the birth of Rhiannon. What she learned shocked and horrified her. Jessica seemed neurotic; Alban distant and moody. What on earth had she let herself in for?
With the old, dilapidated playhouse still standing; the strange and eerie tattie bogles dotting the landscape; and the neighbours that Isla felt distinctly uncomfortable around, her feelings that danger was closing in were strong. But with the recent blanketing of snow surrounding her cottage and everywhere she looked, it seemed that escape wouldn’t be an option. She really did want to return to Sydney – sooner rather than later…
Stranger in the Woods is another deep, dark psychological thriller from Aussie author Anni Taylor – she’s definitely a master of the genre! Incredible and unexpected twists; heartbreaking scenarios; fear and pranks going wrong – the pages almost turned themselves! An excellent read which I highly recommend.
Architect Alban McGregor and his wife Jessica owned the property where Isla would be staying and working, and Greer was the person who was coordinating it all. But as Isla began to learn the history of Braithnoch, she also learned about the abduction of Alban and Jessica’s eight-year-old daughter Elodie two years prior, and the birth of Rhiannon. What she learned shocked and horrified her. Jessica seemed neurotic; Alban distant and moody. What on earth had she let herself in for?
With the old, dilapidated playhouse still standing; the strange and eerie tattie bogles dotting the landscape; and the neighbours that Isla felt distinctly uncomfortable around, her feelings that danger was closing in were strong. But with the recent blanketing of snow surrounding her cottage and everywhere she looked, it seemed that escape wouldn’t be an option. She really did want to return to Sydney – sooner rather than later…
Stranger in the Woods is another deep, dark psychological thriller from Aussie author Anni Taylor – she’s definitely a master of the genre! Incredible and unexpected twists; heartbreaking scenarios; fear and pranks going wrong – the pages almost turned themselves! An excellent read which I highly recommend.
June 27, 2024
This is a very dramatic book about a young woman with serious epilepsy who travels from Australia to the wilds of Scotland for her dream job and who becomes involved in some very unpleasant events.
I have enjoyed many of Anni Taylor's books but found this one difficult to get along with. The dialogue seemed stilted and most of the characters were unappealing. Some of the situations our main character got herself into seemed very unlikely. For example I was willing to believe that some epileptics may forget things that have occurred during their seizures, but I absolutely could not accept the final exposition concerning Rhiannon.
Looking back I think the author tried to get too much into one book and I felt overwhelmed. However this will not put me off reading more of her books!
I have enjoyed many of Anni Taylor's books but found this one difficult to get along with. The dialogue seemed stilted and most of the characters were unappealing. Some of the situations our main character got herself into seemed very unlikely. For example I was willing to believe that some epileptics may forget things that have occurred during their seizures, but I absolutely could not accept the final exposition concerning Rhiannon.
Looking back I think the author tried to get too much into one book and I felt overwhelmed. However this will not put me off reading more of her books!
December 9, 2018
Wow, where do I start? I honestly can't believe all the raving reviews of this book. It was incredibly unbelievable with so many unnecessary coincidences and plot conveniences. The writing was sloppy and in desperate need of proofreading. There were several references to a kiss between two characters that must have occurred in a scene that was later removed from the final cut. The court case was totally unrealistic with the prosecutor monologuing during his questioning of a witness, which is not allowed in a court of law. The author clearly has little or no experience with snow, and her writing makes that very obvious. There were so many unnecessary plot twists packed into this story. The main character was described as having some mysterious "illness" which caused her to forget an entire year of her life, including studying in a foreign country, a pregnancy, and a traumatic birth, which is completely unbelievable. The dialogue feels stiff and unrealistic, and extremely expositional, even about things we've already read in previous scenes. There are a lot of unnecessary sentences that seem to just be filler without going anywhere. There's a point where we're told it's April 2018, but the character says something about summer just ending. It's difficult to judge how much time is passing, until a few pages have gone by and suddenly the narrator says "The last hour was rough!" Up until about half way through this book, I thought the plot would be the redeeming factor, but it just got worse as everything was revealed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 16, 2022
SPOILERS AHEAD!!
It's hard to know where to begin critiquing this novel. But maybe I should start with the title, which is misleading. Because it isn't about a stranger in the woods, but a man that's well-known in the community, including to the children he has been abusing and grooming.
