She recovers her mental health, overcomes her struggles with addiction, and dives back into her love of writing, pursuing her dream to carry on her father’s legacy and complete his manuscript. As fascinated as I was to learn this debut novel was inspired by the author's masters thesis, I felt my interest levels decreasing as the chapters switched back and forth from the present to the past. Maya was a high school senior when her best friend, Aubrey, dropped dead in front of the enigmatic man named Frank whom they’d been spending time with all summer.

House in the Pines - Jen Ryland Spoiler Discussion for The House in the Pines - Jen Ryland

She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and teaches creative writing to older adults at Santa Monica College. PENGUIN GROUP Dutton and Ana Reyes provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley.

PS: the only update is that I realized that I forgot to rate this book, when I finished on February 9, 2023. There is something weird and creepy about Frank that Maya can’t put her finger on, but she is convinced he had something to do with the death. Would she be able to discover how Frank had killed both Aubrey and this other woman without putting herself in danger? The secondary characters of Maya’s mom, her friend, Aubrey, and Frank play pivotal roles in the story.

The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes | Waterstones

The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes is an atmospheric psychological thriller with an unreliable narrator. The main character struggled with very real, relatable things in her life, which made her feel close the entire time. The new police lady also clearly agrees that Maya is not living in the same reality as the rest of us. One of the most coveted designations in the book industry, the Kirkus Star marks books of exceptional merit. When I first heard about this story and saw the cover—I thought it might be a bit of a generic thriller.The week before 17-year-old Maya starts college, she witnessed the sudden and unexplained death of her best friend, Aubrey West. We always chose to provide the publisher synopsis because we feel that it’s worthwhile to discuss whether the official book description actually squared with your experience of the book. After a disastrous dinner at her boyfriend's parent's house, Maya knows she can't live with not knowing the truth any longer. The story goes back and forth between the current timeline and the time around Aubrey’s death, which also gives insight into Frank’s mysterious hold over Maya.