The Woman in the Dark has quite the sinister character here with the once beautiful victorian house that no longer holds beauty but creepiness. Now known as the Murder House, the creepiness to the house leans more to horror at times. I loved the Murder House and everything about it; however, the characters here were not as strong as the house was.

I enjoyed the pace of the story and found it very entertaining. I flew through this one quite fast, and I needed to know what went on and is going on in this house. I did, at times, get frustrated with the suspense of the story being dragged out, which made some the actions of the characters not feel so real.

There are a few things going on here with the character's actions that are dark and disturbing and kind of pushed things here for this dark and twisted reader. I feel the story needed a little more drama between the characters to soften that dark behaviour. For someone who dislikes drama, I can't believe I said that.

This one had all the elements to it that I love in a thriller, especially that setting and it really stands out here; however, I would have enjoyed it more if the characters didn't ignore some things that were happening.

WOW! “The Woman in the Dark” was my 100th read this year and what a brilliant thriller!

Compelling writing and continuous tension ensured that I was riveted to the story for the entirety of the book. A debut domestic thriller that reads like the work of a much more experienced author.

A thriller chock-full of lies, secrets, family dysfunction, and menace.

The Welsh seaside setting, the macabre house, and the protagonist, Sarah, all combined to make this novel one of my favourite reads this year!

Highly recommended! Now, I can’t wait to read Vanessa Savage’s second novel “In the Woods” due to be published in January 2020.

Sarah and Patrick have different ideas as to how to improve their family's lives. Sarah thinks a vacation or two using some money her mother has left behind could really help them. Patrick wants to purchase his family home that has a checkered past, but he thinks moving the family into this home they could remake the home and the family. Both are keeping secrets that could eventually take this family to its knees.

From the synopsis, I was prepared for this book to be right up my alley, but there was one big thing that frustrated me and it was the unreliable narrator. As the book is from Sarah's point of view there are some scenes at the very beginning that wipe away all trust that the reader has in Sarah and you question everything she says if it is truth. I am not a fan of this plot device and I don't like wondering if I can trust my narrator, I need to be able to believe her to enjoy the reading experience.

Overall I liked the writing, the plot and how everything unfolded, but for me the narrator was so distracting that it took away from the book. I would read another book by this author, but in hopes that I could trust the main character!

Alrighty, I’m going with a 3.75 star rating for The Woman in the Dark. Now you just have to hear me out as to why I’m fussing about with this rating between the 3-and-4-stars. This one should be a 3-star book for me but it definitely can’t be a 4-star because there’s plenty of issues I had with it. So why the 3.75 stars if we’re going to rate the book using this numbered rating system? Well, even though The Woman in the Dark is filled with every well-worn plot device and twist you’ve ever read and brims with every known and overused trope possible, and because this is an extremely familiar thriller/suspense novel, (You’ve read this book before, countless times. Myself, I just finished reading one so very similar and it was also for our book club as well (As Long As We Both Shall Live)…. The Woman in the Dark is chock-full of over-done everything but….I could not stop turning those pages! I honestly burned through this one reading in just under 4 days. I found myself racing to get back to it, wanting to be reading this one so I could find out how it was all going to turn out (even though I knew with everything in me how it was going to end already).

Yes, despite how annoying all of this over-use of just about everything-but-the-kitchen-sink-plot-devices became for me, and how unbearable it was at just how thick Sarah was and how frustrating it was that she was never going to grab a clue, and knowing how the story was going to play itself out was unquestionably obvious…..I was glued to its pages! Why? Why was I so entertained? I just don’t know?!?! 🙂

Because I do have to say overall, this was a quick and fun read, it’s not a difficult or complex one for sure, it’s definitely not hard to figure out what’s going to happen, but I can honestly say it was a completely enjoyable reading experience.

Creepy, gothic, dark, with lots of secrets…that’s how I describe The Woman in the Dark by Vanessa Savage.

Here’s what you need to know:

For Sarah and Patrick, family life has always been easy. But when Sarah’s mother dies, it sends Sarah into a downwards spiral. Knowing they need a fresh start, Patrick moves the family to the beachside house he grew up in.

But there is a catch: while their new home carries only happy memories for Patrick, to everyone else it’s known as the Murder House – named for the family that was killed there.

Patrick is adamant they can make it perfect again, though with their children plagued by nightmares and a constant sense they’re being watched, Sarah’s not so sure. Because the longer they live in their ‘dream home’, the more different her loving husband becomes.

I read this book quickly, its an intriguing story and you can just picture the house with all its suffering and secrets. I’d be scared out of my mind living in a place where murders were committed!

This one was really interesting, but a bit too creepy for me. Really enjoyed the characters, though!

When I begin reading a book described as a thriller or mystery I am immediately looking for clues as to what is the truth. I never want it to be simple, or to figure out the reasons why things have gone astray. In reading The Woman in the Dark, I was intrigued and pulled in chapter after chapter. This is Vanessa Savage’s first book, so we all have much to look forward to I hope.

Sarah is a lost and confused person from the start, but I began to suspect that much of her trouble was not just her mental health, but the work of someone who didn’t care about her. Patrick, her husband, plays the doting and devoted spouse in public and yet there is something dark about him, his actions to support and help her in one moment and then actions to slap down her delicate psyche in the next.

From the moment they pack up their teen children and make the move to a small coastal town, and the childhood home of Patrick, now referred to as the Murder House, things become more cloudy and confusing. Savage creates this atmosphere in every detail of the house and the surrounding area, There is fog, rain, and winter at the beach, and a dark forbidding sense in the house itself. While Sarah attempts to make it a home there are just too many elements of a home in disrepair and holding too many secrets.

I enjoyed this book, while I wanted to both shake and implore Sarah to do other things I couldn’t wait to see what was to happen next. The cast of characters that she meets in her new town, all suspiciousy tied to her husband Patrick and their home, make it that much richer. Thank you again to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for my early copy. I hope you’ll pick up a copy of The Woman in the Dark and let me know what you think.

Holy 💩!!! This is an amazing read from page one until the very last page! Keeps wondering whose the guilty one and what’s really going on in that creepy murder house! Absolutely unputdownable with so much tension it is almost suffocating and so many twists you feel like you’re on a tilt-a-whirl! A must read for my fellow, thriller lovers! Preorder today!
Will be using in a challenge, reviewing closet to release date, chatting it up, and highly recommending to the members of Chapter Chatter Pub!