For the first half of this book nothing much seems to be happening. Yes, the reader is drawn in by the first chapter in which we learn that an 8-year old girl, left alone in a house in a remote part of northern Scotland, decides to wander the woods at night and is captured by a man who demands respect and love from her. We soon learn that the girl is so drugged up by him she goes into a coma. She dies. Very convenient for the perpetrator.
Then the story changes tack and we are told that award-winning photographer, Isla Wilson, has accepted a commission to take a series of photos for a portfolio celebrating the work of local architect, Alban McGregor. Isla lives in Sydney, Australia and the architect lives near Inverness in Scotland (seems there isn't sufficient talent in the UK for this job!). But when Isla arrives at Greenmire it's obvious that neither Alban nor his wife, Jessica, are thrilled at the prospect. Even though this was Jessica's idea and Alban's assistant, Greer, had executed on it, it's as if Isla's appearance is one huge inconvenience. Or worse.
For page after page we're told about the development of "the portfolio" and introduced to such a huge cast of characters that I found myself having to write them all down to keep track of who belonged to which of four families, each with a plot of land abutting the others. Yet each of them, including Isla, come across as two-dimensional.
Then everything, at least as far as the plot is concerned, goes haywire. If I had the chance to interview anyone involved in the production of this book I'd want to know how realistic they think it is that even an amnesiac (brought on by a grand mal seizure two years previously) would have forgotten a) that she'd already been to Scotland as a student, b) had gotten pregnant, and c) given the baby up, without any clue that any of this had happened.
The aftermath of this event (including giving birth in a rat-infested ruin of a church in the middle of nowhere) was so bad that Isla's mother had had to fly to Scotland to collect her screwed up daughter. But when Isla announces that she's going back to that very same, remote location, the mother -- who has never uttered a word about what really happened in Scotland to her daughter -- seems to offer no more objection than, "Is that really a good idea?" Seriously? Isla took months to recover and was so traumatised by her experience that she can't remember a thing about it but her mother lets her go back there, completely ignorant, without raising any major objections? Or telling her the truth? Although I guess if the mother had sat Isla down with a cup of tea and said, "Look, I have something to tell you..." there would have been no story.
Having traveled half way around the world and being stuck in a remote area of northern Scotland Isla meet a guy she once dated briefly, a fellow Australian. Of course she can't remember him and he's mighty ticked off that she dumped him (according to his version of events). How coincidental is that? But it's the author's way of obliquely hinting that perhaps Isla has been here before. Which I would have thought a quick look through her passport could have confirmed, since presumably as a foreigner with a student visa she would have needed to have had it stamped?
Then there are the two women in the village (Camille and Jessica) who are separately having a relationship - sexual or "just friends" - with the pedophile. Sadly, women's intuition seems to have failed them on this occasion as neither seem to realize that he likes little girls, including both of their daughters. But Taylor only gives up that Hamish, the 20-something brother, could be the perp since he "mistakenly" dated a 15-year old girl. Peyton is barely mentioned in the story, other than being described as good-looking, so we are given no sense of motivation for his actions or how he managed to keep his sickness under wraps from his family.
As for the ridiculousness of the pregnancy plot? Here's how I see it: An estranged husband (Alban) meets Isla in a city nightclub, not knowing that she's the woman his wife has paid thirty grand to be a surrogate and is secretly using his sperm to impregnate. I may have missed this bit - to be honest, I listened (on Audible) to much of this before bed and fell asleep in parts -- but if Jessica was having sex with Alban in order to have another child, wouldn't it have been simpler to put needle holes in his condoms rather than fake a pregancy with a prosthetic? As if having another baby when your marriage is all but over is ever a good way to stay together! Oh, and I don't know if the author is a mother herself, but in my experience carrying a child has many more physical signs that a swollen belly. So how come Jessica was able to pull off the fake pregnancy in such a small village when her ankles weren't swollen or her face fatter? Why didn't isla or her mother figure out she'd had a baby in Scotland when presumably she must have been lactating after giving birth to Rhiannon (sp)?
I could go on and on but I think you get my drift. As other reviewers have pointed out, this novel is just so bizarre and convoluted that I'm amazed it has garnered as many five stars as it has. But each to his/her own.
For my part I thought this was both a boring and preposterous story that's overwritten in parts ("tears glistened wetly on her face"). Maybe you'll enjoy it. I thought it was dreadful.
