Little Red House by Liv Anderson

This was a very dark thriller mystery.

I found the jumping back and forth from 1997 to present a bit annoying. Very dark story, but well-written. Portrayed her characters well. Some were very evil. Many twists and turns..

Thanks to Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for my review.

This is a hard one to review. The story kept my attention & I wanted to find out the ending but at the same time, it was a lot of back & forth with too many similar characters in the past vs present. Very twisty.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a dark, thriller type mystery with several twists and turns. The authors writing style was very enjoyable and I found myself not wanting to put it down. Aunt Eve was truly bone chilling and really set the tone for the book.

Be prepared to go into this one with a hefty dose of belief suspension. You will enjoy it much more that way!

The story had lots of potential and the atmosphere was pretty good! There were some unexpected twists that kept me guessing. Where it lost me was the writing. I had some difficulty with writing style and felt there were some loose ends that didn’t quite make sense. Overall, it just didn’t work for me.

This book had me hooked through the first half. From there it was downhill. I didn't feel any connection to the characters. The twist was just too out of reach at the end. There wasn't that relief I usually get after a thriller reveals it's ending.

Dark, twisty mind games spring to mind here in Liv Andersson's Little Red House. The rug was pulled from under my feet many times. The plotline is great and the tale is so captivating. It is told via two timelines; New Mexico, 1997, where Eve Foster is looking for her 16-year-old daughter, Kelsey who ran away. In the present time, Constance is one of twin girls adopted and raised by Eve. Since the age of sixteen, Eve has sent Constance to different cities, leaving her alone with little money. Now, Eve is dead under suspicious circumstances and Constance returns to Vermont temporarily. Constance inherits a run-down house in New Mexico.

Fast-paced and gripping, this is chock-a-block with eerie vibes. Very highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

This book is really not to my taste, the plot was enough to make me want to finish it, but overall a depressing and depraved story. I struggled to keep track of the characters and how they tied into each other. I kept hoping for a climax that would bring all the pieces together, but this proved also to be a little disappointing rather than an unforeseen twist.
Trigger warnings for some, there is torture, abuse, neglect and a whole lot of other unpleasant things tied up in this package. Some will like this, but it was not to my taste.
Thank you Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

I’m still shookt! That was a pleasant read. Looking forward to more from this author.

Cheers to Netgalley for the copy

In 1997, Eve Foster’s daughter, Kelsey, runs away to New Mexico and vanishes without a trace. Eve is convinced that she’s the victim of a serial killer who’s been hunting women in the region—but Kelsey’s body is never found.
Years later, Eve dies, leaving everything to her adopted twin daughters. The majority of the wealthy estate in Vermont goes to Lisa, the “good daughter,” while Connie inherits only a small stipend and a property in New Mexico. Connie, often the target of Eve's cruelty, suspects this was another of her mother's vindictive games.
Connie arrives in New Mexico to find a small, dilapidated red house in the desert, and the home’s mysterious caretaker, Jet Montgomery, living in a shack on the property. She learns there's been a string of women murdered in the area—murders that no one will talk about.
Before Connie can get to the truth, her mother’s sadistic mind games come creeping back from the grave—and now the danger becomes all too real. With a serial killer on the loose and a trove of deadly secrets coming to the surface, Connie is in a desperate race to save herself and what little is left of her shattered family.

Wow!! What a gripping read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own honest voluntary review.

This was a dark, twisty tale involving wealth, deceit, murder and what seems to be a very dysfunctional family. I felt on edge most of the way through and couldn’t put it down.
Fans of psychological thrillers won’t want to miss this one.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free digital copy of the book in return for an honest review.

4-4.5 stars

This was a really interesting read with a unique twist that I didn’t see coming.

Eve Foster’s daughter, Kelsey, ran away to New Mexico in 1997 and vanished without a trace. Eve thought she might have fallen victim to a serial killer but her body was never found.

After Eve died, she left everything to her adopted twin daughters, but Connie only inherited a small stipend and a house located in New Mexico. She suspected this was another one of Eve’s cruel games but had no place else to go. When she arrived and found the run-down red house in the middle of the dessert, she wasn’t expecting to meet Jet, the caretaker Eve hired to watch over the property. While she is unsure of whether or not to trust him, it’s the string of murders in the area that she is more concerned about.

In a small town, word spreads fast, and it didn’t take long for someone to find out that Connie had been snooping around and asking questions — much like Eve had when she was searching for Kelsey. While this story was steadily suspenseful, it was the climax of this story that really caught me off guard. This book was full of secrets and the biggest one is what made the whole thing worth reading.

Definitely recommending this one!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing a copy of this book to review.*

This psychological suspense thriller works with readers willing to turn off their critical thinking.

