I was so excited to learn about this release! After having my brain broken by Ward's The Last House on Needless Street (and loving every minute of it), I had pretty high hopes for her latest work. I'm pleased to say it didn't disappoint, because I'm still trying to process exactly what happened.
This will probably be a very brief review, because I'm honestly not even sure how to explain this book without giving away major spoilers—but I'll do my best.
"I wonder when you stop marking time, as an adult—when life starts. What would I even do with it if I had the freedom—live?"
Like so many other 16-year-olds, Wilder Harlow is at an awkward stage in his life. He is constantly bullied at school, his parents' marriage is hanging on by a thread, and all he wants is to be loved.
After the death of his Uncle Vernon, Wilder's parents inherit his cottage in the seaside town of Castine, Maine. Although they plan to sell it, they decide to spend a summer at the cottage first, hoping the vacation will do Wilder—and their marriage—some good.
The cottage is located by Whistler Bay, named for the eerie sound produced by the wind passing across the rocks. On those very rocks is where Wilder meets his first ever friends: Nat and Harper.
The three spend the summer together and quickly become inseparable. They spend their days exploring the cliffs, the beaches, and a hidden cave that Nat's dad showed him as a kid. He told Nat that this cave was very special—and he was right.
Nat and Harper tell Wilder the story of a woman named Rebecca, who disappeared from the Bay a few years ago, and of the Dagger Man, who breaks into homes and takes Polaroids of sleeping children as he holds a dagger to their throats. He then leaves the photos for their parents.
Rebecca's body was never found, and recently, another local woman named Christy has disappeared—but they were just accidents, right? They probably drowned. The Dagger Man is just a legend, after all.
When Wilder's parents decide to keep the house, known as Whistler Cottage, he, Harper, and Nat make a pact to come back to Castine every summer, no matter where life takes them.
"Good and bad can feel like the same thing, I think, if they're intense enough."
The following summer, the three reunite as planned, but things are off. Nat is on edge, evasive, and after a visit to the cave goes horribly wrong, they discover that the Dagger Man is very real—and those missing women didn't simply drown.
Unfortunately, their friendship falls apart after the incident, and Wilder heads off to college the next fall.
As a way to heal from the trauma, he decides to write a book about the events of the cave, and everything that happened afterwards. His roommate, Sky, is extremely supportive—a little too supportive, and Wilder doesn't realize until it's too late. Could Sky have his own connection to Whistler Bay?
"You can't get to know people after they're gone. All you have are memories, moments, and that doesn't make a whole person."
Thirty three years later, Wilder finally works up the courage to visit Castine and the Bay again. He is determined to write his book and tell his story, even if it's the last thing he ever does—and it may be just that.
As his vision starts to fail him, vivid hallucinations take over, and he begins to lose grip on reality. The story is eventually told, just not in the way Wilder intended, and certainly not in the way you'd expect.
"I remember thinking, if it's possible that life can be this guilty and hard and sad, then it must be possible for the opposite to exist."
If you enjoy psychological thrillers with a new twist on every page, this is definitely the book for you! It's extremely hard for me to explain without giving everything away, but please let me know if you decide to give it a read, because I have a lot of thoughts and I'd love to chat about them.
Be sure to join me on Discord so we can discuss this book, and so many more!
'•.¸♡ Read on! ♡¸.•'