It's hard to know where to begin critiquing this novel. But maybe I should start with the title, which is misleading. Because it isn't about a stranger in the woods, but a man that's well-known in the community, including to the children he has been abusing and grooming.
For the first half of this book nothing much seems to be happening. Yes, the reader is drawn in by the first chapter in which we learn that an 8-year old girl, left alone in a house in a remote part of northern Scotland, decides to wander the woods at night and is captured by a man who demands respect and love from her. We soon learn that the girl is so drugged up by him she goes into a coma. She dies. Very convenient for the perpetrator.
Then the story changes tack and we are told that award-winning photographer, Isla Wilson, has accepted a commission to take a series of photos for a portfolio celebrating the work of local architect, Alban McGregor. Isla lives in Sydney, Australia and the architect lives near Inverness in Scotland (seems there isn't sufficient talent in the UK for this job!). But when Isla arrives at Greenmire it's obvious that neither Alban nor his wife, Jessica, are thrilled at the prospect. Even though this was Jessica's idea and Alban's assistant, Greer, had executed on it, it's as if Isla's appearance is one huge inconvenience. Or worse.
For page after page we're told about the development of "the portfolio" and introduced to such a huge cast of characters that I found myself having to write them all down to keep track of who belonged to which of four families, each with a plot of land abutting the others. Yet each of them, including Isla, come across as two-dimensional.
Then everything, at least as far as the plot is concerned, goes haywire. If I had the chance to interview anyone involved in the production of this book I'd want to know how realistic they think it is that even an amnesiac (brought on by a grand mal seizure two years previously) would have forgotten a) that she'd already been to Scotland as a student, b) had gotten pregnant, and c) given the baby up, without any clue that any of this had happened.
The aftermath of this event (including giving birth in a rat-infested ruin of a church in the middle of nowhere) was so bad that Isla's mother had had to fly to Scotland to collect her screwed up daughter. But when Isla announces that she's going back to that very same, remote location, the mother -- who has never uttered a word about what really happened in Scotland to her daughter -- seems to offer no more objection than, "Is that really a good idea?" Seriously? Isla took months to recover and was so traumatised by her experience that she can't remember a thing about it but her mother lets her go back there, completely ignorant, without raising any major objections? Or telling her the truth? Although I guess if the mother had sat Isla down with a cup of tea and said, "Look, I have something to tell you..." there would have been no story.
Having traveled half way around the world and being stuck in a remote area of northern Scotland Isla meet a guy she once dated briefly, a fellow Australian. Of course she can't remember him and he's mighty ticked off that she dumped him (according to his version of events). How coincidental is that? But it's the author's way of obliquely hinting that perhaps Isla has been here before. Which I would have thought a quick look through her passport could have confirmed, since presumably as a foreigner with a student visa she would have needed to have had it stamped?
Then there are the two women in the village (Camille and Jessica) who are separately having a relationship - sexual or "just friends" - with the pedophile. Sadly, women's intuition seems to have failed them on this occasion as neither seem to realize that he likes little girls, including both of their daughters. But Taylor only gives up that Hamish, the 20-something brother, could be the perp since he "mistakenly" dated a 15-year old girl. Peyton is barely mentioned in the story, other than being described as good-looking, so we are given no sense of motivation for his actions or how he managed to keep his sickness under wraps from his family.
As for the ridiculousness of the pregnancy plot? Here's how I see it: An estranged husband (Alban) meets Isla in a city nightclub, not knowing that she's the woman his wife has paid thirty grand to be a surrogate and is secretly using his sperm to impregnate. I may have missed this bit - to be honest, I listened (on Audible) to much of this before bed and fell asleep in parts -- but if Jessica was having sex with Alban in order to have another child, wouldn't it have been simpler to put needle holes in his condoms rather than fake a pregancy with a prosthetic? As if having another baby when your marriage is all but over is ever a good way to stay together! Oh, and I don't know if the author is a mother herself, but in my experience carrying a child has many more physical signs that a swollen belly. So how come Jessica was able to pull off the fake pregnancy in such a small village when her ankles weren't swollen or her face fatter? Why didn't isla or her mother figure out she'd had a baby in Scotland when presumably she must have been lactating after giving birth to Rhiannon (sp)?
