Today Laurie recommends THE SECRET SKIN by Wendy N.Wagner. We hope you'll check it out!
The Secret Skin by Wendy N. Wagner
"The Secret Skin by Wendy N. Wagner is a sawmill gothic that begins with June Vogel’s return to Storm Break, her family’s estate. Things in the great house aren’t what they used to be. Doors slam in the night. Faucets turn on, untouched. Something is always watching, whatever June does. And when her brother returns with his new bride, deceit and betrayal threaten to destroy everything she loves."
Laurie's Review
The Secret Skin is a quick gothic read. It has all the spooky things you’d expect in a gothic and a few surprises too!
June returns to the family estate, a looming mansion on the coast, to care for her 9-year-old niece while her brother takes a long honeymoon with his new bride. The house appears to welcome her but the staff is cold and haughty as ever. And the kid? Well, Abigail isn’t too thrilled about any of it. “I have promised to hate you.” Haha, this kid is such a little punk. I loved her.
Before long doors start slamming, Abigail exhibits some strange supernatural powers and June feels eyeballs following her everywhere. It’s great fun and very spooky. Abigail and June develop a sweet relationship and spend their days out of the house as much as they can for obvious reasons. When the brother Frederick and his brand-new bride Lillian return early, things start to go awry. June and Lillian become fast friends and maybe a little more, the past haunts them all, and when you can hear a house breathe you might want to start running!
There is much going on here, almost too much for its 102-page count. While I enjoyed it for its brevity because some books are simply too long and drone on forever, I think I could’ve read another 200+ pages of this story and been happy about it. It’s one of those books I’d like to fall into and sit for a while. With that said, it doesn’t feel incomplete, and it doesn’t leave you hanging. I’m just being greedy.
Thank you for joining us today! Please share your thoughts about THE SECRET SKIN as well as any recent reads in the comments below.
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Laurie is one of our Horror Spotlight Admins. Laurie creates our review posts and coordinates review requests.
You can find Laurie on her blog Bark’s Book Nonsense, on Twitter as @barksbooks, on Instagram as @barksbooks, and on Goodreads.
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