Review: The Shadow House

The Shadow House by Anna Downes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

Alex is a single mom who tries her best to take care of her two kids. She's got a teenager and a baby, so trying to tend to both of their needs is hard. She grew up in an abusive household, so when she was old enough to get away, she did and never went back. As an adult, she's found herself escaping her own abusive relationship to protect herself and her kids. Alex moves her family to an eco-village in an attempt to hide out until she can figure out what to do next and hopefully start over. The residents of the village are mostly all friendly and the location seems like a great place to make a fresh start for Alex and the kids. Shortly after they move in, weird stuff starts to happen in their new home that seems to be tied to a local legend involving the old abandoned farmhouse on the land the village sits on and a witch. Alex's son Ollie seems to be a target of the threats, and Alex is determined to get to the bottom of who is sending strange packages and weird notes to her and her son. She isn't sure who to trust

This story alternates between Alex's POV and Renee's POV and eventually their stories come together. Renee's chapters take place several years before Alex's arrival in eco-village and they tell a similar story to Alex's trials with her own teenage son. He is obsessed with technology, gaming, and the internet. His story is very similar to what Alex is experiencing with her own son especially when it comes down to receiving weird and creepy packages. Renee's story unfortunately ends with her son going missing leaving and eventually forming the legend of the witch taking children. I did appreciate the twists and the reveals that occured in learning what was really going on. I had part of the story figured out but other parts I did not, and I really appreciated the way the author crafted this thriller so you didn't know what was coming next. You weren't sure if there was a witch or what was happening until the very end.

Overall I enjoyed this. I didn't particularly care for Alex's character until the very end. You don't really get to know and understand her until late in the book. Early on she is always running away from her problems and making emotional decisions in the moment. As you get to understand her character you understand why. I also could have done without the romance sub-plot. Other than that I thought Renee and Alex's storylines came together nicely in the end and the author did a good job mirroring Gabe and Ollie's experiences.

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