Hold on to your potatoes! This book is quite a ride.

Modern Day. Remote cabin in the Scottish Highlands.

Let’s call her ‘Mary’ is hard at work, cooking and cleaning for Cal, let’s call him ‘her husband.’ She’s been slaving away for this guy for about ten years, satisfying his every whim and feeling his wrath if she doesn’t.

I grew increasingly frustrated with Let’s-Call-Her-Mary. Seriously, a quick slice with the butcher knife in the night would have solved the problem, but ok—emotional manipulation, fear, pain, and the remoteness of the location all keep her in line. That’s not unbelievable, though it is frustrating.

The suspense builds as you discover that Let’s-Call-Her-Mary didn’t come to this cabin willingly, but her trauma and fear are so significant, she can barely remember what really happened.

When she discovers that she is pregnant, she realizes things cannot go on as they have been. She makes plans to escape. That’s when Cal decides to replace Let’s-Call-Her-Mary with Let’s-Call-Her-Mary2.

The Woman in the Cabin by Becca Day is a slow burn, for sure. The minutia of Let’s-Call-Her-Mary’s daily life and her dithering about what to do about it get a little repetitive, but I was already hooked and had to find out what happened. The writing is excellent. The pace drags a bit in the middle, but the payoff is intense. Just when you think things have gotten better, they suddenly get ten times worse.

Four Stars!