I obtained a assessment copy from the writer. This doesn’t have an effect on the contents of my assessment and all opinions are my very own.

The Ghost Woods by C.J. Cooke

Mogsy’s Score: 4 of 5 stars

Style: Historic Fiction, Horror

Sequence: Stand Alone

Writer: Berkley (April 29, 2025)

Size: 384 pages

Writer Data: Web site

That is the fifth ebook I’ve learn by C.J. Cooke, and I feel her writing and storytelling simply preserve getting higher and higher. The Ghost Woods has rapidly grow to be certainly one of my new favorites by the creator, second solely to A Haunting within the Arctic. As soon as extra, readers are transported to a historic setting the place the environment is thick with pressure and thriller—with only a contact of the supernatural—and the emotional depth of the characters takes heart stage.

In The Ghost Woods, Cooke returns to Scotland’s misty and remoted countryside to spin a story exploring themes of motherhood and life altering choices. Set in 1959 and in 1965, the novel follows two ladies who finds themselves at Lichen Corridor, a house for unwed pregnant women. Mabel is first to reach within the earlier timeline, frightened and confused as a result of she has no concept how she obtained pregnant, and nobody believes her regardless that she swears she has by no means been with a person. A number of years later, Pearl makes the identical journey to the outdated mansion in preparation for the start of her child, the results of a careless one-night stand following a break up from her long-term boyfriend. After shedding her nursing job due to it, Pearl’s household thought it will be finest for her to put low till she provides start.

Whereas Mabel and Pearl come from very completely different backgrounds, each ladies come to related conclusions about Lichen Corridor. It’s a unusual and eerie place, hidden within the woods removed from the closest city and hospital. Many components of the home are in disrepair, with mould permeating the partitions. The property belongs to the Whitlock household, however it’s Mrs. Whitlock who clearly runs the present, as outdated Mr. Whitlock is ailing and principally bedridden, saved out of sight. Additionally residing with them is their grandson, a hassle younger man who makes a number of the women staying on the dwelling uncomfortable. As hosts, the Whitlocks are cagey and seemingly hiding some secret data about their large crumbling mansion, by which Mable, Pearl, and the opposite ladies shut away there discover themselves trapped.

Like all of Cooke’s different novels, The Ghost Woods excels in environment. Lichen Corridor is a personality unto itself—distinct with its personal distinctive persona, and that persona to malevolent and threatening. The ladies, already feeling alone and susceptible due to their situations, are made much more anxious understanding Mrs. Whitlock doesn’t imagine in exterior assist. The girl of the home is a mysterious character, sort and comforting one second, chilly and merciless the subsequent. No matter her motives although, she is adamant that no physician will ever be referred to as, so the younger expectant moms can solely depend on one another. This offers the story a claustrophobic and oppressive vibe, the place among the many vivid descriptions of the encroaching forest, nothing feels totally secure.

The plot additionally employs twin timelines, which I felt was principally efficient. Being comparatively shut in time, nevertheless, typically the 2 threads blurred, particularly as soon as Mabel and Pearl’s views got here collectively and intertwined later within the ebook. The gradual construct firstly additionally made these early chapter essentially the most difficult, however pacing improves as soon as the story introduces extra characters and offers the possibility for the horrors at Lichen Corridor to develop.

There’s additionally the slight problem of too many issues taking place directly, to the purpose the place I really feel a number of the extra minor story threads weren’t satisfactorily resolved. Nevertheless, the reply to crucial thriller in addition to the twist on the finish of the ebook helped make up for it and made me extra forgiving of any free ends. Actually, the abundance of concepts and themes added general to the novel’s wealthy layered really feel, even when I might have welcomed a bit extra tightening.

All in all, C.J. Cooke delivers one other chilling and atmospheric story in The Ghost Woods, and I feel each followers of her earlier work in addition to new readers will discover lots to like right here. That is gothic horror at its most interesting. Additionally extremely really useful in case you get pleasure from broody historic fiction with a contact of the fantastical, akin to affect from fairytales and folklore, or just unearthly methods of wanting on the pure world.