Week 16 Review: The Suffering Tree

From Goodreads:

"It's dark magic brings him back."

Tori Burns and her family left D.C. for claustrophobic Chaptico, Maryland, after suddenly inheriting a house under mysterious circumstances. That inheritance puts her at odds with the entire town, especially Jesse Slaughter and his family—it's their generations-old land the Burns have "stolen." But none of that seems to matter after Tori witnesses a young man claw his way out of a grave under the gnarled oak in her new backyard.

Nathaniel Bishop may not understand what brought him back, but it's clear to Tori that he hates the Slaughters for what they did to him centuries ago. Wary yet drawn to him by a shared sense of loss, she gives him shelter. But in the wake of his arrival comes a string of troubling events—including the disappearance of Jesse Slaughter's cousin—that seem to point back to Nathaniel.

As Tori digs for the truth—and slowly begins to fall for Nathaniel—she uncovers something much darker in the tangled branches of the Slaughter family tree. In order to break the centuries-old curse that binds Nathaniel there and discover the true nature of her inheritance, Tori must unravel the Slaughter family's oldest and most guarded secrets. But the Slaughters want to keep them buried… at any cost.

From award-winning author Elle Cosimano comes a haunting, atmospheric thriller perfect to hand to readers of the Mara Dyer trilogy and Bone Gap.

My Review:
I just loved reading this book! I love Elle Cosimano's books, and I had forgotten I'd gotten this book, and so hadn't connected it to this author whose books I loved. But I found it, and I read it and I loved it, it was such a great read!

The whole set up sounded really intriguing, with someone coming back from the grave, and family history secrets, I had to know what was going on, it was such a fantastic mystery and was written in a way that I had to keep reading! 

Honestly, the synopsis had me going back and forth on who was the bad guy. The way things were said made me think one thing, then another. I just wanted to get down to the bottom of the mystery about what was going on with the Slaughter family, and with Nathaniel, in the past and in the present. 

This book deals with a lot of heavy topics, from indentured slavery to the cutting, both of which are pretty important to the plot, of Nathaniel's past, to the fact that her blood brought him back. I can't speak to how good of representation there was, but it was good to have, if only to raise discussion about them, which is needed.

Loved reading this book and I can't wait to read more by Elle Cosimano! 

Author: Elle Cosimano
Read: April 14th, 2024
Source: NetGalley
Reason Why: Love her writing and it sounded great, and it's a SAC 2024 Book! 
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Published: June 13th 2017

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars