We Need More Shelves...
  • Home
  • About This Site
    • Site Index
  • My Favorite Book Links
  • Contact Jan
Thornwood House cover

Review: Thornwood House

By Jan 
on November 18, 2018
Print 🖨 PDF 📄 eBook 📱

Thornwood House

Thornwood House coverAuthor: Anna Romer;
Genre: Novel;
Format: Audiobook;
Narrator: Eloise Oxer;
Publisher: Bolinda Publishing (2014);
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (4 / 5).

Set in Queensland, Australia in both 2006 and 1946, this is a novel of amateur detection with a little woo-woo thrown in.

Young mother Audrey is surprised that the late father of her child and her once-lover, Tony, has left her a property in the country. Always a loner, Audrey must now deal with grief, life upheaval, and a family she doesn’t know. Of course, there’s a hot guy nearby to liven up the atmosphere…

The book is a mystery with a little bit of romance thrown in. Audrey’s adopted family has had some major issues in the past, and she becomes obsessed with finding the answer to a decades-old murder. Flashbacks were done well and are appropriate to the plot.

The description is absolutely stunning here. Romer uses the house and surrounding forest like paint, creating dazzling art full of scents, sounds, and sights for the reader. The problem is that these illustrations are overwhelming, creating pauses in the story that throw us off the trail. There are just too many of them. I caught myself thinking, “another bell bird?” and “more gum trees?” The author is incredibly talented, but as an editor, I would have wrangled this tighter.

The plot is very good, and the mystery was drawn out well. I didn’t think the supernatural bits were necessary, but they didn’t overpower the story. Characters were very well described, which is so vital for this kind of book.

Eloise Oxer’s narration was excellent. Her characterizations were unique and I had no trouble telling who was speaking or narrating. (One of the male voices was just too, too dastardly to believe, but I ignored it.) Her timing was impeccable, and I would listen to her other work readily.

There is almost no sex (and certainly nothing graphic), implied violence, no foul language.

@ 2018 Jan McClintock
Categories Audiobooks, Book Review, Modern Fiction Tags australia
← Previous Post
Next Post →

Search this site

Categories

2020 Reading Challenge

2020 Reading Challenge
Jan has read 5 books toward her goal of 120 books.
hide
5 of 120 (4%)
view books

Follow this blog

RSS Feed

Currently-reading

Quite Ready To Be Sent Somewhere: The Civil War Letters Of Aldace Freeman Walker
Quite Ready To Be Sent Somewhere: The Civil War Letters Of Aldace Freeman Walker
by Thomas LeDoux
tagged: currently-reading
A Journey Through Texas, Or, A Saddle-trip on the Southwestern Frontier
A Journey Through Texas, Or, A Saddle-trip on the Southwestern Frontier
by Frederick Law Olmsted
tagged: currently-reading
Fingerprints of the Gods: The Quest Continues
Fingerprints of the Gods: The Quest Continues
by Graham Hancock
tagged: currently-reading, audiobook, and history

goodreads.com

Recent Posts:

  • Why This Blog is Waning
  • Fun Gifts for Readers and Book Lovers
  • Review: The First Girl Child
  • Review: The Society of the Sword Trilogy
  • Review: Children of Time
  • Review: The City & The City
  • Review: The Monastery Murders
  • Review: Patient 3

Contact JanContact Jan about this site.

I Love Book Covers

Visit Me

LibThing logo

Goodreads

LibThing Early Reviews

Audible logo

NetGalley Reader badge

FTC Disclosure

I have an affiliate relationship with Amazon.com. Some of the links on this site may go there. If you purchase something using one of those links, I may receive a small compensation. I am never paid to review books and am always brazenly honest (ask my husband). Thank you!

Home | About This Site | My Favorite Book Links | Privacy Policy

2021 - Copyright © Jan McClintock, All Rights Reserved