It's like she was forced to relive it. I appreciated that her character was willing to return home and face all her fears and it did get creepy.

In this novel we meet Maya, Dan, and Frank’s parents. How did the actions and beliefs of their parents impact each of these characters? To what degree do you think an individual has the ability or responsibility to overcome the influence of their parents? I received an ARE of The House in the Pines from Dutton in return for a fair review, and another log on the fire. Thanks, folks, and thanks to NetGalley for facilitating. Frank knows just what to say and it seems they have similar interests. Before too long though, Maya begins to notice certain things about their time together that make her greatly uncomfortable. In fact, she becomes so ill at ease around him, she actually begins to fear him. In what ways were the various representations of home (Maya’s hometown, her family’s home in Guatemala City, Frank’s cabin, and even Pixan’s fictional home in the mountains) significant?

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Ana Reyes' debut is chilling, atmospheric, and addictive—a perfect thriller. I didn't want it to end.” Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.

If guilty pleasures could come in book form...side by side with Ben and Jerry's, trashy TV, and belting out show tunes in the shower, this one could hold its own...in the BEST possible way! 😉 Salon - "House in the Pines" thriller author on the "dark side of nostalgia" with a narrator no one believes Maya has no idea the can of worms she opens will bring about more questions than answers and she must face that there were many things she can't remember about her relationship with Frank when she was a teenager and if she does confront him again it could be her life at stake this time and there won't be anyone there to save her. What signs did you notice which demonstrated Frank’s manipulative character? Is it understandable that Maya missed or ignored these signs?The things I liked: the conjunction between past and present, Guatemalan heritage and mysterious book of Maya’s father, the folklore, the psychological foundation of the book. I understand what the author was trying to convey but it just feels repetitive at this point. I will say, unlike other thrillers, it doesn’t go on and on about that aspect but it’s still present throughout the novel so that did take away from the story a bit for me. The Mystery Maya wants to be a writer like her father who'd died at a very young age in Guatemala so Maya only has the stories that her mother has told her about her father. At the age of seventeen Maya's best friend (Aubrey) was talking to Maya's ex-boyfriend (Frank) and just dropped over dead, literally. Maya has always believed Frank had something to do with Aubrey's death but she didn't know how he did it and after police investigations they just thought Maya was delusional with grief. The House in the Pines is an excellent mystery/thriller that kept me intrigued from the beginning. What happened wasn’t what I’d expected, which is always a treat. The main character struggled with very real, relatable things in her life, which made her feel close the entire time. And her curiosity fed my curiosity. […] I also enjoyed the twist on present and past tense. In the present timeline the author wrote the book in past tense. In the past timeline the author wrote in the present. It was a very clever way to give an immediacy to the past (especially as the character began to recall events).”