The Stillwater Girls

By: Minka Kent

Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo, Melissa Moran

Two sisters raised in fear are about to find out why in a chilling novel of psychological suspense from the author of The Thinnest Air.

Ignorant of civilization and cautioned against its evils, nineteen-year-old Wren and her two sisters, Sage and Evie, were raised in off-the-grid isolation in a primitive cabin in upstate New York. When the youngest grows gravely ill, their mother leaves with the child to get help from a nearby town. And they never return.

As months pass, hope vanishes. Supplies are low. Livestock are dying. A brutal winter is bearing down. Then comes the stranger. He claims to be looking for the girls’ mother, and he’s not leaving without them.

To escape, Wren and her sister must break the rule they’ve grown up with: never go beyond the forest.

Past the thicket of dread, they come upon a house on the other side of the pines. This is where Wren and Sage must confront something more chilling than the unknowable. They’ll discover what’s been hidden from them, what they’re running from, and the secrets that have left them in the dark their entire lives.

©2019 Nom de Plume LLC. (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

So close to being good…

This book was free and I’m glad of this because I would not have paid for it. It was not horrible but it wasn’t good either. It definitely had potential but it felt as though the author gave up when she was so close to the end. Or was rushed to complete it. The twist ruined it for me because it was so random and I thought maybe I missed something and even went back a chapter. It went from a THIS IS GETTING SO GOOD I WANT TO FINISH IT NOW! to WAIT, WHY? WHAT? THIS MUST HAVE A TWIST WITHIN A TWIST. Nope. Then turned super cheesy. Overall it was a decent book but not one I’d recommend.

The Stillwater Girls

I liked this Audio book but I liked the Wren chapters better than the other ones They just kinda dragged on.

Great story, not so great ending

Well-written, had twists and turns…thought I had it figured out three or four times. Then, that ending. So ridiculous and disappointing.

Not quite sure how to rate this objectively

Long review and maybe some spoilers if you read on.

I found the first 3/4 of this novel very enjoyable. The character development and plot line was interesting and I found myself engrossed in the story. It is last part of the novel that really didn’t sit right with me.

First of all, the “twist” was not at all believable. It was too easily explained away and really wasn’t at all realistic. No one told this lady what had happened all those years before? Not one ounce of town gossip made it back to her? Every friend and family member kept this revaluation hushed? Unbelievable!

And the way the story was wrapped up so neat and tidy. Everyone got what they wanted and lived happily ever after in a blissful world. The author clearly didn’t do much research on childhood trauma and the complex realities of children who are in foster care or emergency placement.

I gave the storyline 3-stars as the first part was a great listen. The narrators were excellent as well.

Predictable

Slow, difficult to finish. Slightly boring and ending was predictable. Unimpressed with author and story.