Review: Stranger in the Woods

Stranger in the Woods by Anni Taylor
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Note: There are no overt spoilers here, but there are mentions of things that could lead the more astute reader to the plot twist.

Stranger in the Woods is a prime example of an author who just tried too hard. The dialogue, the threads of plot and the resolution all felt contrived and pushed the limits of credibility, whilst the equally implausible “twist” failed to impress and was guessable less than halfway through the novel.

When the story begins, Isla, a 26 year old Australian photographer, has decided to move beyond her comfort zone and accept a short term job in Scotland, creating a portfolio that reflects accomplished architect Alban. Alban and his wife Jessica have one child, 2 year old Rhiannon, and are still mourning the loss of their 8 year old daughter Elodie, who was abducted and died the same night Rhiannon was born. Isla is drawn to the mystery of who was responsible for Elodie’s death and finds herself drawn into a tangled web of lies and deceit.

My first problem is one of consistency that I am hoping is the result of poor Kindle editing and not careless writing. In one scene, Isla meets Trent, another Australian in Scotland, and is the target of marked hostility from the strange man. They meet once more at a house party, where Trent is confrontational, insisting he knows Isla, though she swears she has never met him. Later in the book, Isla tells another character, Aubrey, that Trent hit on her. It never happened. Then, on two separate occasions, the book mentions that Trent attempted to kiss her. Now unless that scene somehow ended up on the Kindle cutting room floor, that event never occurred. I even paged back through the entire story but was unable to locate the elusive kiss. If another reader finds it in the Kindle edition, I would appreciate a heads up. I just can’t imagine that I’ve missed it, but it’s possible.

The second issue with which I take umbrage is the author’s predilection for the advancement of her red herrings, particularly in the form of stilted dialogue and over-the-top feints. For example, when Isla and local school teacher Rory are discussing Elodie’s disappearance, their conversation is chock full of innuendo and inferred guilt.

“There has to be an answer in this somewhere.”

He studied my face with his intense blue eyes. “Yes,
indeed there does.”

These attempts to derail the reader and cast doubt are not only far too frequent but also distracting and obvious.

The next failure here is in the inclusion of too many plot threads. There is a lesbian love affair, a spotlight on epilepsy and how it can effect one’s lifestyle, the morality of surrogacy, mentions of cults, allegations of child abuse, and the list goes on. Some of these admittedly attempted to move forward the storyline, but some were extraneous and tested my patience. Championing one or two causes produces empathy. Taking on all of the ills of society just stretched my sensibilities to the point of being overwhelmed. It began to feel like one huge public service announcement attempting to hide behind an opaque narrative.

Finally, the resolution in the form of the book’s epilogue is rushed, ridiculously out of character for those involved and far too implausible to possibly believe. Once again, the author was maddeningly transparent in her haste to tie up loose ends and did so by telling the reader what happened rather than allowing it to unfold through the characters themselves.

In the end, there were just too many issues to find this one enjoyable. Two stars for effort.

View all my reviews