I could go on and on but I think you get my drift. As other reviewers have pointed out, this novel is just so bizarre and convoluted that I'm amazed it has garnered as many five stars as it has. But each to his/her own.
For my part I thought this was both a boring and preposterous story that's overwritten in parts ("tears glistened wetly on her face"). Maybe you'll enjoy it. I thought it was dreadful.
January 25, 2019
So...
I'm going to be honest. I waffled between giving this book a three and a four.
I kind of have a love-hate relationship with this book right now. It was interesting, riveting...and at the end of it, I kept whispering "what the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck," to myself over and over. And I still don't know if that was a good "what the fuck" or a bad "what the fuck."
I'm settling on a three, though, because I do think that, regardless of whether I like the twist at the end from a wtf standpoint, I couldn't bring myself to actually believe it. It really, honestly does stretch the point of disbelief. But maybe I just don't know enough about seizures....
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? NO! It's SPOILERS! Keep all villainous eyes above the line, lest you encounter his wrath.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I'm going to be honest. I waffled between giving this book a three and a four.
I kind of have a love-hate relationship with this book right now. It was interesting, riveting...and at the end of it, I kept whispering "what the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck," to myself over and over. And I still don't know if that was a good "what the fuck" or a bad "what the fuck."
I'm settling on a three, though, because I do think that, regardless of whether I like the twist at the end from a wtf standpoint, I couldn't bring myself to actually believe it. It really, honestly does stretch the point of disbelief. But maybe I just don't know enough about seizures....
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? NO! It's SPOILERS! Keep all villainous eyes above the line, lest you encounter his wrath.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
January 3, 2023
Story 4 stars**
Audio 4.25**
Narrator Harriett Gorden-Anderson
Audio 4.25**
Narrator Harriett Gorden-Anderson
October 9, 2018
I basically liked the main character, Isla, but found her biggest trait of sticking her nose into EVERYONE'S business from day 1 of a professional photography assignment very off-putting. It was actually hard for me to believe how much of a busybody she could be. Then the coincidences, and plot twists completely from left field never stop. When I say to myself, "Seriously?!" more than 2 or 3 times that's too much to ask for a reader to give in suspended disbelief. This book was like a Lifetime movie. Also, it was just too long - at halfway through I was surprised to not see at least "75%" in my progress monitor. I'm giving it 3 stars because I did finish the book and the writing style was better than many inexpensive e-books.
April 26, 2025
3,0 ✨✨✨
(Audiobook)
(Audiobook)
October 6, 2018
Loved Anni Taylor's new book!
Review to follow....
Review to follow....
December 15, 2022
Isla was hired by Alban’s assistant and put up in a cabin on the McGregor’s property. Alban, his wife Jessica and their young daughter live there. What Isla didn’t know is that years prior Alban and Jessica had another daughter named Elodie who was kidnapped and murdered right there on the property in an old playhouse. Her killer was never found. Isla takes it up on herself to try to figure out what happened to Elodie and finds that this small town in Scotland is even smaller than she thought. Everyone is connected to everyone else and as she untangles the web; she learns that she is a part of it all too, but just can’t remember how. This is a "keep you on the edge of your seat" kind of book. You can’t wait to find out what mystery will be waiting on the next page. I think that Anni Taylor does a fantastic job telling the story and keeping you engaged and questioning all the characters only to be surprised in the end by how it all unfolds. An absolutely brilliant ending that I didn’t see coming. I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good mystery to solve.
May 11, 2023
I saw this author mentioned in a Facebook group and decided to give her a try. Boy, is it good! At first, I wasn’t sure where it was heading. A little girl is abducted in Scotland in the prologue. Then, an Australian photographer accepts a job 2 years later in Scotland for the little girl’s family. It’s a one month assignment, and we learn immediately that the little girl had died from drugs given to her by the abductor. We are immersed into the Scottish landscape and dialogue with a variety of interesting characters. It was interesting, but not flying pages thrills. Just a good book. I wasn’t sure where it was heading, but as I say, it held my interest. Then, when the twists start, they don’t stop. It’s mind blowing in a good way! I’ve read an embarrassing number of books this year (I’m retired), and this is up there with all of the best we keep hearing about in this group. So, I had to share!
