The Collection

by Trisha Hasbrouck

A century-long horror story plagues small-town Minnesota’s most vulnerable young women. Brilliant attorney, Sarah Carroway, unknowingly places herself dead center in the mystery of their disappearances when she purchases a dilapidated Victorian on a remote section of her beloved Dove Lake. Whispers and rumors haunt the woods surrounding Sarah’s house, and forgotten screams lurk in the shadows. Sarah struggles with whom to trust when she finds herself falling for a former client with a troubled past, while long-kept secrets cast doubt on nearly everyone she meets. Her home holds the answers, but Sarah must decide if she’s ready to face the truth before falling victim to the tragedy that lies beneath.

270 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 18, 2020

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thrillers are my genre of choice, so I spend my time reading many by authors such as Ruth Ware, Mark Edwards, Karin Slaughter, Alex North, Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen, and more. Though this author is newly published, she kept up with these staples of modern mystery, suspense, and horror with ease! This book was not only impossible to put down, but kept me, an “experienced” thriller reader, on my toes until the very end. The characters are incredibly well-developed and the scene descriptions truly make you feel as if you are there. I don’t want to give anything away, but I promise you will not regret giving The Collection a try!

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book checked all the boxes for me: smart and beautiful heroine, hot (but shady) love interest, a creepy old Victorian home, and an ending that would have kept me up all night if I hadn’t been up reading it anyways (because I could not put it down). This is the author’s first novel and I am highly impressed with her grasp of suspense, scene transitions, and character development. And did I mention the ending? Eeek. I would write more but I need to go make sure the doors to my house are all locked.

[Jodie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gem

The storyline and characters were well written and unlike a lot of thrillers/mysteries I was not able to completely predict the ending. A good read that was just creepy enough that I had to finish it during daylight hours instead of before bed.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book! Just when I thought I had it all figured out it threw me for a loop and really surprised me. It is very well written and keeps you on the edge of your seat. I loved the lead character's passion and independence throughout the book. The Collection is a must-read for sure!

[Merlina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fun beach read. It was a great page-turner. Spooky Victorian House, a handsome man with a mysterious past, and take-charge heroine—right up my alley.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t read like to read summaries so I was surprisingly shocked when it turned in to a thriller. Once the story line took a turn, I could not put it down. Even at the end I was in suspense. Looking forward to Has’s next book!!!

[Chelsea Lietz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really riveting and fun... Which is a strange thing to say about a horror/ murder mystery, I know. But enjoyed the writing, plot and characters immensely. Quick read. I knew the author growing up and I’m so proud of her.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect blend of romance and suspense. I couldn’t put it down! Well done, Trisha Hasbrouck!

[Karina Schmitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING BOOK. Keeps you engaged from beginning to end.

[Melanie Thornton · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Silence of the Lambs and The Notebook could come together and have a child it would be The Collection. I was hooked from the first page and could not put it down.

[Heather Clawson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I added this book to my reading list partly based on the fact that it had a 4.38 rating. I honestly missed the fact that this rating was only based on 56 reviews (at the time). But trust me when I say I learned my lesson because the time spent reading this craziness is time I will never get back. And yes, I'm mad about it.

The premise and plot lines of the book aren't bad - I could definitely see them being worked into a believable story. My biggest complaint: lazy writing. Motivation is non-existent. Tons of what I call "forced interactions," meaning that characters are doing / feeling / saying something that doesn't make sense in the context of the scene / story, but it's needed to move the plot along, so the author forces it to happen. To elaborate:

The "collection" is a bunch of corpses hanging in glass coffins - WTF? There's no explanation for any of the "logistics" involved. How are the coffins hanging? How are the bodies being kept upright? Where the hell does one get a solid glass coffin? How were the bodies preserved so well that they all look pristine, even though some of them are over 50 years old? None of it makes any sense. Why? Because the author just wanted a visually shocking reveal and f*ck physics and physiology I guess.

The whole scene of Brian and Sarah pulling the floorboards up in the pantry so they can access the tunnel under the house annoyed the hell out of me. To be clear, the whole context of this scene is that Brian is sure they're going to find evidence of a killer, and Sarah is terrified that her house is somehow linked to the killer.  They're in the pantry pulling up the floor in a smog of terror and apprehension as to what they're going to find. Now, I'm not trying to gatekeep how people fall in love, but at this point the scene is not set for flirtation and growing lust. The author obviously disagrees because they used it as some sort of weird, seductive, flirty encounter to illustrate their growing attraction to each other. The scene veers wildly between growing fear as they pull up the floorboards, and Sarah being overcome with attraction as she "breathes in" Brian's "masculinity." The only way I can think of to describe the disconnection between the vibe of the scene and what was actually going on, would be to compare it to a valedictorian standing up at a graduation ceremony...and giving a eulogy.

And let's talk about Karen. Karen is a severely traumatized woman who managed to escape the killer 13 years ago. She never told anyone what happened to her. She's afraid of most people, has no family and never speaks. So obviously it makes perfect sense that she would spill the story of her entire ordeal to Sarah right after meeting her for the first time, right? Of course it does! I mean, you gotta move the story forward somehow, and apparently the author doesn't have time to have Karen come around to telling her story organically. Things gotta happen! Connections must be made! Forget the ridiculousness of the entire thing, the story must continue!

And the absolute icing on the cake... It's clear that the killer is abducting runaways / drug users, and then making them look the same (i.e. same hair color, same makeup, etc.) but there's literally NO MOTIVATION ever given for WHY they're doing this. Or why it's been carried on for generations. I'm sorry, but you cannot have a story about a serial killer—much less MULTIPLE GENERATIONS OF SERIAL KILLERS—and not give a single reason as to why they're killing. The author was obviously trying to provide a scenario to shock the reader - dozens and dozens of preserved corpses hanging in glass coffins - but they couldn't be bothered to build an explanation for the behavior. This is lazy writing at its worst and I'm amazed there aren't more reviews from people who are furious about such a blatant cop out. I mean hell, if I didn't have to actually explain them, I could come up with a dozen horrific serial killer tableaus. Severed heads mounted on merry-go-round horse bodies! A massive throne built out of body parts! A live chess set made of taxidermized bodies stripped nude and painted black and white! It's easy to come up with the shock piece, but it's the motivation that gives the horror depth. If the author can't be arsed to do the work, then I can't be arsed to give a crap.

TL:DR - Don't waste your time reading unless you enjoy lazy writing that can't be bothered to give the killer any motivation for the violence they're committing, and forces characters to do completely unrealistic things in order to move the story forward.

[Jenna Beason · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a page-turner! The Collection is the perfect combination of mystery, suspense, love interests, and a twist ending that you won’t see coming. I found myself thinking about the characters when I wasn’t reading, especially the courageous female protagonist. Considering that this is the author’s debut novel, I’m really impressed by her character development. I thoroughly enjoyed her writing style and look forward to reading more of her books.

[Dalton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Reminded me of a Steven King plot. I hope her next book reads this well too.

[Jerica · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters in this both stayed in my head between readings. Super fun read, keeping me on my toes with my predictions.

[Mary Stenvall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the writing and the story, although I read so much the bad guy was a little obvious. The collection, however? Never saw that one coming. Likable characters, great atmosphere.