Un halcón en el bosque

by Carrie Laben, Rafael Martín Coronel (Illustrator), Ana Isabel Sanchez (Translator)

Abby Waite es una joven periodista que acaba de recibir la noticia de que tiene un cáncer en estado III. Pero no pasa nada. Ella tiene un plan, como siempre.

La primera parte de su plan es ayudar a su hermana gemela, Martha, a escapar de la cárcel. Claro. ¿Se destino? La cabaña familiar en mitad de ninguna parte en Minnesota, donde ejecutará la segunda parte de su plan.

Pero cuando provienes de una familia en la que tu padre tomaba el control de tu cuerpo cuando eras pequeña; tu madre trataba de habitar y poseer tu mente y extraer tu energía, y donde tantos y tantos secretos oscuros -y algunos cuerpos- están enterrados, las reuniones familiares no suelen ser agradables.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Fantasy, Contemporary, Mystery

320 pages, Paperback

First published March 26, 2019

Reviews

[Amalia (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤ · Rating 2 out of 5]

¡Qué decepción de novela! 💔
Supuestamente es una historia de terror, no obstante para mí no lo es. La protagonista está obsesionada con publicar constantemente en IG y en Twitter y me saca de quicio.
Asimismo, el ritual se lleva a cabo en las últimas 30 páginas de las 300 que tiene en total y es una auténtica decepción.
En conclusión, adoro esta editorial pero esta novela no ha estado a la altura de mis expectativas.
.
What a disappointing novel! 💔
Supposedly it is a horror story, however for me it is not. The protagonist is obsessed with constantly posting on IG and Twitter and it drives me crazy.
Also, the ritual is carried out in the last 30 pages of the 300 that she has in total and it is a real disappointment.
In conclusion, I love this publisher but this novel has not lived up to my expectations.

[Sadie Hartmann]

Working on this review today. I have to get my opinions and feelings sorted.

[exorcismemily · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Things always worked out for her, didn't they?"

3.5⭐

This is a difficult review to write. I absolutely loved the idea of this book. It sounded so fascinating, and I read it as soon as I got my hands on it. However, I struggled to connect to the story as a whole, and I wound up feeling like something was missing.

The story jumps back and forth between past and present. I enjoyed the scenes in the past much more than the present ones, and at times, it was a little confusing. Some characters were introduced that felt sort of unimportant to the overall narrative, yet some characters that I had brushed off came up again later.

I never felt connected to the main characters. The third person voice may have had something to do with this, but I never really got to know them. I felt like I was supposed to connect with them and feel for them based on what was going on, but that never happened for me.

Although I had issues, this was still an entertaining and intriguing story. I just feel like it could have used a little more tightening between the alternating storylines, and that I got a bit lost between the gaps. It was a creative setup, and I would try another book from this author.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a lot to process in A Hawk in the Woods! I know I'll continue to think about it for quite some time. Books like this one tend to grow in my mind and in my heart as all of the pieces continue to meld together. It's a little bit like a movie you want to start back from the beginning once you have reached the end so you can experience it again knowing all of the secrets. (I'm feeling the exact same way about Jordan Peele's Us right now.)

A Hawk in the Woods is told through two different timelines. After receiving a terminal diagnosis, Abby makes plans to bust her twin sister out of prison and head back to the cabin they grew up in. One timeline chronicles Abby and Martha's childhood growing up with a mother and grandfather who were heavily involved in witchcraft and the other follows Abby and Martha in the present on their road trip home.

The multiple timelines in A Hawk in the Woods was really well done. The past and the present both managed to move the story forward, and I had trouble pulling myself away from either one.

There are story elements in A Hawk in the Woods that I love but rarely get to talk about because they are almost always spoilers. This makes it very difficult to compare A Hawk in the Woods to other books I have enjoyed. Thankfully, A Hawk in the Woods can stand on its own as an excellent debut. I can't wait to read more from Carrie Laben in the future. If you enjoy family rooted witchcraft, you are going to want to pick this one up.

