This was an interesting mystery - I did this as an audio so, even though the story is long, I was able to speed it up and keep it from feeling too long.

I liked Kate and getting to know her. Even though I was surprised she was living there and what she and her kids had been through, I appreciated learning the backstory. The harassment was just awful and I was shocked by each new turn and reveal. The actual twist and reasoning felt a little light to me but I did like the build up and the ultimate stand off.

But the ending was strung out a bit. I knew something was coming but it took a while to finally conclude. Good story, I was entertained and I liked the audiobook narrator!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

3 stars

Kate Burke, haunted by her husband's murder, battles PTSD when noises stir her awake. Is it just wildlife or intruders? With her property vandalized, she suspects someone is watching her. Seeking safety, she rents her sister's cottage but faces escalating vandalism, unnerving calls, and texts. As the threat intensifies, Kate's terrifying ordeal inches closer in the chilling game of cat and mouse.

The Cottage is a fun and twisty psychological thriller that’ll have you on the edge of your seat. It’s creepy at times and atmospheric, though definitely too long and a little predictable. Not the most memorable, though if the premise sounds interesting I think you should give it a whirl!

3.5⭐️⭐️⭐️





- may contain spoiler -

Ooohhh not sure why I gave them just a few stars. I think how long and boring the book is in . It’s a good concept but my gosh it very long . I don’t know what to think at some point which I skip the other ones.




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Two years after the death of her police officer husband in a purported botched robbery, Kate Burke has done her best to move on with life for the sake of her 12-year-old twins. But when she awakens one night to see two people running from the empty cottage that sits on her property, then notices the vandalism the next morning, she can't help but be shaken. It's a frightening reminder of similar events that occurred in the lead-up to her husband's murder.

To help discourage any more trouble and keep her children safe, she decides to rent out the cottage to a man she used to know. An extra set of eyes can only help. However, her new tenant's presence does nothing to stop the vandals. In fact, Kate's carefully structured life starts to unravel at a disturbing pace when she begins to receive eerie text messages and photographs that make it clear someone's watching her.

Worried for her safety, local law enforcement and her father-in-law, former police chief Leo Burke, work overtime to protect her as they search for her stalker. Just when they think they've identified the man behind it all, he's shot dead by one of their own. Kate hopes this means her troubles are finally over, but she soon finds out they've only begun.

Brimming with suspense and white-knuckle moments, "The Cottage" by Daniel Judson is a propulsive, exhilarating joy ride from start to end. There's an air of whodunnit to keep you guessing. With a full cast of well-developed characters, there are plenty of people to suspect. That doesn't mean you can't figure it out. You probably will (I did). But what you won't see coming are the twists that follow. Fasten your seatbelt and get ready for an insane ride.

"The Cottage" is a masterfully developed, brilliantly written, and consistently entertaining novel by a talented author. At 443 pages, it's longer than most psychological thrillers today, but trust me when I say you won't spend one second being bored -- until after you've read the last page, that is.

4 stars rounded up to 4.5.

This was a decent audiobook with a solid audio narrator.

It was a slow burn but I didn’t mind it as it gave me time to really get to know the characters.

You never really knew who to trust in this one. So it’ll definitely keep you guessing.

I wouldn’t classify it as a real thriller. More of a murder mystery with some suspense.

I think it would make a good movie. It sort of reminded me of a solid script from the 90s-early 2000s that would have Denzel as the lead.

I liked how the relationships in this one progressed.

Would be a great book to read if your chilling alone in a cabin, with a warm blanket and a fire burning.

While I liked the premise of the book, the story was too slow for my liking. I feel that the plot was too inconsistent and the story was not engaging enough for me to want to keep reading. It took me longer than usual to finish the book but will give the author another chance!

This one was not for me.
Thank you NetGalley for providing a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was up and down for me. An interesting premise, and Daniel is good at creating suspense and mystery and an idea of fear. However, I felt it was too slow. I think these kind of themed books need to be slow, because it adds tension, but the pacing was off, it felt lethargic more than tense.

Kate Burke is suffering from PTSD 2 years after her husband is killed in a random home invasion. One night she hears a commotion outside her window and from there this story unravels. Kate fears someone is out there waiting in the dark, someone is watching her….why? This story definitely had a creepy/stalker vibe but it was a bit of a slow burn. Thank you NetGalley, Thomas and Mercer and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. Available now

I received a copy of The Cottage from Net Galley to read and review. My thanks to Net Galley, the publisher abound author.
The Cottage of Daniel Judson’s dark , brooding novel, is the center events that bring terror to the lives of Kate and her two teen children who live on the edge of. New England village. Still struggling wit the death of her policeman husband two years before, Kate is faced with daughter Callie, who has started her teen years with all the willfulness and snarkiness that a girl can have, while her younger brother, Max, has become moody. Then one night Kate sees prowlers around the cottage at the edge of her property.When she enters the cottage the next morning she sees a knife stabbed in wall. That is the beginning of escalating violence that changes the family’s lives.
“ The Cottage” is not only a very good thriller but it is a drama of a family already on a knifes edge of emotional collapse. When Kate’s sister, Rebecca returns home after years of bitter estrangement, it appears enough to break the ties that hold all together. Mr.Judson’s characters are well drawn and complicated people so that nothing is simple. He gives the reader enough reason to suspect nearly everyone in the book as being behind the violence that keeps Kate awake at night and with nerves jangling during the days. The reader , too, has a vicarious emotional involvement that will keep him or her fully involved in ta very good story.
My cautions rating- nothing objectionable.

