The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent is an absolutely riveting read. To read about the conditions and growing up of the main characters was amazing and heart-rending. The descriptions felt real and in-depth. Love this book and the writing style. Recommend.

Solid Psychological suspense with parental heartbreak at it’s core.

This is the first book from Minka Kent that I have read, and I absolutely enjoyed it, and will be checking out more of her books.

As always with these types of books, it starts off innocuously enough, and I was trying to pick which bits of the story were pertinent information to remember. The thing with thrillers is that there is always a twist and a connection between party’s that are seemingly unrelated. I’ve long loved those programs with psychological twists like Silent Witness or Broadchurch so I tried to sharpen my game.

On one hand, I was reading the POV from young Wren, who with her younger sisters, has been living off-grid for as long as she can remember. It’s been a tough, but loving life of isolation that has never been questioned. The second POV is from Nicolette, a woman who has felt a deepening disconnect from her husband of 10 years. I was taking notes and highlighting passages, thinking I’d worked it out somehow.

What I read, however, was more heart-breaking than I imagined. And, I enjoyed reading this book, The Stillwater Girls every bit as much as I thought I would. Good solid read at 4 stars.

Under-hyped thrillers? Give ‘em to me!

I know I’m late to the game on this one, but I was floored after finishing The Stillwater Girls.

IMO, this is a hidden gem- and I’m sad it’s not talked about more (or maybe I’m looking in the wrong places)? Told from dual perspectives, I found myself completely engrossed and on the edge of my seat throughout. -BTW- Not normal, I tend to get bored.

I love when authors write so vividly and real that I can be out for blood one second and feel guilty for those feelings the next. When they have me questioning everything I thought I read and even have to go BACK and check to see if I missed something.

I’m a snob, so I don’t often give out high praises for thrillers or suspense novels often because typically I’m like ‘meh’, but I was left with so many emotions and so many ‘WTF did I just read’ moments.

Minka ACED this. Expertly crafted with intrigue into the haunting realities of living off the grid, experiencing debilitating trauma and uncovering terrifying truths from the people you are supposed to trust- The Stillwater Girls will leave your jaw on the floor.

Thank you to @netgalley & @amazonpublishing for the gifted copy🖤

This book had two things I love: short chapters and cliffhangers. There are two stories running parallel to each other: Nicolette who suspects her husband is cheating on her and Wren a young girl who is fighting to survive in a cabin in the woods with her sister. The way the stories later intersect was really masterful. I kept thinking that there wouldn't be way to tie up all of the loose ends, but Kent managed to.

I couldn't give this book 5 stars even though I really enjoyed reading it because I guessed most of the twists that happened. But because of the suspense and creepy tone that was there, I wouldn't knock this down to three stars either. I'd be curious to read other books by Kent because I'm intrigued with her style (especially in the thriller genre).

4.5 ✨
One thing you can count on with a Minka Kent book is a high level of suspense. With every page turn I was invested and overly eager to know what was coming next. Being a suspense thriller, I was theorizing what was going to happen, who was who. What starts off as two separate stories suddenly become one in the most unexpected way possible and forever changing the lives of Wren and her sisters. Kent threw me for a total loop because the whole time what I thought knew, what even the character thought she knew turned out to be completely wrong! I was floored and to say I was shocked was an understatement. By the end, I was only ready for more! I received a copy from the author and am voluntarily leaving an honest and unbiased review.

I really enjoyed the way this book had two different story lines. You cannot imagine how the two can eventually intertwine. But when that happens, you’ll be in for a roller coaster ride with twists and turns. While presented as a thriller, I feel like this should have been considered a good mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Amazing book. Would highly recommend to others. I have read prior books by this authors and never been disappointed!

First off I want to say a huge thank you to the publisher Thomas & Mercer , the author Minka Kent , and to NetGalley for letting me read and review, I can't believe it took this long for me to pick it up to read, and now I've done so thanks to my friend Lousie- Ellen, now on to what I thought of it :Completely and utterly absorbed in the story, which means I was hooked right from the start, had to know what was going to happen next, in fact I by the end of the book I was setting on the edge of me set. And the characters was engaging right from the very start, the twist and turns it kept bring left me guessing on what was going to happen next . Can't wait to see what this author comes up with next,

Each of us finds those authors that are our tried-and-true go-to when we need something specific out of our reading. When I'm feeling in a slump, or I need the distraction of book that I don't want to put down, I go to Minka Kent. The Stillwater Girls may be her best yet. While the premise of this one had me put it off a bit longer than I normally would, I'm glad that I finally dove in. The mystery of the girls and who they are isn't too hard to figure out through context clues, but this story is more than twists. It contains all of the elements of my favorite kind of thriller: short chapters with cliffhangers, alternating viewpoints, and misdirection. One of the most important things is that you weren't left with feeling like the story tricked the reader and the ending came out of left field. It made sense, and it all wrapped up together as it should. I also didn't expect to get emotional at the end! But thanks Minka, you always manage to surprise me!