Content warning: infant related horror; Review copy provided by publisher

[Nicholas Kaufmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a big fan of Carrie Laben's short fiction for years now and am pleased to discover her debut novel, A HAWK IN THE WOODS, is just as excellent. It's chock full of dark magic, family feuds, and complicated characters with equally complicated relationships (which, come to think of it, sums up the idea of family pretty well). Laben's prose is confident and adroit, and her narrative voice is strong and compassionate, even when her characters are being the opposite. Lurking just beneath the surface are some entertaining, surprising connections to H.P. Lovecraft's classic story "The Thing on the Doorstep," which adds an extra layer of depth to the novel, although familiarity with that tale isn't necessary to enjoy and understand this one. A truly pleasurable and satisfying novel, featuring twin sisters you won't soon forget, A HAWK IN THE WOODS, like so much of Laben's fiction, is well worth seeking out.

[Nico · Rating 1 out of 5]

A wallapop. Me da rabia gastarme 23 € en un libro que sin más.

[Maria Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

La reseña completa en http://inthenevernever.blogspot.com/2...

«Abby no creía que el abuelo fuera a matar a Martha a propósito, pero cada vez le preocupaba más que fuera tan descuidado como para matarla por accidente».

¿Qué harías si descubrieses que tienes una enfermedad terminal? La protagonista del libro del que les quiero hablar hoy lo tiene claro: ayudaría a su hermana gemela a escaparse de la cárcel. Pero nada es fácil cuando provienes de una familia con poderes. Así que lo que debería ser un viaje por carretera para llegar a una vieja cabaña se transforma en una huida llena de peligros (mundanos y también sobrenaturales). En mi primera reseña del #LeoAutorasOct 2022 les quiero recomendar Un halcón en el bosque, de Carrie Laben. Una oscura novela con tintes lovecraftianos llena de brujas, en la que la familia puede ser más una maldición que una bendición.

[Jo Quenell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. It's getting a lot of raves, and while it did not necessarily wow me they way it has others, it's still an engaging read. I had the ending guessed with about a hundred pages left, but this did not keep it from feeling satisfying. There's plenty of great character building, some humor, a lot of weirdness, and a few dashes of gruesomeness. Carrie Laben will be a voice to pay attention to.

[Ahimsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an engaging read you can tear through in a day. It's in the new generation of Lovecraftian horror that doesn't feel like pastiche. In fact, it's basically a 90s road movie: "Asenath and Louise." Overall the concept is strong and the story moves forward briskly.

The very best thing for me was the establishment of the anti-hero. We're talking Bret Easton Ellis levels of despicable but plausible POV characters and Laben deserves major kudos for thoroughly realizing this character.

Negatives: the prose can be clumsy. The dialogue, especially at the beginning, feels forced and awkward. Several times a pronoun is used to refer to a character other than the last one mentioned, which can be confusing. The end feels abrupt and a little unsatisfactory.

But overall I really enjoyed this read.

[Tenebrous Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book delighted me in a ways that would compromise its surprises to explain in any depth. Suffice to say it’s a thoroughly modern family drama steeped in Lovecraftiana that turned my suspicion of that triple-play of stuff I generally don’t enjoy entirely inside out. Laben’s mastery of her craft is evident throughout, navigating between suspense, playfulness, grotesquerie, and sincerity to build a true page-turner of a first novel. I’m looking forward to see what she creates next!

[Devin · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I worked my way through this book, I occasionally found it confusing, and unusual. I finished it this morning after I woke up early, and the ending just caught me by surprise.

I'm sure that many people would see the ending coming. I'm a person that just really becomes involved in the story and follow along engrossed. The ending here surprised me, it definitely helped that some information was kept back until the final chapters of the book.

Really well executed. Great read. I'd recommend it.

[Adam · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've been excited about this book just based on the title and genre for a while, even though I didn't actually have a very solid idea of the premise. Now that I do know the premise, I should have been even more excited about it in retrospect. It's halfway between the Netflix Sabrina show and Library at Mount Char, which is a wonderful intersection of genres I would love to read 10 more books in at least. Unfortunately, A Hawk in the Woods was published a few major rewrites short of what it needed to do that concept justice. As it is, the story seems to go out of its way to avoid ever touching a compelling line of drama, plot, or atmosphere.

The central problem is that it has only one powerful dramatic idea and wants to use it as a climactic reveal. Unfortunately, that idea is also the protagonist's only motivation throughout the entire story. So instead of grasping that "third rail" immediately and using it to propel the story, the narrative tiptoes around it so elliptically, forced to give it a wide enough berth that the fairly obvious idea never occurs to the reader, that nothing the characters do has a drop of logic or stakes to it at all. For literally 95% of the story!

