Laura and Julie are not just sisters, they are best friends and closer than any two people can be to each other. They are in their sixties now and get the most thrills during mushroom hunting season. They love it and they love the bounty from the hunt, always have. They plan for ten months how to execute an even better mushroom hunt than the year before. They also are part of a Search and Rescue Department in the area and they love it. The part they don't love and do their best to avoid is the "Black Woods" area of the woods they mushroom hunt in and they search and rescue in. There is just something about that section of the woods that makes people feel uneasy and unsafe. For good reason too, there is something in that part of the woods, something sinister and evil that brings harm on all that enter its section of the woods. Most people know enough to stay out of there, but visitors don't know the legend or of the beast that lives in the Black Woods. Soon Laura and Julie are called in to help with a search and rescue of four young men who came to the area to hunt, but not knowing about the Black Woods section, may have entered into something way more dangerous than turkey hunting. The four young men got separated and now are fighting for their lives trying to survive while they are hopelessly lost in the deep woods. Julie and Laura only hope that they didn't enter the Black Woods, or they may not come out of the woods alive. Can Julie and Laura find the boys in the deep woods? Were they lucky enough to not cross the invisible lines into the Black Woods with the unknown beast? If they do find them, will they get them out alive? Why did they get lost in the first place? What happened to them in the woods? Sometimes you have to face personal fears to help someone, but are Julie and Laura strong enough to do that for some lost strangers? Well, I have to say this book is one that I am left thinking about even after I am done reading it. I also am unsettled for how to rate this book. I think the book has amazing potential and really has a great concept behind its plot that's for sure. This book was very slow to start off. I felt like I was in a horse race and my horse was lolly-gagging along while the others passed me twice. In my opinion the first half of the book was too full of background and things that didn't really matter for the heart of the plot. Yes, you have to get to know the characters, but this was overkill. It also seemed a bit choppy to read, like there wasn't enough detail where there should have been and was too much where less would have been quite sufficient. It was an easy read, thank goodness or I may have put it down when I was almost half done with the book and still didn't get to the "meat" of the book. Now, my opinion of the book changed a little over half way through the book. Why? Because the book really took off when it did finally take off! It changed into this amazing read that was so full of vivid details about what was going on that I could start to then see it playing out in my mind as I read on. It just transformed into this wonderful read that made me wonder if it was still the same author as the first half of the book. It became suspense filled and action packed. The characters started to make sense and come together. The story became one that I now couldn't put down, but just had to finish reading! It became a book I enjoyed. I was a bit disappointed in the fact that there was all this "fluff" in the beginning, yet nothing to really tell about the reason for the Black Woods and the creature that inhabits it. It just is, that's it, no detail on why or how it came to be. The ending really threw me for a loop! I literally finished the book and had to just stare at my Kindle and say, What the heck just happened here. I'm not sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing to be honest with you. There is another book after this one....will I read it? I doubt it. Yes the ending left me wondering, but the thought of having to go through another beginning of a book like I did in this one has me saying I really don't think I want to risk it. Personally, I compared reading this book to eating vegetables for me. I look at them and I think they don't look to bad, maybe they even look good. However I know I don't really enjoy eating them, but think eh why not. I start to eat them and think how horrible they are and how I really don't want to continue eating my serving, but I hope they start tasting better. I then add some dip or some other things to them and they then start looking and tasting amazing and I am super glad I'm eating them. Then the end comes and I think, ok they were good, but do I really want to eat them again. I know, odd comparison, but it's what I was thinking when I was thinking if I really liked this book or not. ;-)3/5 Stars Black Woods is a thriller told in such a personal manner, you’ll want to read to the end. Much of the story comes from the viewpoint of an elderly woman who busies herself with collecting mushrooms and the lives of her husband and grand kids The last person you’d expect to relate a tale of gruesome horror. It’s a refreshing take.This author has energy and it shows in her writing. As a reader I found it easy to connect with the first person narration and liked how she told the story in a way that I could relate to. The duo-narrators works well with this story and helps to blend the two converging story lines.There were, however, a couple of elements of the book that pushed me out of the story momentarily, disrupting the reading experience. In a few instances the author uses sound effects such as “Thud” or “Growl” in replace of more descriptive writing. It didn’t work for me. Another push-me-out-of-the-story example is the shenanigans of the group of young men. They are written and stereotypes, even caricatures of twenty-somethings and occasionally lost my interest with their never-ending antics. Similarly, the police officers seem to be the least dedicated, low-ethics cops around. This just wasn’t necessary and made me not care what happened to them.The author does a good job of making the reader want to turn the page; to find out what is going to happen next. There is a bit of a fatalist feeling and as a reader, you don’t want to believe this could happen so you keep turning the pages. Nicely done. Then comes the ending which is superbly set up; it hits you with complete surprise. However, it felt a little empty, more like a magician who rips a table cloth out from under a china set and nothing crashes. It’s slick, but I wanted more form this kind of story.
What do You think about Black Woods (2000)?
A great quick read with lots of blood and gore.
—MrsFindo
