Fir - Sharon Gosling

"We are the trees. We are the snow.

We are the winter.

We are the peace. We are the rage.

Cut off from civilization by the harsh winter of northern Sweden, the Stromberg family shelter in their old plantation house. There are figures lurking in the ancient pine forests and they’re closing in. With nothing but four walls between the Strombergs and the evil that’s outside, they watch and wait for the snows to melt.

But in the face of signs that there’s an even greater danger waiting to strike, it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish reality from illusion. All they’ve got to do is stay sane and survive the winter…"

5 Words: Family, isolation, chilling, mythology, fear.

Part Scandi-noir thriller, part chilling horror, with a side of ancient lore and subtle hint of environmental-awareness... I could not put this book down.

I think the greatest strength in this book, and the aspect I enjoyed the most, is the setting. It's just breathtaking. The atmosphere just builds and builds in intensity until suddenly you look up, and it's snowing outside, and for a moment you're terrified. You can hear the trees. Did a wolf just howl? Is that a spot of blood on the snow?

Don't read this book when it's snowing.

I also loved the family dynamics, the resentment that slowly grows between the characters. It felt natural, it added to the horror. It added to the atmosphere and made it harder to figure out what was real and what wasn't.

There is a sense of magic realism to the story, and everywhere you look are unreliable characters described by an unreliable narrator. This is my ultimate catnip in a book.

I did want more when I reached the end of the book, but ultimately I was happy with the ending and how it was left slightly open. I still don't know what was real and what was not. Was it all in their heads? WHAT HAPPENED?

I'm one of those people who will say that I "don't like horror". But the Red Eye collection? Wow. Even if you "don't like horror" pick it up.

Age Rating 12+. Creepy and suspenseful, not for a sensitive 12.