I struggled with how to rate this book. Judson's concept was terrifying and definitely something to read with all the lights on, but at the same time a lot of its impact was diminished by the slow pacing of the book. Despite it not being that long of a book, I felt like it took way longer to read than it did.

The blurb of this book sounded awesome and I was excited to read it. Unfortunately this book fell flat for me. I found it very slow and as it was so slow I didn’t have the inclination to read it in the way I would a book I was enjoying, I did finish it but it took a while.

The Cottage was a bit too slow for me. I liked the idea of the book and the story was OK but it seemed to drag on a bit and repeat itself a bit too much for me personally.

I SLOW WALK FASTER than this story's pace. 😐

Therefore:
Short and sweet, to the point, this review will be! (That's my plan at least. 🙌)

The books description includes several words of a similar theme. All describing a plot that drew me in. Full of terror and suspense. A few examples of the descriptives used:
Terrorized,
Stalker,
Cold-blooded suspense,
Unfathomable intent,
Murder,
Home invasion,
Disturbing,
Violating, and
Terrifying endgame.

What actually describes this book:
Sibling drama,
Best friend drama,
Potential romance,
A widow's monologues on migraine misery & on missing sex life with their deceased spouse;
The OPPOSITE OF Suspense, Terrifying & Terrorizing;
A story that moves AS FAST AS A CAR WITH NO TIRES AND AN EMPTY GAS TANK.

This is a harsh commentary, admittedly. However, appropriate when a book is sold with such a significant degree of misleads.

*Thank you to Thomas & Mercer, Thomas & Mercer for the digital reader copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A wonderful mystery that involved a family. It was written in such a way that you got to know the family and background while the storyline played on. Kate and her two children lived in Kate's family home. Her husband had been murdered during a home invasion. I had no idea until the end who had caused this death. There are many twists and turns and the characters are all tied together.

DNF at 42%

Two years after Kate's husband was murdered in a seemingly random home invasion, she becomes the victims of escalating acts of vandalism. She decides to rent out the "guest house" her estranged sister used to use, in hopes that having an additional set of eyes around would deter the culprits. Instead things get worse...

I hate to DNF a book, but I struggled with this one for a while. The premise sounded promising, but it was really drawn out and boring. The characters are blah and I kept waiting for something--anything--to happen. And it just didn't. The writing wasn't okay. Not my style, but I'm sure there is an audience for this story.

This is a story featuring Kate, a widow with two adolescent children, twins Max and Callie. Her husband, a police officer, was killed during an attempted robbery at their home a couple of years earlier. Already nervous and jumpy, a series of nighttime incidents and property damage has her on edge so when she gets a chance to rent out a small cottage on her property to Jack, a former resident of the town who wants to move back to the area, she takes advantage of the opportunity.

Unfortunately this book just wasn't for me. It was very slow-moving and read more like a screenplay than a novel (for example: "... she stacks the remaining plates together and collects the tableware, which she lays on the top plate before carrying the stack into the kitchen."). That little episode of Kate and her neighbour doing the dishes went on and on and on! That was very early in the book so I wondered what I was in for. From then on I just kept waiting for something/anything to happen. I was very tempted to DNF the book but I'm stubborn and felt an obligation to finish it even though it was published months ago. The one positive is that this book contains some of the best dialogue I've ever read; not the content necessarily but the tempo and naturalness of it. The last 25-30% of the book was a little better but all hope was lost by then. When I downloaded the book from Netgalley (I believe it was a Read Now), there weren't very many reviews but there have been a fair number of reviews since then and most of the ratings are pretty low. The author has written a number of books so possibly this just isn't his trope.

After giving it further thought, I decided that if the book was tightened up a lot and all the superfluous "stage direction" removed, not only would the book be shorter (it's too long as is for such a mundane mystery) but also it might end up being a more entertaining story. I still don't think it would appeal to me but might to a lot of other people.

My appreciation to Thomas & Mercer via Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel which was published in November 2021. All opinions expressed are my own.

Didn't capture my attention and engagement. Interested in trying it again though and hopefully it will take.

Filled with suspense and psychological terror. The plot has a slow build but I had to keep turning pages as I was captivated by Kates story.
Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

⭐

I set this one aside at 60% and have no interest in picking it back up (unfortunately), so I am tapping out. I found it to be SO slow, boring, and I wasn't a fan of the writing. However, that is just MY option and I am but one reviewer in a sea of many.

**ARC Via NetGalley**