by Graham Joyce
First published 2012
Peter Martin receives a Christmas phone call that pulls him from his family into an impossible situation. His sister Tara sits in their parents' living room, twenty years after she walked into the woods and disappeared. Their parents welcome her with joy, accepting her tales of worldwide travel and adventure. But Peter notices what his parents refuse to see. Tara looks exactly as she did two decades ago, unchanged by time. Her stories contradict each other. Something follows her from the forest, something that won't let her go. As months pass, Peter realizes the woods that claimed his sister once still hold power over his family. He must choose between protecting the people he loves and accepting a truth that defies reason.
Genres: literary-fiction, mystery, fantasy, contemporary
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: The Woods
Period: 20 Years Ago, Present Day
310 pages · Hardcover · Doubleday