John Hart is one of those authors that can’t quite be pigeonholed into some convenient genre. He writes thrillers and mysteries, detective stories, moody, haunted, events and about betrayal, broken dreams and love lost. Although The Hush, is a sequel to The Last Child, it is really a stand-alone book that explains all you need to know without having to read the first book.

It is now ten years since John Merrimon, became a hero in his small town in North Carolina after finding a missing girl. Seeking to avoid the glare of publicity, John has used the money he received initially, to buy up hundreds of acres of natural woodlands and marsh and now lives simply, in a small cabin in the middle of the woods. His only connection to the world beyond is his friend Jack who helped him in his search ten years before. The bonds they forged then have become more tenuous as time has gone on, especially has John has become more isolated, but they still understand each other in ways most people never can.

But something is changing. John senses, a danger or a darkness that seems to be getting stronger in the woodlands that he calls home. Jack, too senses something shifting in the mists, when he comes to visit. He sees the changes in his friend and the unnatural cold, creeping darkness as he walks through the wild places to get to John’s cabin. Then some children go missing, and some hunters, too. As the town tries to find the missing,  John and Jack, must figure out what malevolence is stalking the wild places and how to stop its thirst for vengeance.

Complicated plots lines, slowly building suspense and great characters and writing, all make this one of the best books I read this year. Although it has some horrific scenes and unexpected supernatural elements I did not see this as a “horror” book, but rather I felt these elements were almost a metaphor for the harm done to our wooded places and our unwillingness to see the earth and all its peoples as sacred.

Brenda’s Rating:****(4 Out Of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Sharon, Lauren and Keith

Book Study Worthy? Yes

Read in ebook format.