There are alternating plotlines. In 1997, Eve Foster is in Nihla, New Mexico, looking for her daughter Kelsey whom she believes may be the latest victim of a serial perpetrator who has kidnapped, abused and eventually killed several young women in the area. In the present, Connie Foster, Eve’s adopted daughter, inherits a small property in Nihla while Connie’s twin Lisa receives the wealthy estate in Vermont. The derelict house includes a mysterious caretaker whom Connie cannot fire. Connie learns about murders and disappearances of women twenty years earlier and discovers that there have been more recently. Though she believes her house may be somehow connected to these crimes and she may be in danger, residents of Nihla are reluctant to speak to her.

The relationship between Connie and Eve is important to understand. Connie believes that Eve is continuing her mind games from the grave because she played sadistic games for years, and Connie was always the target of the cruelty. Because of this past, Connie suspects that her paltry inheritance is just another example of Eve’s vindictiveness. And because the caretaker carries out Eve’s demands, Connie doubts that she can trust him. In fact, Connie wonders if there is anyone she can trust so her isolation adds to the suspense.

The book has several weaknesses. For instance, people behave in unbelievable ways. There are obvious solutions to problems that main characters ignore. When a person slips her a piece of paper with a name on it, why doesn’t Connie return to get more information about the named individual instead of wasting time doing research herself? A lawyer would actually draw up a will with such outrageous conditions as the ones found in Eve’s will? A character who is repeatedly described as weak is capable of the acts described? The reader is supposed to believe that virtually every police officer in Nihla is corrupt? Sex scenes seem gratuitous. And the novel relies heavily on tropes: dirty cops and corrupt public officials, a distrustful community, and the evil stepmother among them. The men tend to be manipulative and the women are submissive victims. In short, the behaviour of some of the characters is so extreme as to be implausible.

Actually, there are many events which require a suspension of disbelief. This is certainly the case of the ending. Its twists are so farfetched as to be ridiculous. There are clues, mostly repetition, which foreshadow some of these twists so astute readers may guess some of them. But there are also unanswered questions: What’s the deal with the majolica crucifixes? Why must the caretaker remain for three years after Connie takes possession of the house? Connie gives her age as 26 so how could Eve’s driver, who worked for her only the last five years, have given Connie lollipops when she was a kid?

More than one character plays mind games in the novel, but the author also plays games with readers. Some readers will enjoy them, but I don’t like having to set aside my disbelief to be entertained.

Note: I received a digital galley from the publisher via NetGalley.

Little Red House is a dark thriller, with dense but not-so-nice characters, it starts on the slow side but when it turns to fast, it's really fast! The plot includes lies and deceit, mean and angry people, and sick minds, and the best part is the super interesting twist at the end! I enjoyed reading this story, although I do not consider it an easy read. I'll be looking for other titles by Ms. Andersson.
I thank the author, her publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Rating: 4,5 stars

I took a leap of faith with this book and requested it without the faintest idea who the author was or if it would actually end up being a DNF.

Instead I was delighted to find a twisty, mind-bending, gritty and darkly themed thriller. It is not so much a whodunnit, although it keeps you guessing right to the end, as a psychological mind game. Right from the start, when Connie is summoned to her adoptive mother's estate to attend the reading of the will, it becomes clear that something is wrong.

Her demure twin sister inherits everything, while Connie is left with a dilapidated old house in New Mexico, in which she is forced to reside to prevent her sister from losing her inheritance. Why?

We soon discover that Connie had a very tough upbringing. Being the sole focus of her mother's cruel games and tortures, she was forced to grow up fast to protect her softer sister from the same fate.

Now it seems that her mother Eve is continuing her sick games from the grave. Forced to survive alone in a small town where a serial killer is on the loose, Connie is determined to uncover the truth!

I was gripped from the very moment Connie arrived in Nihla, wondering why her mother, whose story we follow in a dual timeline, left her this particular house. This was at times disturbing and creepy… which I absolutely loved!😜

In the end it all came together leaving me shocked by the revelations!

If this is the author's first thriller, I am officially impressed. I will definitely be following @livandersson's future releases!

Thanks again @netgalley and @Crookedlanebooks for this great ARC!

I want to start out by apologizing for the late post. This was supposed to be scheduled to publish as an ARC review. Due to an ongoing family medical emergency I wasn't able to push this review to a public view until now.

This was such a dark, raw, and twisty psychological thriller. The author, Liv Andersson. does a phenomenal job writing this novel full of intense, one of a kind characters in a disturbing plot full of lies and secrets.

This story is told in alternating past and present timelines from the point of views of two different characters- Eve and Constance.

Eve's story takes place in 1997 New Mexico. Her daughter has gone missing and a small town called Nilah is the last place her daughter has been tracked to. Eve is desperate to find her only child and will do anything, even shady and illegal acts, to figure out what happened to her daughter, Kelsey. In a town filled with misogynistic men in power Eve must carve her way though the truth of this small, backwards town.