February 13, 2024
At nearly 400 pages, this book was at least 100 pages too long. The plot is beyond implausible and there is very little action for the first 250 or so pages. The twist at the end is simply unbelievable. I only finished it because I had already put so much time into it and I didn't want to waste it - a dilemma I find myself facing increasingly often with Kindle Unlimited books.
October 26, 2023
I went into this book with expectations that it was going to be a so so thriller and I was totally ok with that but HOLY COW that was fabulous. I really didn't expect some of those twists and turns.
February 28, 2019
This was more like a long torturous journey. To make it through the book I had to skim read or it would have been a DNF. The book starts out in 3rd POV but is actually mostly 1st POV of Isla. It alternates with 3rd POV of Elodie's last hours, which I think could have been left out. Eloise is an eight year old child who died after being kidnapped and then went into a "coma".
Partway through the book we're presented with the memory gap of Isla which is when you realize the reader has been given an unreliable narrator. I hate those. The story had a bit of a gothic feel to it with Isla playing the heroine who doesn't know who or what to believe. A lot of red herrings all over the place, a lot of coincidences, a lot of undeveloped characters and then finally I didn't buy the ending.
I don't understand all the excellent ratings, but I'm glad they enjoyed the book.
Partway through the book we're presented with the memory gap of Isla which is when you realize the reader has been given an unreliable narrator. I hate those. The story had a bit of a gothic feel to it with Isla playing the heroine who doesn't know who or what to believe. A lot of red herrings all over the place, a lot of coincidences, a lot of undeveloped characters and then finally I didn't buy the ending.
I don't understand all the excellent ratings, but I'm glad they enjoyed the book.
October 20, 2022
Psychological thriller!
This was an interesting listen on audible for me. The story was interesting and kept me on edge trying to figure out who the real bad guy was; however, there was so much misdirection that some of it missed the mark for me. The overall story was suspenseful and thrilling, but I was left with the feeling that there was something else to the story that never came to light.
This was an interesting listen on audible for me. The story was interesting and kept me on edge trying to figure out who the real bad guy was; however, there was so much misdirection that some of it missed the mark for me. The overall story was suspenseful and thrilling, but I was left with the feeling that there was something else to the story that never came to light.
December 17, 2019
I rushed through this mysterious book about, Isla, an Australian young woman who is a very talented photographer. She was contracted to do a portfolio of a home in Scotland. When she got there the wife was an odd one, the husband was not friendly at all but there was a welcoming maid and a little precious girl that took a liking to Isla. Along the road we meet some very strange Scots and they keep you guessing who are the good and the bad. I can tell you that the ending is one that you can’t figure out and I made myself not skip to the back to see what happens. I’m glad I did because it was shocking.
The book is slow at first but keep reading. because the mysteries build and they are astonishing! I highly recommend this surprising book. And BTW it sells for $2.99 on Amazon!I love a good bargain !
The book is slow at first but keep reading. because the mysteries build and they are astonishing! I highly recommend this surprising book. And BTW it sells for $2.99 on Amazon!I love a good bargain !
October 6, 2022
Way too many coincidences, unbelievable character decisions and motives, convenient memory lapses and accidents for me to suspend my disbelief with this one.
October 28, 2018
Anni Taylor approached me and asked if I would like to read and review her book Stranger in the Woods, I was happy to as it looked great from the write up on Amazon. Thanks Anni for the opportunity to read Stranger in the Woods.
This book was totally captivating and had me hooked from the first page. The story is set in rural Scotland so I was imagining mist swirling over vast moors with slightly strange locals with very thick accents that you could hardly understand. Isla is a photographer who had the opportunity of a lifetime to travel from Sydney Australia to the wilds of Scotland on a photography job to work on a portfolio for a local architect and his family. She doesn’t realise at the time but she is walking into drama, grief, danger and turmoil after the fairly recent abduction and death of their young daughter. What is the secret of this small town? Can Isla unravel the mystery? Where does she fit in? There are so many questions and answers that will bring the small town to breaking point.
Wow, this book was brilliant I absolutely loved it, every character intrigued me they were all so interesting and the plot was so twisty it kept me on the edge of my seat trying to guess what was going to happen next. It was the kind of book that totally held my interest for every second it completely sucked me in and didn’t let me go until that massive explosive end which I didn’t see coming in a million years. OMG that ending!!! Wow, just Wow I did not see that coming, I’m still reeling from it. That ending quite frankly was a stroke of genius I would never have guessed that one it was a total shocker!