I don't know if it's a consequence of that first mistake or just another synergistic mistake, but it certainly doesn't help that the scenes are poorly established and structured. They flow almost at random between "telling" summary, abstracted from the moment and, of course, from the emotions of the characters, sections that would be transitional or filler in most books, but then abruptly erupt into important action. I found many of these scenes hard to follow and even harder to interpret. It doesn't help that the two main characters have magic abilities that seem designed to confound and confuse readers. One of them can manipulate time, in a way that is never clearly explained, so around 40% of the way through the book, they just jump back in time and erase all of the mistakes and plot events that have happened so far. And others can psychically inhabit the bodies of other people and animals, a disorienting ability in the best of circumstances but especially so when no characters have immersive perspectives or comprehensible motivations and the scenes are so muddy to begin with.

On paper, you can pretty clearly see all of the things that would make this great if it were done well. The intersections of family drama, black magic, and Eldritch creatures makes a rich stew of foreboding atmosphere and narrative tension. And there are a few moments of the story when the family drama is detectable. The black magic and Eldritch creatures, though, might as well not be there at all. It's obvious in retrospect why we never understand what Abby wants to achieve throughout the story. What is less clear is why the narration never bothers to share what exactly she does and doesn't know or understand about the world. It feels like we're entering this universe walking backwards, blindfolded, despite the fact that the protagonist is a competent magic user very familiar with the kinds of things that can exist in it. So bizarre magical occurrences happen, in a way that seems like it's meant to create atmosphere and a sense of external threat. Sometimes the characters seem utterly baffled by them, as if they have no idea that such things could exist in the world. But other times, they don't react at all, as if entirely unphased not just by the existence of such strangeness but by its direct attempts on their life. It's the very opposite of intriguing or evocative.

All of that, on top of the bland and often silly magic skills it eventually becomes clear the main character possesses, makes it kind of absurd to me that Laben obviously intends this to exist in the contemporary Weird genre. There are direct invocations of both Tremblay and Langan, and the acknowledgments section is full of authors in that sphere. But this just isn't that kind of story, at all. And maybe it's because Laben doesn't want to admit that, but the opportunities posed by the kind of story it actually is go entirely neglected as well. The fact that Abby can draw psychic energy through social media attention is extremely silly and out of place among Barron, Langan, etc, but it could be campy and indulgent fun. Abby could post increasingly strange and grotesque things, or just charismatic and funny things, adding humor and life to the book and enriching her personality. It could to draw unwanted attention to increase narrative tension. Instead, its inclusion just seems cursory. Her posts are basic, generic, and completely irrelevant to the plot.

I feel bad saying all this, because I don't want to discourage a new writer in the genre, and I certainly haven't proven I can do any better. I just don't know that the editors and publishers did anyone any favors by getting this out the door when they did. I suppose it's a matter of philosophy, but it seems like it would've been far kinder to push for the months or even years of revision necessary to make this ready for publication.

[Richard Schaefer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The novel’s plot in a nutshell: twin sisters Abihail (not a typo) and Martha come from a family of what I would describe as Lovecraftian necromancers. One sister has the ability to psychically “push” people’s brains, influencing them to do her whim, and the other can fold time to go forward or back or make it pass faster or more slowly. In the present, the two sisters make their way to their family cabin for reasons you’ll find out over the course of the book that involve one sister’s terminal cancer and a spell I’m not going to ruin for you. Each chapter also unfolds some of the story of their childhood, where we learn about their abusive grandfather and mother, both of whom liked to take over Martha’s body (they perceived her as the weaker sister) and do what they wished with it. It’s a truly chilling representation of abuse, especially when you find out why Martha starts the novel in prison for murder.
The sisters’ dynamic is realistically frustrating (I especially like Abby’s utterly realistic annoyance at Martha’s nervous twitch of folding time forward when she’s anxious) and the plot moves along quickly. I also like the way the book uses social media; Abby psychically feeds off the attention she receives on Twitter.
Sometimes the jump between the past and the present felt like it was drawing things out more than it had to (you don’t find out why Martha was in prison until almost the end of the book, for example), but for the most part that structure worked well to tell two separate but related stories simultaneously.

[Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twins reunited, the Waite girls, a decade apart, on a road journey with strange folk song and wilderness things, possessing of a kind and changing of fates, a mysterious mystery with the hawks in the woods.
The twins dark past will be unveiled with some walking blindly, the narrative slowly burns into your psyche into its finality.

