What do you think?
Rate this book
The Muse
To save their ailing marriage, Cara and Mitch Lowe go to The Retreat; a remote holiday cottage in the Highlands. The Retreat, much like the couple, is not without its secrets. It appears there’s more space on the inside than the outside would suggest, and there are locks on every interior door.
A miscommunication with the online booking agent means the cottage’s owner, a reclusive artist known only as Quinn, is also on site – living in a cabin at the end of the garden.
Cara becomes obsessed with Quinn’s artwork, which decorates the walls in every room of the cottage. There’s something unfathomably macabre underlying the beauty of each piece. And soon the ghost of ‘Meredith’, the mysterious subject of most of these paintings, demands Cara’s attention.
But who is she? And what does she want Cara to know?
A miscommunication with the online booking agent means the cottage’s owner, a reclusive artist known only as Quinn, is also on site – living in a cabin at the end of the garden.
Cara becomes obsessed with Quinn’s artwork, which decorates the walls in every room of the cottage. There’s something unfathomably macabre underlying the beauty of each piece. And soon the ghost of ‘Meredith’, the mysterious subject of most of these paintings, demands Cara’s attention.
But who is she? And what does she want Cara to know?
153 pages, Paperback
Published August 14, 2021
12 people want to read
About the author
R.H. Dixon
13 books16 followersR. H. Dixon is a horror enthusiast who, when not escaping into the fantastical realms of fiction, lives in the northeast of England with her husband and two whippets. She is an active member of the Horror Writers Association.
When reading and writing she enjoys exploring the darknesses and weaknesses within the human psyche, and she loves good strong characters that are flawed and put through their paces. Her favourite authors include: Shirley Jackson, John Ajvide Lindqvist, Joe Hill, Ramsey Campbell, Paul Tremblay, Michelle Paver and Stephen King.
As well as reading and writing, she enjoys travelling (particularly wildlife-spotting jaunts involving bears, wolves and corvids), visiting spooky places, collecting animal skulls and drinking full-bodied red wine.
When reading and writing she enjoys exploring the darknesses and weaknesses within the human psyche, and she loves good strong characters that are flawed and put through their paces. Her favourite authors include: Shirley Jackson, John Ajvide Lindqvist, Joe Hill, Ramsey Campbell, Paul Tremblay, Michelle Paver and Stephen King.
As well as reading and writing, she enjoys travelling (particularly wildlife-spotting jaunts involving bears, wolves and corvids), visiting spooky places, collecting animal skulls and drinking full-bodied red wine.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 1, 2021
4.5*
THE MUSE, by R.H. Dixon was the perfect psychological horror novella for the season.
Married couple Mitch and Cara book a week at an isolated cottage known--aptly enough--as The Retreat. Each of them harboring their own secrets, while hoping to reconnect and strengthen their marriage. Unfortunately, a booking mistake means that the owner, Quinn, is still on the premises. An artist, Quinn quickly assures them that he will stay in his own cottage further back, and not intrude upon their week.
". . . we put too much blind faith in what we can't see . . . "
Cara's past is brought up in increments, showing why she is so nervous about bringing up any new obstacles to their marriage. Yet Mitch's secrets--part of which she's uncovered--leave her reeling with the uncertain implications.
". . . Is there a person in existence who doesn't keep secrets? . . ."
The story starts out slowly, building on the atmosphere and uncertainty in general, all around. Once it gets going, and things begin to be revealed, it was impossible to tear myself away. Throughout the cottage are various pictures of a woman--or parts of the same woman--on canvases everywhere. Cara immediately feels drawn to them, as if there is something--more than the artist's obvious obsession--that they are trying to tell her. Yet another mystery adding to the plot.
My only complaint was that I felt more "connection" to the painted woman, than the other characters. Perhaps simply because we don't know what is going on with them until so much later, we can only guess at what parts of their lives are "real", and what is still "hidden".
". . . Obsession is a pivotal point of an extreme emotion which panders to the insane."
However, the ending was one that I was completely taken by, and won't soon forget! Definitely a book to re-read in the future.
Recommended.
THE MUSE, by R.H. Dixon was the perfect psychological horror novella for the season.
Married couple Mitch and Cara book a week at an isolated cottage known--aptly enough--as The Retreat. Each of them harboring their own secrets, while hoping to reconnect and strengthen their marriage. Unfortunately, a booking mistake means that the owner, Quinn, is still on the premises. An artist, Quinn quickly assures them that he will stay in his own cottage further back, and not intrude upon their week.
". . . we put too much blind faith in what we can't see . . . "
Cara's past is brought up in increments, showing why she is so nervous about bringing up any new obstacles to their marriage. Yet Mitch's secrets--part of which she's uncovered--leave her reeling with the uncertain implications.
". . . Is there a person in existence who doesn't keep secrets? . . ."
The story starts out slowly, building on the atmosphere and uncertainty in general, all around. Once it gets going, and things begin to be revealed, it was impossible to tear myself away. Throughout the cottage are various pictures of a woman--or parts of the same woman--on canvases everywhere. Cara immediately feels drawn to them, as if there is something--more than the artist's obvious obsession--that they are trying to tell her. Yet another mystery adding to the plot.
My only complaint was that I felt more "connection" to the painted woman, than the other characters. Perhaps simply because we don't know what is going on with them until so much later, we can only guess at what parts of their lives are "real", and what is still "hidden".
". . . Obsession is a pivotal point of an extreme emotion which panders to the insane."
However, the ending was one that I was completely taken by, and won't soon forget! Definitely a book to re-read in the future.
Recommended.
November 25, 2023
Cara & Mitch book a weekend holiday in a remote bed and breakfast in the Scottish Highlands in an attempt to revive their troubled marriage after a breach of trust. But, a booking error means the owner is also on the property, in a nearby cottage. Quinn, a mysterious artist, is secretive, and Cara feels drawn to him, partly because his beautiful paintings of a mysterious woman haunt every room in the house, and she can't stop looking at them. As Cara becomes more obsessed with finding out who the woman in the paintings is, she begins to doubt her own perceptions and judgment. I won't spoil it but I didn't find the characters interesting, and much of the writing was cliche and vague. Not recommended.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews