Thursday, August 25, 2011

THE UNINVITED (TIM WYNNE-JONES)


Story Description:

Mimi Shapiro had a disturbing freshman year at NYU, thanks to a foolish affair with a professor who still haunts her caller ID. So when her artist father, Marc, offers the use of his remote Canadian cottage, she’s glad to hop in her Mini Cooper and drive up north. The house is fairy-tale quaint, and the key is hidden right where her dad said it would be, so she’s shocked to find someone already living there — Jay, a young musician, who is equally startled to meet Mimi and immediately accuses her of leaving strange and threatening tokens inside: a dead bird, a snakeskin, a cricket sound track embedded in his latest composition. But Mimi has just arrived, so who is responsible? And more alarmingly, what does the intruder want? Part gripping thriller, part family drama, this fast-paced novel plays out in alternating viewpoints, in a pastoral setting that is evocative and eerie — a mysterious character in its own right.

My Review:

I was disappointed in this novel perhaps my expectations were too high.  It was a very bland, slow moving read for a supposedly decent suspense novel. 

Mimi, the main protagonist drives to Canada from the United States to stay in a small house her father used to use as his artist studio.  Mimi wants to spend some time alone after breaking off an affair with her university professor.  But when she arrives at the house, there is already someone else staying there and the house was supposed to be empty.

Mimi discovers the man staying in the house is a young musician named Jay, who is struggling to find his muse.  However, Jay appears to be much more connected to Mimi than she realizes and there is a man who watches them both from the nearby river.

I found that Wynne-Jones was able to create a few suspenseful moments here and there throughout the book, but wasn’t able to hit the mark for a true suspense in my opinion.

Preview copy courtesy of NetGalley, with thanks!

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