The outer, the apparent, twins looking alike and the Hawks, birds of prey, a beautiful species, and there is the creepy inner crafted by this author that has you eerily look at hawks with different contemplation, just for an instant that is.
I still love the majestic birds of prey despite the authors spin on Hawks, that may for a time have you feel some creepiness with them in your midst.

Nicely crafted with careful withholding, showing, and unveiling, a succumbing haunting tale.
Writing about death, crimes past, kin and sisterhood, with nature and the birds in the framework of cosmic horror.

Thanks to author John Langan for recommending this in my interview with him.
Review with excerpts @ More2Read

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve had the pleasure and disquiet of knowing Carrie for nearly a decade now, and to see her come into her own in the publishing world has truly been an inspiration. Around the writing community in Montana, she was well-known for her essays and criticism on nature and the environment (birding in particular). On the sly, however, she was amassing a trove of eerie and fantastical stories that grapple with the micro-level effects of powerful macro-social, -economic, and -environmental forces.

A Hawk in the Woods is the next step in Carrie’s writing evolution, taking the familiar and the familial and exploring it in an extended, speculative form. Through her precision and intensity--and a healthy dose of witchcraft—Carrie treats the thematic elements of abuse, crime, sisterhood, and death in the way only a Shirley Jackson Award-winning writer could, which is to say with maturity and an unflinching eye.

In the story of the Waite sisters, Carrie provokes a great deal of internal and external tension in scenes that are vividly disturbing. Without going into too many spoilers, I can say that months after reading this debut, I’m still thinking about some of its more shocking moments.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's such a sense of dread throughout this whole book, building and building until it reaches a seemingly foregone conclusion.... and then throws it all out the window! I loved how this challenged my expectations for cosmic horror, it sits a lot in the mundane and every day which makes the breaks from it even more striking.

The incomprehensible plays a large part in the horror of the story, but finds grounding in the depictions of cycles of abuse in families. Abby is charismatic as a protagonist, but we gradually see the cracks in that facade as the story wears thin. Martha makes an excellent foil to her, and I appreciated the ways their characters shift and reveal more about each other the more time they spend together.

While this is inspired by "The Thing on the Doorstep" by HP Lovecraft, I didn't find it necessary to read it before this novel. Also, I wouldn't really recommend it. I did try, and it was exceptionally dry, even for Lovecraft.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laben draws you in from the get-go and doesn't let go. I thought I had it figured out. I thought I knew exactly where it was going. Until the closing chapters. And, oh, that final chapter! The words that come to mind are tragic, creepy, and chilling, but these alone fail to do this wonderfully dark family saga justice. I want a sequel. I'd say what I want that sequel to be, but I fear it would be a spoiler. Whatever you're brewing up next, Carrie Laben, I will be in line to read it.

[La Nave Invisible]

Abby y Martha son dos hermanas gemelas, brujas, de una poderosa familia. Cuando a Abby le diagnostican una enfermedad terminal, lo primero que hace es ayudar a su hermana a fugarse de la cárcel, y juntas se dirigen a la vieja cabaña familiar en Minnesota. En su huida para sobrevivir tendrán que enfrentarse a viejos errores y a sus terribles familiares, pues si provienes de una familia en la que tu padre tomaba el control de tu cuerpo cuando eras pequeña; tu madre trataba de habitar y poseer tu mente y extraer tu energía, y donde tantos y tantos secretos oscuros -y algunos cuerpos- están enterrados, las reuniones familiares no suelen ser agradables.

Hoy os traemos una de las últimas novedades de La Biblioteca de Carfax: Un halcón en el bosque, de Carrie Laben.

Carrie Laben tiene una larga lista de publicaciones de ficción corta y un único título, por ahora, de novela, que es la que tenemos hoy entre manos. Su género predominante es el terror.

Por ello, y como no podía ser de otra manera, Un halcón en el bosque es una novela que entremezcla el thriller y el terror. Es la historia de dos hermanas gemelas, Abby y Martha Waite, que se reencuentran tras muchos años y comienzan un road trip impregnado de nostalgia, incertidumbre y lleno de peligros. Ambas tienen circunstancias especiales en sus vidas que condicionarán sus caminos: Abby ha sido diagnosticada de una enfermedad terminal, y Martha se acaba de fugar de la cárcel gracias a la ayuda de su hermana y a sus propios poderes mágicos.