As you guys already know I don’t write big long winded reviews because of my eye issues I am short and to the point, I either like a book or I don’t, so as you can tell I really enjoyed Stranger in the Woods. I have read 82 books this year so far and this easily slips into my favourite top 10 of 2018. I highly recommend this book, if You haven’t read any of Anni Taylors books before give this one a go it was an excellent read I am going to give it a big fat 5 stars.
You can find out more about Anni’s books at her website here: http://annitaylor.me/books/
This book was totally captivating and had me hooked from the first page. The story is set in rural Scotland so I was imagining mist swirling over vast moors with slightly strange locals with very thick accents that you could hardly understand. Isla is a photographer who had the opportunity of a lifetime to travel from Sydney Australia to the wilds of Scotland on a photography job to work on a portfolio for a local architect and his family. She doesn’t realise at the time but she is walking into drama, grief, danger and turmoil after the fairly recent abduction and death of their young daughter. What is the secret of this small town? Can Isla unravel the mystery? Where does she fit in? There are so many questions and answers that will bring the small town to breaking point.
Wow, this book was brilliant I absolutely loved it, every character intrigued me they were all so interesting and the plot was so twisty it kept me on the edge of my seat trying to guess what was going to happen next. It was the kind of book that totally held my interest for every second it completely sucked me in and didn’t let me go until that massive explosive end which I didn’t see coming in a million years. OMG that ending!!! Wow, just Wow I did not see that coming, I’m still reeling from it. That ending quite frankly was a stroke of genius I would never have guessed that one it was a total shocker!
As you guys already know I don’t write big long winded reviews because of my eye issues I am short and to the point, I either like a book or I don’t, so as you can tell I really enjoyed Stranger in the Woods. I have read 82 books this year so far and this easily slips into my favourite top 10 of 2018. I highly recommend this book, if You haven’t read any of Anni Taylors books before give this one a go it was an excellent read I am going to give it a big fat 5 stars.
You can find out more about Anni’s books at her website here: http://annitaylor.me/books/
October 27, 2018
Ridiculous soap opera
I don't like leaving a negative review but this book was just bad. The plot is so preposterous, filled with improbable coincidences and every melodramatic trick except an evil twin. It could have been a decent story, this author knows how to write, but she loaded up the story with ridiculous things that are not believable. Not recommended unless you like daytime soap opera nonsense.
I don't like leaving a negative review but this book was just bad. The plot is so preposterous, filled with improbable coincidences and every melodramatic trick except an evil twin. It could have been a decent story, this author knows how to write, but she loaded up the story with ridiculous things that are not believable. Not recommended unless you like daytime soap opera nonsense.
March 31, 2023
Was this far fetched? Oh yes! Was it unbelievable at times? For sure! Did I love it anyway? I couldn’t put it down! Talk about twists! If you like unpredictable stories then you’ve got to give this one a go 🌟🌟🌟🌟
December 25, 2018
Stranger in the Woods
A real puzzler. Who did it and why?? What' is really going on. A great story with well defined and developed characters.
A real puzzler. Who did it and why?? What' is really going on. A great story with well defined and developed characters.
March 26, 2020
I found a lot of suspended belief was required in this adventurous tale but over all I quite enjoyed it. I think perhaps she crammed one or two coincidences in too far, although there is no way any reader will be complaining it was boring, trust me. There are a lot of characters to take on board and it is a busy book but a good one. Jessica was a character I wanted to smack......came across as a total flake most of the time and I wouldn't have wanted to spend a week in her company, let alone a month !! I liked young Stella and also Rory. Isla seemed nice enough but I kept thinking she came across as way younger than her years. You forgot she's meant to be late-twenties as she acted like a bit of a dopey older teen most of the time.
I had to knock it down a star as there are quite a lot of repetitive mistakes in it, apostrophes mainly being her bugbear, it appears. She got them right maybe a third of the time, so someone knows the difference, but the other two-thirds were wrong. The main problem was in names, persistently writing McGregor's (as a named example) and not McGregors'. Highly distracting and inconsistent. So was bee line written like this, something I've not seen before. She wrote draft and not draught and onto not on to once but that was it for spelling errors, which is good-going these days.
