I found this book on a recommended list and added it to my 2023 TBR list. I started it a couple of months ago, couldn’t get into it, and because it was a Libby loan it got automatically returned. I decided a couple of days ago to give it another try and UUUUUGH. I cannot.

For a book that is seemingly set in present day, the protagonist sure doesn’t seem to be as phone-attached as the rest of us. How she gets caught without her phone or conveniently forgets to use it as a flashlight is a huge point of contention for me. Additionally, it feels like the first half of the book (where I eventually gave up) is just going from one unexplained jump scare to the next, with nothing actually happening. That MIGHT have been a ghost on the porch. Or in the hallway. Or in the tunnels under the vineyard. Or in the shed. Just one to the next to the next with NOTHING HAPPENING. Goodreads reviews say it’s a slow burn with not much payoff so I did something I rarely do, which is log a DNF.

I understand that this is a good author and I’d appreciate a recommendation from her back catalog that will help me wash this disappointment out of my brain.