Porque sí, las dos hermanas son brujas y descienden de una familia llena de magia en la que nos adentraremos poco a poco con el paso de los capítulos.

Los poderes mágicos de las dos hermanas y sus personalidades son muy diferentes, a pesar de que su apariencia es idéntica. Y esto es un punto a favor de la novela: la representación de la magia es muy original y la construcción de los personajes está muy bien desarrollada. Es más, el tipo de magia que posee cada una de las hermanas está fuertemente vinculada al tipo de personalidad que tiene cada una.

Continúa en... https://lanaveinvisible.com/2023/03/1...

[Mi_refugio_literario · Rating 3 out of 5]

🤔¡Hola lectores! Si os dieran a elegir tener un poder sobrenatural, ¿cuál escogeríais?

🔮La protagonista de esta historia, Abby, heredó el poder que alberga su familia desde tiempos remotos. Abby, tal como su abuelo y su madre, posee el poder de doblegar las mentes y el de absorber la energía de otros.

👥Tiene una hermana gemela, Martha, a la cual no ve hace mucho tiempo, pues se haya cumpliendo condena en prisión. ¿Qué hizo?

⏳Ambas, a pesar de su parentesco y parecido físico, son muy distintas no solo en cuanto a personalidad y carácter, sino también con respecto a sus poderes, pues Martha, al igual que la abuela, puede plegar el tiempo a su antojo.

🦠A Abby no le queda mucho tiempo. Le ha sido diagnosticada una enfermedad terminal, pero tiene un plan… y para llevarlo a cabo necesita sacar a su hermana de la cárcel.

🏠Ambas deben volver a la casa de su infancia. Irán rememorarando esa época, sobre todo, confusa, llena de miedos y de hechos espeluznantes. Una época en la que Martha fue numerosas veces maltratada de distintas formas e incluso, despersonalizada.

📖Abby debe realizar un poderoso y difícil ritual para salvar su vida, pero para ello necesita los viejos cuadernos de notas del abuelo, un pedazo de lo que queda de él y el lugar perfecto para llevarlo a cabo.

🩸Pero no lo tendrá nada fácil. Deberá esconder en todo momento sus intenciones a su hermana, además de vérselas con distintos parientes que buscan lo mismo que ella…

🦅Posesión, rituales, exhumación, persecuciones, secuestro, enfrentamientos, muertes, espejos cubiertos, un extraño granero, espeluznantes tentáculos… y unos halcones siempre al acecho.

🤬He odiado a Abby hasta la última palabra. Es egocéntrica, prepotente, egoísta… y podría seguir, pero, he de decir en su favor, que es parte del encanto que conforma el conjunto de la obra.

📒El comienzo es lento y lioso, dejando muchos interrogantes y manteniendo cierta intriga, aunque un poco obtusa. No obstante, a partir de la segunda mitad, todos esos cabos sueltos van encajando y conformando un puzle tenebroso y adictivo.
@mi_refugio_literario

[Diamond]

Abby Waite just got diagnosed with cancer, so she does the only logical thing, and breaks her twin sister Martha out of prison and they embark on a road trip to the old family summer cabin. Oh, and their family, the Waite's have a knack for mind control, posession, and a tendency to just not stay dead...

A Hawk in the Woods is told from Abby's perspective, and is probably now my favorite use of alternating timelines. Laben avoids copious amounts of exposition, and instead gradually gives glimpses of the big picture as the story progresses. Every question I found myself asking was answered at some point (in such an organic way no less). Each revelation felt perfectly timed, my curiosity was maintained, but never stretched to the point of confusion or frustration.

What really impresses me here were Abby and Martha. It often feels like asking for complex female characters is asking for too much, and often we just get the clumsy girl, or the alcoholic woman, but Laben actually created two very different, complicated, and flawed woman. Abby is easily unlikeable, manipulative, and a full blown narcissist--but she is far from boring. Martha is her opposite, meek and submissive, and while she is sympathetic, I found myself frequently getting exasperated by her (which was absolutely intentional, and so well done!). Even when I wanted to slap one--or both--sisters I never stopped feeling fully invested in their story. This isn't the tale of sisterly love you may be expecting, but something much more surprising.

