Saving Thornwood by David Surface and Julia Rust

In the cemetery at Thornwood Asylum, two girls meet when a door between the 19th and 21st centuries miraculously opens.

In 2022, Annie Blake's world is shattered when her father suffers a psychotic break and ends up in Thornwood Hospital. Annie's father, an architect and activist, is trying to save Thornwood from developers who want to bulldoze the historic site and deprive the community of a vital mental health resource. Desperate to help her father, Annie struggles to find proof that a famous reformer was once incarcerated there.

In 1856, Mary Donovan and her younger brother were separated when they were committed to Thornwood Lunatic Asylum. Mary fights to find her brother and escape but is caught and suffers abusive treatment from staff, until the director of the asylum takes her under his wing. Dr. Jonathan Blackwell plans to groom Mary as his "success story" to help build his reputation in exchange for allowing Mary to see her brother.

When both girls are driven to their breaking points, they flee to Thornwood cemetery, where the border between their worlds opens, and they encounter each other face to face. Can they find a way to trust and help each other before time runs out?

In the 1800s, Thornwood Asylum was a living hell for those who were sent there. More a dumping ground than a hospital, not just for the unwell but the unwanted, unloved, and even the misunderstood. This is where Mary and her little brother are sent by their cruel aunt, who wants to be rid of them.

In the present day, it offers real treatment, and for some in the community, it is their only lifeline to get the help they need. This is where Annie is visiting her father after he suffers a psychotic break while working on a way to save Thornwood from the greedy developers who want to tear it down.

These two girls, in their most desperate moments, in the same place, but centuries apart, somehow meet through a rift in time.

The timeline with Mary and her little brother broke my heart. They never would have ended up in such an awful place if their aunt had one shred of kindness. Treatments for mental health issues in those days consisted mostly of torture, punishments and starvation. Those who sought to work in such places seemed sadistic types who enjoyed tormenting the patients. It made me wish I could go back in time and take them in. 

At least in the present day, Annie had her mother for support while her father was on the psych ward, where he received proper care and medication. The moments when Annie and Mary were able to be together were my favorite parts of the book. The authors successfully blend fantasy with deeply relatable, poignant emotion while showing how far we have come and how far we have left to go in addressing mental health. 

My thanks to the authors for the paperback copy.

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Tainted Towns by Victoria Williamson

Three unnerving tales of the weird and uncanny from award-winning author Victoria Williamson.

Forced to leave her cosy suburban home for the desolate city outskirts, Helen is chased each night through a dark underpass by a malevolent force.

What does it want?

Terry and Janet take matters into their own hands to tame their neighbour’s overgrown garden when it threatens the order of their perfect suburban life.

But the garden fights back…

And can Tom keep the secrets of the past buried when his crew is assigned to repair the very road he knows he must avoid at all costs?

Dare you visit these Tainted Towns to discover their dark secrets?

This is the second story collection I have read by Victoria Williamson and I loved this one even more than the first! 

In the first story, Tunnel Vision, Helen has given up her old life to start fresh after a breakup. Her new life is lonely and isolated, but she could handle that if only she didn't need to walk through the tunnel to get home from work. I was so sad for her entire situation but most of all, I shared the creeping dread of what may be lurking in that tunnel.

Next up, The Garden Of Friedan finds Terry and Janet Dixon bemoaning the state of their neighbor's garden. Of course, whining about it to Mr. Friedan will be of no use; he stopped doing any yard work once he passed away. Now, the beautiful cherry tree and flowers that were all he had left in memory of his wife, that he so lovingly tended, are overgrown and withered. Terry may be willing to overlook it but Janet finds it unbearable as the plants begin to encroach on her property. To her, it is an unforgivable offense, and Terry will not hear the end of it. Unfortunately for the Dixon's there will be severe consequences for their interference. I hated Janet, but loved the story. I'm glad she's not my neighbor!

Last but not least was The Red, Red Road. Tom is a happily married family man with a dark past and a terrible secret that he has managed to hide for all these years. He has gone out of his way to avoid the Red Road ever since that long-ago night, but there is no way out of it this time. His crew will be working there and he can't escape it any longer. What will happen when the truth comes out?

This novella-length tale was more gruesome than the previous two, and it was my favorite part of the book. 

5 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Silver Thistle Press for the gifted paperback.

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Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell

Years after her best friend mysteriously disappeared from a remote New England island, a young woman returns in search of answers.

Orla O’Connor hasn’t been to the isolated New England enclave of Hadley Island since she graduated from high school a decade ago. As a teenager, her best friend Alice disappeared from its shores without a trace—but with plenty of rumors. Now Orla returns to her family’s beachfront home to clean it out before her parents sell it. The island and her best friend’s empty house next door are stirring up memories she would like to avoid.

Then there are the locals, always gossiping and watching Orla’s every move. Worst of all, David, Orla’s childhood crush and son of a wealthy Manhattan family, is back for the summer with his new, impossibly pretty girlfriend, Faith.

Meanwhile, local Henry hasn’t left his house since Alice disappeared, in an attempt to let the accusations against him die down—except they never have. Orla’s return has shaken him, and lately he’s been seeing strange things through his telescope: shadowy figures walking on the beach in the middle of the night and a light on in an upstairs window of Alice's long-abandoned childhood home.

When another person on the island disappears, Orla, David, and Henry find themselves pulled into an eerie mystery that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

 Then:  

Alice and Orla are neighbors and best friends, growing up together and dreaming of how they will someday attend college and share an apartment in New York. A rift forms between them when Orla develops a possessive crush on David, the boy from a wealthy family, and Alice becomes more secretive. On the night of a huge party, Alice disappears. Some assume she drowned, others think she was murdered. Her body was never recovered, but gossip and rumors are all aimed at Henry, a local man who everyone thinks is odd.

Now: 

Henry has become a recluse, locked away with his wife in a home they have never left since the accusations first started. Orla has returned to her childhood home to prepare it for sale. David is back to take over his father's business with his new girlfriend Faith in tow. At first, Faith is thrilled at the invitation to spend the summer with David. But his strange behavior and obnoxious father, combined with the mystery of a missing girl, have her questioning everything.

Told from multiple points of view, it seems that every character is spinning their own web of lies, deceit and secrets. The plot moves slowly at first but it gradually pulled me all the way in to this twisty mystery. I was most engaged with Faith's point of view as she was the only one who was an outsider to the island and so brought a fresh perspective.  Dead of Summer is a perfect beach read. 

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Atria Books for the invitation to read an e-Arc

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