Cynthia Swanson | THE GLASS FOREST

Plot (via Goodreads):

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Bookseller comes a gripping literary suspense novel set in the 1960s about a deeply troubled family and three women who will reveal its dark truths.

In the autumn of 1960, Angie Glass is living an idyllic life in her Wisconsin hometown. At twenty-one, she’s married to charming, handsome Paul, and has just given birth to a baby boy. But one phone call changes her life forever.

When Paul’s niece, Ruby, reports that her father, Henry, has committed suicide, and that her mother, Silja, is missing, Angie and Paul drop everything and fly to the small upstate town of Stonekill, New York to be by Ruby’s side.

Angie thinks they’re coming to the rescue of Paul’s grief-stricken young niece, but Ruby is a composed and enigmatic seventeen-year-old who resists Angie’s attempts to nurture her. As Angie learns more about the complicated Glass family, staying in Henry and Silja’s eerie and ultra-modern house on the edge of the woods, she begins to question the very fabric of her own marriage.

Through Silja’s flashbacks, Angie’s discovery of astonishing truths, and Ruby’s strategic dissection of her parents’ state of affairs, a story of love, secrets, and ultimate betrayal is revealed.

Review:

I want to preface this review with a little bit of information on my relationship with Touchstone Books as a reader and blogger. Being an avid fan of the mystery, thriller, and suspense genre, I am always looking for something unique that goes off the trail a little bit compared to most titles in that genre. Over the past year, I have had the experience of finding those titles within Touchstone's catalog. They truly have a knack for finding novels that have interesting, well-developed, and brilliant plots. THE GLASS FOREST by Cynthia Swanson is a prime example of the kind of novel you can find by being a fan of Touchstone Books. And what a fan I am.

THE GLASS FOREST is a beautifully constructed, chillingly atmospheric, and heartfelt novel that takes place in the 1960s. Now, as someone born in 1987, I usually stick to novels that take place during this era as I cannot imagine nor relate to many plots that take place prior to the 80s. Well, Cynthia Swanson captured me with this novel and held me hostage until the novels emotional and intensely charged brutal epilogue. The thing I enjoyed about this was Swanson's ability as a writer to not only blend together a unique plot, but throw in a multitude of wonderfully written characters, and combine it with a strong prose that is not only gripping but dangerously addictive. 

I cannot say enough wonderful things about this novel. I loved the different perspectives of the three females that are tightly wound together in this plot full of secrets, suspense, and plenty of twists and turns sprinkled throughout a dazzling story. The timeline within this novel is extremely effective as you kind of go back to the roots of a mystery novel by not having technology and forensics get in the way of the intensity of these characters, their actions, and the secrets they all hold...together and separately. 

The pacing within this novel is not only impressive, but effective with telling the story. At times, one characters perspective is just adding to the story and within the flip of a page, my stomach was filled with knots as this intense story was forming quickly and engulfing me as a reader. I could not get enough and I am so glad I had the chance to read this in one sitting...I would have been under extreme duress having to put it down.

This novel is not only perfect for fans of thrillers and suspense, but even for readers who are looking for step into the genre without too much violence. Part suspense, part character study, part luminous literary fiction, this one is not one you want to miss. I honestly think this is the perfect novel for any reader, especially if you're looking for something distinctive, especially for a bookclub. And by all means, read it because I would LOVE to have more GLASS FOREST fans to chat with about this one...I don't think I'll be ready to stop talking about this one anytime soon.

*Special thanks to Touchstone Books for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review....and for always providing me with the types of novels that make me overjoyed to be a book blogger.

Rating: 5/5