Jennifer McMahon - The Invited

Plot (via Goodreads):

In a quest for a simpler life, Helen and Nate abandon the comforts of suburbia and their teaching jobs to take up residence on forty-four acres of rural land where they will begin the ultimate, aspirational do-it-yourself project: building the house of their dreams. When they discover that this charming property has a dark and violent past, Helen, a former history teacher, becomes consumed by the legend of Hattie Breckenridge, a woman who lived and died there a century ago. As Helen starts carefully sourcing decorative building materials for her home--wooden beams, mantles, historic bricks--she starts to unearth, and literally conjure, the tragic lives of Hattie's descendants, three generations of "Breckenridge women," each of whom died amidst suspicion, and who seem to still be seeking something precious and elusive in the present day. 

Review:

Everyone has been buzzing about Jennifer McMahon novels for a long time and I have yet to find the time to check out one of her novels...until now. The Invited sounded like the perfect thriller for me to check out McMahon’s writing and I am so glad that I did! The plot to this one just completely took me by storm before I even began the first page. A haunted house novel that takes place in the middle of nowhere as a couple builds their dream home and the ominous question of “at what cost?” I was so ready for something that set itself aside from the usual thriller and mysteries that I usually read and this supernatural thriller is not only a slow burning novel that is character driven and exceptionally paced, but flirts with witchcraft and solidified my decision in finally taking the plunge in McMahon’s writing.

Not only did I absolutely love the story to this one and the backstory to the setting and the supernatural aspect, but I could not get enough of not only the relationship between Helen and Nate and how this haunting affected their relationship, but I was downright obsessed with reading about the teenage Olive. I enjoyed her chapters almost featuring a coming of age story-line and a missing persons case all wrapped up with the rest of this multilayered novel. The setting itself almost acts as another character making it impossible to put this one down...and I didn’t let it out of my sight until the harrowing and flawlessly executed finale. A job well done to Jennifer McMahon - I will definitely ensure my first novel by this talented author is not my last.

Special thanks to Doubleday Books for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4/5