Between creating excellent characters and just great storytelling I'm shocked that the release of this debut novel was the first I'd heard of Carrie Laben. If this is her just getting started she is one to watch out for, and I have a feeling whatever comes next will be exciting!

[Hugo Rojas Madrigal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hasta inicios de año consideraba que podías coger a ojos cerrados cualquier libro de la editorial Carfax y sin importar tus gustos serías gratamente sorprendido por la gran calidad de los autores y de las mejores obras que las chicas en las riendas de la ed ya han expurgado por nosotros. Lo que cambió con "El único Indio bueno", que sigo creyendo es consecuencia de la inclusión, y que confirmó con esta lectura, es comprensible tenía que existir algún tropiezo.

Una historia que tiene elementos que hacen que se antoja más interesante de lo que la autora pone en nuestras manos, concluido el libro puedes preguntarte, ¿valió la pena?

Difícilmente podría decir que es entretenido, la narrativa es densa y lenta, se requiere de un esfuerzo para llegar a medio libro y sentir que está mereciendo la pena, en el camino por hacer la trama misteriosa cae en el aburrimiento, el diálogo normalmente es un respiro para el lector y ayuda a sentir que el texto fluye con avidez y aquí realmente aporta poco, conversaciones campechanas que sirven mas para entender que estamos en el tiempo presente de la historia.

Uno de esos raros casos en que los personajes exceden de las capacidades del autor para convertir una idea genial en algo extraordinario, algo que muy difícilmente podría recomendar salvo que la sinopsis te vaya como anillo al dedo.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

A suspenseful dark tale of family trauma, abuse of power, and the bonds of sisterhood that centers on supernaturally gifted twins Abby and Martha Waite. Abby is our main narrative perspective here and readers meet her as she finds outs she has been diagnosed with stage III melanoma. She immediately heads to bust Martha out of jail and we discover that Abby is able to manipulate and push others thoughts to her will, while Martha is able to fold and change time itself. The two embark on a road trip from New York to the family cabin in Minnesota, all the while being followed by increasingly malevolent and strange hawks that seem to have it out for Martha.

It slowly becomes clear that Abby is determined to not die young at any cost, no matter who or what she must sacrifice. We learn through Abby's memories of the twins' often terrible childhoods what lengths others in her family have went through to extend their lives well beyond a natural ending. Increasingly blurring the lines between villain and victim, and sure to keep you guessing until the final pages, this novel shows us that the most horrific parts of the Waite family are not their supernatural prowess, but the ease of which they manipulate each other, sowing deep family dysfunction and distrust in disturbing ways. Highly recommended.

[Jordi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping debut novel by the Shirley Jackson award-winning author Carrie Laben. What starts as a homage to “The Thing on the Doorstep” by Lovecraft, soon grows to be a powerful narrative of how destructive family ties can be.

Written in a direct and absorbent style, it reads both as a get-away story and as a super-natural thriller, where the possibilities of personality transfer in the original Lovecraft story are explored in sick directions - there's always a sense of wicked irony at the core of the book.

I specially liked how the novel alternates between the plot of the two twin sisters in their unsettling road trip to nowhere with the recollections of their childhood under the creepy characters of their grandfather and their mother. This not only sets a strong pace to the novel, but helps to make the characters grow in a very effective way.

If you’re into horror, this one is a must read - you will likely drink the chapters away.

[Joshua Hair · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Hawk in the Woods is an intellectual cosmic horror filled with mean people, old magic, and beautiful prose. It revolves around Abahail and, to a lesser extent, her twin sister. Abby is dying of cancer, sister Martha is in prison for a rather nasty crime, and Grandpa just will NOT stay dead. The story shifts focus often from present to past in order to slowly feed the reader background information on why Abby is such an insufferable brat, why poor Martha is used and abused by all around her, and why the heck these girls are being hunted by hawks.

That's as far as I'll go into the actual story. I'll say that I enjoyed this one way more than I thought I would. It was far from perfect - the ending, for one, really ticked me off - but the prose is gorgeous, the story engaging, and the twists and turns delivered very well. If you're looking for something a bit more intelligent and don't mind reading about awful, evil characters then give it a read.

[Thomas Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though this novel came to me on strong recommendation, I didn’t quite know what I was getting into. Even a third of the way into the story, I didn’t yet grasp the magnitude of what Laben had created.