She did refer to Isla binge-watching a TV series and in the next breath told us she'd decided to finish watching later which caught my eye and I wondered too about Isla being met in a Departure lounge as opposed to an Arrival one !!! We were also told Aubrey's parents had returned home one morning but that previous night they'd been partying at her home so that was also a bit baffling. A way into the story she also mentioned Alban's "easy charm" which went totally against all her feelings about him we'd read up till then !! The first 200+ pages she'd spent telling us that he was a bit odd, really, so I'm not sure why she did that. Then in April (in Scotland) Alban was bemoaning the fact that summer hadn't last long enough.
I really liked her very sweet dedication at the beginning for her dad, though it made me sniffy, too and the cover's a very nice and eye-catching one as well.
I had to knock it down a star as there are quite a lot of repetitive mistakes in it, apostrophes mainly being her bugbear, it appears. She got them right maybe a third of the time, so someone knows the difference, but the other two-thirds were wrong. The main problem was in names, persistently writing McGregor's (as a named example) and not McGregors'. Highly distracting and inconsistent. So was bee line written like this, something I've not seen before. She wrote draft and not draught and onto not on to once but that was it for spelling errors, which is good-going these days.
She did refer to Isla binge-watching a TV series and in the next breath told us she'd decided to finish watching later which caught my eye and I wondered too about Isla being met in a Departure lounge as opposed to an Arrival one !!! We were also told Aubrey's parents had returned home one morning but that previous night they'd been partying at her home so that was also a bit baffling. A way into the story she also mentioned Alban's "easy charm" which went totally against all her feelings about him we'd read up till then !! The first 200+ pages she'd spent telling us that he was a bit odd, really, so I'm not sure why she did that. Then in April (in Scotland) Alban was bemoaning the fact that summer hadn't last long enough.
I really liked her very sweet dedication at the beginning for her dad, though it made me sniffy, too and the cover's a very nice and eye-catching one as well.
November 17, 2022
I had been listening to the audiobook and got the bright idea it might be available on Kindle Unlimited. Score!! I was able to pick up the pace and finish it in a day.
The narrator was excellent. I really wasn’t crazy about abandoning her, but I was engaged in the midst of a page-whirling story and I opted for speed. I had to find out who killed Elodie!!
The protagonist, Isla the photographer from Sydney is a likable young woman. Her epilepsy adds a constant tense and I was so worried she would have a grand mal seizure under the worst of circumstances.
A cast of interesting characters was just one away from being too many. Authors, when writing a whodunit it is not necessary to have a dozen suspects, okay?? I was able to keep track and there are many sub-stories usually cooking up a red herring or two. It fooled me and I was guessing on steroids till the degenerate bastard was revealed.
I rated this psychological thriller barely four stars. I was really excited about it, as it had me in I-can’t-stop reading mode. The Scotland setting was almost its own character. Compelling stuff, right?? UNTIL…the reader is struck with a double-whammy of implausibility and a strong case of overkill. No spoilers here. Had the aforementioned stuff been minimized, the reader would still have been ensnared and entertained and knocking on the 5-Star door. I could not willingly suspend disbelief, though. In fact, it was grudgingly.
I’ll recommend this one with the slight caveat—you aren’t going to believe the ending!!
The narrator was excellent. I really wasn’t crazy about abandoning her, but I was engaged in the midst of a page-whirling story and I opted for speed. I had to find out who killed Elodie!!
The protagonist, Isla the photographer from Sydney is a likable young woman. Her epilepsy adds a constant tense and I was so worried she would have a grand mal seizure under the worst of circumstances.
A cast of interesting characters was just one away from being too many. Authors, when writing a whodunit it is not necessary to have a dozen suspects, okay?? I was able to keep track and there are many sub-stories usually cooking up a red herring or two. It fooled me and I was guessing on steroids till the degenerate bastard was revealed.
I rated this psychological thriller barely four stars. I was really excited about it, as it had me in I-can’t-stop reading mode. The Scotland setting was almost its own character. Compelling stuff, right?? UNTIL…the reader is struck with a double-whammy of implausibility and a strong case of overkill. No spoilers here. Had the aforementioned stuff been minimized, the reader would still have been ensnared and entertained and knocking on the 5-Star door. I could not willingly suspend disbelief, though. In fact, it was grudgingly.