I really loved this book in a new to me author. The characters and location really and to the story. I can't wait to read the next one. This book keeps you guessing until the end.

Mixed feelings. I think that there is so much potential in the story on paper, but the actual execution is not up to par with these expectations. There is too little of the fear factor for the story to be a good thriller/horror; and the "big twist" is overcalculated in my opinion.
Yet the novel was still able to hold my attention - undoubtedly thanks to Ms Kent being a very skilled writer!

I give this a 3.5 rounded to 4 stars. I almost gave up midway through but I'm glad I stuck with it. The ending was very good even if some of the plot was far fetched.

I am in charge of the senior library and work with a group of Reading Ambassadors from 16-18 to ensure that our boarding school library is modernised and meets the need of both our senior students and staff. It has been great to have the chance to talk about these books with our seniors and discuss what they want and need on their shelves. I was drawn to his book because I thought it would be something different from the usual school library fare and draw the students in with a tempting storyline and lots to discuss.
This book was a really enjoyable read with strong characters and a real sense of time and place. I enjoyed the ways that it maintained a cracking pace that kept me turning its pages and ensured that I had much to discuss with them after finishing. It was not only a lively and enjoyable novel but had lots of contemporary themes for our book group to pick up and spend hours discussing too.
I think it's important to choose books that interest as well as challenge our students and I can see this book being very popular with students and staff alike; this will be an excellent purchase as it has everything that we look for in a great read - a tempting premise, fantastic characters and a plot that keeps you gripped until you close its final page.

I picked this book up a few weeks ago, but as I had just finished another novel about a family living in the woods/off the grid I put it down for a while. I went back to it this week and I’m so glad I did! I always love Minka Kent and this was no exception. I truly did not see the big twist coming! It was a surprising, engrossing and unique read (not at all like the other book, as I originally thought!)
Thanks #netgalley for my ARC #thestillwatergirls

Unfortunately this one didn’t work for me. The two storylines took a really long time to connect and were mostly disjointed. The big twist was pretty unbelievable and seemed a bit lazy. It just didn’t make sense within the story. And then everything wrapped up way too neatly at the end with no suffering from any sort of trauma. ⭐️⭐️

I thoroughly enjoyed this short read by Minka Kent. It had a few different genres all tangled into one book and I loved that. The only reason it did not get a higher rating from me is because I could see how it could be confusing for some people. You have two completely different stories running simultaneously and it's not exactly clear how they could be related to one another until close to the end of the book. It was a very enjoyable book though.

This is not usually my type of book but I really enjoyed it. I liked how the book went back and forth between 2 different characters every other chapter. I will definitely be reading more of this author.

This was a book I really enjoyed reading and did not want to put down. Two girls in their late teens are living in a cabin in the woods with no modern technology or luxuries. Their mother has convinced her daughters that the world outside is dangerous and they cannot leave the cabin. The mother takes their younger sister who is sick to get medical car and after a couple months hasn’t returned. A man shows up to the cabin and scares the girls who run away seeking shelter at a nearby house they did not know existed. The remainder of the book is spent trying to figure out who the girls are and what happened to their mother. The reactions of the girls to modern technology and culture made for an interesting. When with the mystery of why they were hiding in a cabin, made for a book that couldn’t put down. Some events in the book are a bit far fetched, but it is fiction so I didn’t dwell on it too much.

Minka Kent delivers another addictive book! 4 stars for The Stillwater Girls.


I don't know if I'd really call Kent's books thrillers. They're more like women's fic with some suspense elements. I enjoyed this book the most out of 3 or 4 Minka Kent books I've read. This author definitely knows how to write an engrossing, captivating & addictive story! You just can't put her books down.

I only have 2 books left by Minka Kent and I'm excited to pick the next one up! Even though I haven't given her stories 5 stars yet, I LOVE her work.

Do I recommend this book? Yes, I do!

I really wasn't expecting the twists and turns this book took. The plot felt a little disjointed in the beginning and I was wondering how everything would connect but I think it was so well done and the twists definitely kept me on my toes.

Really looking forward to reading more from this author.