A Hawk in the Woods is a delightfully dark tale, though the often aloof nature of the protagonist, Abby, initially had me fooled. This is not a story to be consumed quickly, or idly — devils dwell in the details, and though every thread introduced in this novel is eventually addressed, those details frequently come in “blink or you miss it” moments. This is not a knock against Laben’s craft. Rather, the details reveal deep characterization and a unique window into a very personal take on cosmic horror.

With strong world building, compelling characters, and a monstrous spin on magical agency, this is a novel horror readers should not miss.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to get to review this for High Fever Books, so I'll be giving them the more in depth review, however I wanted to add something here for this wonderful book about a very powerful family.

Carrie Laben's debut novel is an awesome look at family bonds, cancer, and magic. The way she expertly weaves the past and the present creates a twisting narrative that culminates into a crazy third act. It does take a little time to get used to how many secrets all of the characters have and how the past plays into the present, but once it clicks it all makes sense. I found myself glued to both narratives, staying up way too late to see how certain events turn out.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found myself wanting to know more about the Waite's family history.

[Jaime · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lo extraño por bandera.
Desde el comienzo de la novela hay una sensación de ajeno, de extrañeza. Algo está fuera de lugar casi desde la primera página. Carrie Laben consigue trasladar al lector una sensación de incomodidad idéntica a la que parecen sentir las protagonistas.
Un halcón el bosque empieza con una premisa. Abby Waite saca a su hermana de la cárcel con un propósito que no se desvela hasta casi el final del libro. Durante su viaje a una antigua cabaña familiar en Minnesota, descubrimos que ambas pertenecen a una familia particular. Telepatía, manipulación del espacio y del tiempo, control mental, nigromancia o brujería son sólo algunas de las habilidades que la familia Waite puede llevar a cabo. Cada persona parece desarrollar de forma innata algún poder, y ahí está la clave que resolverá la trama principal de la novela.

Un diálogo entre hermanas gemelas
Carrie Laben construye dos personajes, Abby y Martha, de manera magistral, siendo el diálogo que mantienen ambas el motor de la novela. La trama principal transcurre en torno al viaje de ambas desde la cárcel hacia Minnesota. Como trama secundaria la autora nos presenta la historia de la familia Waite, desde que ambas hermanas son pequeñas, la relación con su madre y, sobre todo, qué papel juega el abuelo de la familia Waite.
Desde la primera página percibimos una atmósfera extraña. La novela está plagada de elementos que mantienen al lector y a la protagonista alerta. La autora construye un relato que da lo que promete. Magia, referencias a Lovecraft, posesiones, dramas familiares con tintes nigrománticos y protagonistas carismáticos. Todo ello con un tono y una atmósfera perturbadora muy bien conseguidos. Una novela que disfrutarás más si abres la mente y dejas a un lado las expectativas. Un halcón en el bosque necesita lectores que pongan de su parte y acepten que no todas sus preguntas tendrán respuesta.

¿Lo mejor de la novela?
Que no es necesario una respuesta a cada pregunta. Igual que sus protagonistas, debemos aceptar que existen enigmas para los que ahora mismo no hay solución. Aún así, la historia continúa, del mismo modo que continúa el viaje de ambas gemelas hacia la cabaña familiar de Minnesota.
Una novela en la que la narradora no es del todo de fiar, pero que no nos queda otra que confiar en su palabra para desentrañar algo de información sobre ellas, sobre su infancia y qué plan se trae entre manos.

[Brandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprise book mail is the best kind. I must have ordered this half-asleep one morning and forgotten about it, but it felt like past me had gotten future me a nice gift. Two sisters with unusual talents on the lam? Family secrets and complicated relationships? Yes please. A book that keeps its darkest secret right up til the end, dropping little hints on the way to a stunning twist and reveal that answers... most of the questions. Hopefully we get to read more about the Waite sisters and their family someday, because the unanswered questions are haunting.

[Farah Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellently woven, engaging novel about two sisters, sordid family history, body horror, and the nuances of identity. That is putting it in the most brief of terms to not spoil anything. What I can say is that it is one of the most solidly enrapturing contemporary horror novels I have read for years.

[Michael Tichy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably the most perfect allegory for intergenerational trauma and how coping skills evolve into lifelong illnesses that haunt us that I’ve ever read. Brilliantly written. The subtext is integrated into a compelling narrative that is poignant and that I will be thinking about for weeks to come.