I’ll recommend this one with the slight caveat—you aren’t going to believe the ending!!
November 12, 2020
Setting: Sydney, Australia & Scottish Highlands. Sydney-based professional photographer Isla takes a month's assignment to create a portfolio of photographs for a renowned Scottish architect. Her mother is opposed to her decision to go to Scotland for the first time as she suffers from epilepsy and had a particularly bad attack she suffered some time before, of which she has little recollection. Isla finds that the architect and his wife are not particularly easy to get on with - partly explained by the unsolved murder of their 8 year old daughter Elodie some two years before. As Isla becomes involved in the local community, she too is haunted by Elodie's fate but soon makes an even more shocking discovery about her own past....
Initially I found this book a bit underwhelming but can't really put my finger on why. However, it definitely picked up towards the end although I had already guessed one of the twists that was revealed. Still, a good read overall - 8/10.
Initially I found this book a bit underwhelming but can't really put my finger on why. However, it definitely picked up towards the end although I had already guessed one of the twists that was revealed. Still, a good read overall - 8/10.
July 24, 2019
I felt like the story could have been told more smoothly and not gone on as long. Some things could have been fleshed out too, but I did enjoy this. I really like this author's ideas and I always pre-order her books.
August 30, 2019
2.5 stars. Not Anni Taylor's best work.
March 4, 2020
I read and enjoyed Game You Played, so when another book by the same author came up as a daily freebie, I downloaded it without even really reading the plot summary. If I did, it would tell me that this is a story of Isla Wilson, an Aussie photographer, who comes to Scotland on an assignment and becomes embroiled in the dangerous affairs of the family she’s staying with. That’s fairly generic, but it covers the basics. Then again, it’s the details the readers of such mysteries tend to go for and in this case there’s a plethora of those…the more Isla gets to know the family she’s meant to photograph and the people in their lives (three other families distantly connected by the past and now territorially, the more ugliness she begins to uncover. Not just about them, either. There’s also something about her own connection to the place, something she can’t remember, but becomes more and more determined to find out, resulting in an eventual deadly denouement. But then again it’s one of those things where the truth, however lethal, will end up setting her free. Or free, in a way. So it’s a fairly decent mystery thriller as far as these things go (and there are indeed so many of them to go, around and around), but for me it didn’t work quite like the other book I’ve read by the author. Considered in retrospect upon completion, it was just too convoluted and implausible for its own good. And I absolutely get the need to surprise and wow the readers in an effort to stand out in the ubiquitous and overpopulated genre, but one can go to far to do so. Taylor has a nice easy quality to her writing, which make for a relatively quick and easy read, albeit somewhat too long for what it was. The protagonist is nice and likeable too. In fact, a bunch of supporting characters are. And there are a few genre prerequisite plot twists that do their best to wow the reader, but the more demanding audience might be left wanting. There’s a fine line between being simple and simplistic and the book’s narration walks it too closely. And then there are all those stretching exercises your credulity will have to complete to get on board. Overall, it’s decent enough, especially of fans of these ever so popular estrogen driven mystery suspense thrillers. The settings are nice, the juxtaposition of the sunny Sydney to the claustrophobically snowed in remote Scottish estate. The weird thing is that somehow despite the extent of the terrible goings on, the mood is never quite dark enough. Maybe Isla’s just too sunny of a person. Who knows. At any rate, a perfectly adequate read, nothing special. Good for a freebie, anyway.
May 29, 2023
I've read several books from this author, and enjoyed them, but this one was a little too over the top. It was a bit longer than it needed to be, a tighter edit would make for a better story.
It was a little strange that Isla, upon arriving in another country on a work assignment, would be so up in everybody's business so quickly. She'd barely arrived and was investigating Elodie's death, suspecting nearly everyone!
There were enough twists in the story to keep me interested, but I guessed about half of them. The other half seemed unguessable because they were so convoluted, just too much.
There was one thing that absolutely made no sense , and the epilogue was just ick.
It was a little strange that Isla, upon arriving in another country on a work assignment, would be so up in everybody's business so quickly. She'd barely arrived and was investigating Elodie's death, suspecting nearly everyone!
There were enough twists in the story to keep me interested, but I guessed about half of them. The other half seemed unguessable because they were so convoluted, just too much.
There was one thing that absolutely made no sense , and the epilogue was just ick.
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