The Cabin in the Woods

“Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.” –William Congreve

When we first meet Rose Reid, she is hiding in a cabin in the woods upstate, having dyed her hair platinum and aware of every noise outside. We then go back twenty-two years where Rose is hiding in a dirty trailer with her sister, Daisy, from her violent drug-addicted parents. The reader is then taken to the time where Rose meets her beloved husband, Ryan and their fairytale romance and wedding. Everything was perfect; their marriage, their life, and most of all, their beautiful daughter Sienna. It was amazing until it wasn’t.

When Sienna is born, Rose cannot bond with her. She resents her every time she cries and has no desire to spend time with her. Ryan packs her off to a luxury facility, where she is diagnosed with postpartum depression and put on medication. She comes back a new person, loving and doting on her daughter but what is going on with Ryan? Why is he gone all the time? Rose suspects he is having an affair as he does not seem to want to spend time with her, only gravitating to Sienna. When she sees scratches on Ryan’s back, her worst fear is confirmed. Or is it? When she is approached by a woman at a gala, she is attending with him, and told Ryan is a monster, she realizes this fairy tale has been nothing but lies. Some fairy tales really don’t have happy endings. 

This is an absolute page turner from start to finish! I could not put it down until the very last page. The pace of the story has the reader ripping through pages as more and more is revealed. The story line is not original, but it is so well written that you feel you have read a masterpiece. Alderson is adept at dropping little bombs that rock the reader and leave them stunned. I am not a big fan of dual timelines but it works here. Rose is a strong and interesting character, who has not had the best luck in her life and I was really rooting for her. She had to learn to trust people will protect her and they did. She will remain one of my favorite characters of this year. 

What I loved about The Cabin in the Woods is the characterization. Every character has a purpose and none of them are perfect. I also liked how Alderson connected Rose’s childhood to the person she is now, preparing her for the worst of times because of childhood in an abandoned trailer. Well done, Ms. Alderson!

Beware there are multiple trigger warnings in this excellent mystery including rape, death, postpartum depression, drug addiction and suicide.