Arrowood

A Novel

By: Laura McHugh

Narrated by: Sarah Scott

“Superb and subtle psychological suspense.”—Lee Child

A haunting novel from the author of The Weight of Blood about a young woman’s return to her childhood home—and her encounter with the memories and family secrets it holds

ITW THRILLER AWARD FINALIST

Arrowood is the most ornate and grand of the historical houses that line the Mississippi River in southern Iowa. But the house has a mystery it has never revealed: It’s where Arden Arrowood’s younger twin sisters vanished on her watch twenty years ago—never to be seen again. After the twins’ disappearance, Arden’s parents divorced and the Arrowoods left the big house that had been in their family for generations. And Arden’s own life has fallen apart: She can’t finish her master’s thesis, and a misguided love affair has ended badly. She has held on to the hope that her sisters are still alive, and it seems she can’t move forward until she finds them. When her father dies and she inherits Arrowood, Arden returns to her childhood home determined to discover what really happened to her sisters that traumatic summer.

Arden’s return to the town of Keokuk—and the now infamous house that bears her name—is greeted with curiosity. But she is welcomed back by her old neighbor and first love, Ben Ferris, whose family, she slowly learns, knows more about the Arrowoods’ secrets and their small, closed community than she ever realized. With the help of a young amateur investigator, Arden tracks down the man who was the prime suspect in the kidnapping. But the house and the surrounding town hold their secrets close—and the truth, when Arden finds it, is more devastating than she ever could have imagined.

Arrowood is a powerful and resonant novel that examines the ways in which our lives are shaped by memory. As with her award-winning debut novel, The Weight of Blood, Laura McHugh has written a thrilling novel in which nothing is as it seems, and in which our longing for the past can take hold of the present in insidious and haunting ways.

Praise for Arrowood

“This robust, old-fashioned gothic mystery has everything you’re looking for: a creepy old house, a tenant with a secret history, and even a few ghosts. Laura McHugh’s novel sits at the intersection of memory and history, astutely asking whether we carry the past or it carries us.”—Jodi Picoult

“An eloquently eerie tale.”—Booklist

“Poignant . . . lyrical.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A chilling, twisting tale of family, memory, and home . . . This engaging and thrilling tale about a young woman’s homecoming, the vagaries of memory, and the impact of tragedy on both a town and a family is a terrific choice for Laura Lippman and Sue Grafton readers.”—Library Journal (starred review)

Critic reviews

“This robust, old-fashioned gothic mystery has everything you’re looking for: a creepy old house, a tenant with a secret history, and even a few ghosts. Laura McHugh’s novel sits at the intersection of memory and history, astutely asking whether we carry the past or it carries us.”—Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Storyteller and Leaving Time

“Superb and subtle psychological suspense, and a compelling mystery, too . . . I thought I knew who did it, but I was wrong—four times.”—Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Jack Reacher novels

“Cool, clever and infused with a compellingly chilly melancholy, Arrowood kept me guessing and re-guessing all the way to its inexorable conclusion”—Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in Cabin 10

“An eloquently eerie tale.”—Booklist

“Poignant . . . lyrical.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A chilling, twisting tale of family, memory, and home . . . This engaging and thrilling tale about a young woman’s homecoming, the vagaries of memory, and the impact of tragedy on both a town and a family is a terrific choice for Laura Lippman and Sue Grafton readers.”—Library Journal (starred review)

“A pitch-perfect example of Southern Gothic”—The Times

“Magical second novel from the talented McHugh.”—Daily Mail

“A lyrically haunting story . . . It’s so atmospheric you can practically hear the floorboards creek.”—Peterborough Telegraph

“Another absorbing, spine-tingling novel brimming with atmosphere.”—Daily Express

“I cannot praise this book enough. It draws you in to the point you felt like someone you loved had disappeared and you’re haunted by it. Laura McHugh did a brilliant job of showing us that our lives can be shaped by our memories and that those are not always as accurate as we would believe. . . . This was a great story of how we create stories to understand our past and to hide or forget the secrets we keep.”—San Francisco Book Review

“Part mystery, part drama, Arrowood offers a little of everything to readers in search of a satisfying story.”—St. Louis Dispatch

“Arrowood is a highly atmospheric read and McHugh’s prose is beautifully descriptive without slowing the action. . . . This is an engrossing story that explores the aftermath of loss on those that live through it.”—BookBrowse

wonderfully descriptive

I sincerely enjoyed this book. The highly descriptive writing immerses you in the setting and really opens up the characters. The last chapter gave me chills. I had several suspects throughout the read but the reveal was nothing I saw coming.

Suspenseful to the end

I enjoyed this book, good and suspenseful. The only thing that I didn't enjoy was the feeling that it wasn't good if you was a Christian. Liked reading about Keokuk, Ia even though it was av fictional story.

Haunting and Powerful

This unsettling follow-up to Laura McHugh's impressive debut, The Weight of Blood, is a poignant meditation on memory, loss and the difficulty of returning home. It's central mystery is compelling but Arden's pursuit of closure and her efforts to adjust to her return to Keokuk, Iowa play an equally meaningful role in the story, raising it considerably above the average thriller or mystery novel. With two excellent novels under her belt, Laura McHugh is an author to watch!

Sarah Scott's narration struck the perfect tone for the book.

Excellent

Loved the way this story was told and the voice of whom read it. The plot was amazingly written and kept me on the edge of my seat until the very last chapter.

Good story - excellent narrator

This story was an attention grabber with a lot of suspense and was hard to put down. By the middle I ended up listening through to the end. I thought I had the "what happened to the twins" question figured out and was surprised at the end. Will look for more by this author and narrator.