In present day we meet Constance, one half of twin girls. Constance and her twin were both raised by Eve but are nothing alike. Eve favored her sister, Lisa, while mentally and physically abusing Connie (Constance). When Eve dies under what the girl think are mysterious circumstances, they are surprised to learn that Eve has left Connie a house in New Mexico they never knew existed.

Connie isn't sure why Eve's last wishes banished her to this desolate New Mexican desert town of Nilah. Strange things seem to happen in this town and Connie and her sister assume it's just the final, twisted mind game their stepmother is playing with them. But as Connie tries to figure out the puzzle she realizes this current game is more about her and less about Eve.

The entire plot is so well thought out. Fast paced, gripping, and surprises around every page kept me wanting more. I couldn't have guessed the ending in a million years.

Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for allowing me an advanced digital copy to read and give my honest review. It was a 5 star read!

"Little Red House" was available Dec 6, 2022 here in the U.S. so get your copy today! It's the prefect winter thriller!

Happy Reading!

Love a story involving missing people. Great characters to connect to . This has a past and present timeline . This book was addictive and I couldnt put it down.

Little Red House
by Liv Andersson
Pub Date: 06 Dec 2022

A disturbing thriller with very dark characters, many secrets and lies. Lots of twists and turns with an unpredictable ending.

Synopsis: In 1997, Eve Foster’s daughter, Kelsey, runs away to New Mexico and vanishes without a trace. Eve is convinced that she’s the victim of a serial killer who’s been hunting women in the region—but Kelsey’s body is never found.

Years later, Eve dies, leaving everything to her adopted twin daughters. The majority of the wealthy estate in Vermont goes to Lisa, the “good daughter,” while Connie inherits only a small stipend and a property in New Mexico. Connie, often the target of Eve's cruelty, suspects this was another of her mother's vindictive games.

Connie arrives in New Mexico to find a small, dilapidated red house in the desert, and the home’s mysterious caretaker, Jet Montgomery, living in a shack on the property. She learns there's been a string of women murdered in the area—murders that no one will talk about.

Before Connie can get to the truth, her mother’s sadistic mind games come creeping back from the grave—and now the danger becomes all too real. With a serial killer on the loose and a trove of deadly secrets coming to the surface, Connie is in a desperate race to save herself and what little is left of her shattered family.

A great first book for a new author, Liv Andersson. I rated this 5 Stars

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an e-ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book was demented and depraved.
I thought Eve was one sick, cold witch the way she tortured her adopted daughters.
The split time line between 1997 and the present converges eventually.
There was one major plot twist I didn’t anticipate.
This book left me feeling grimy and gross.

Little Red House is the debut book by Liv Andersson which follows two women Eve Foster and Connie Foster in two different timeliness. One timeline, showing us Eve during 1997, tells us the efforts she takes to find out her lost daughter, Kelsey. Kelsey has always been a handful, trying to play games on Eve's mind and trying her damnest to be as destructive as possible. On another timeline, occuring during the present times, we follow Connie as she tries to learn to live in a house in New Mexico, left to her by her late adoptive mother, Eve Foster, and tries to build a life there.

Connie and her twin sister Lisa, have always been very different, both in appearance and nature. Ever since being adopted by Eve, Connie's spirited nature had led her to be punished by Eve frequently and the punishment mostly always was a variety of minds games with some cruel tasks thrown in. And as we follow Eve in 1997, we understand the kind of person she is and also her past, which has led her to be the person she is.

Both these timelines and their events converge at a certain point in an intriguing and slightly off-beat manner and what we get ultimately is a psychological thriller of a dark and ominous mood, with twisted characters and not very likable people. The story starts off slowly but picks up pace after about one-third of the length. And the twists interspersed within the story along with the various shades of all the characters make for an interesting read, but not a compelling one. It is a good attempt by the author but I felt the story lacked soul.

However, if you like to read dark, ominous books filled with damaged and twisted people, do check this book out.

Rating 3.5 rounded up to 4

I can't say that I loved it because it was narrative and could have shaved a few chapters off and we wouldn't have missed anything. With that said I did like the story line and we were thrown a curveball at the ending. I didn't expect the outcome.

I'm not one to give away the story in a review but I really hope that others enjoy it more than I did. I didn't want to give up on it so I read until the end. Glad I did because the last half of the book was the best of it. You can read the synopsis that the author/publisher gives to hook you. The cover and synopsis hooked me but it wasn't as good as I thought it would be.

Sorry to the author Live Andersson, I enjoyed it but it was too drawn out and I found myself skimming through pages on my tablet.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for allowing me to read an advanced digital copy of Little Red House for an honest review. These are my words and my words alone.