A History of Wild Places

Wow, what a splendid adult debut for Shea Ernshaw!

As someone who as read both of Shea's YA books thus far, I have to say she has a very intentional way of writing a story...whether adult or YA. You quite literally feel like you’ve been transported to exactly where you should be to fully enjoy the tale she’s weaving around you. Even the smells come alive.
A History of Wild Places is no different and it’s…chilling.

This story will make you question everything you think you know. It's secrets piled on mysteries, all wrapped up in a darkly atmospheric, mind-bending tale. I felt like I was easily watching the events unfold before me...following the breadcrumbs left by Shea for the reader to slowly pick up, essentially becoming part of show more Pastoral. The character arcs and world building combine to create a perfectly thrilling story. I loved every page-turning minute of it and I cannot recommend this book enough.

**My review is based from an advanced copy of the book. show less

Maggie St. James, an author of dark children's fiction, has gone missing. Years later Maggie's parents hire Travis Wren to find her. Travis has a unique ability to see memories of people when he is holding an object of theirs. Travis traces Maggie through a book charm of her necklace. He finds himself in a hidden community in the woods. Founded in the 1970's by a group of people looking for a simpler life, Pastoral is now a closed community with a group of people who fear the woods surrounding them, afraid that the woods carry the rot that could infect them all. As soon as Travis finds Pastoral, he too disappears. In Pastoral, lifelong members Theo and Calla begin to find clues of Travis and Maggie's presence in their community, but show more their leader, Levi, assures them that Maggie and Travis are not in Pastoral.

Suspenseful, haunting and unexpected A History of Wild Places is a contemporary mystery that I could not put down. I was drawn in by Maggie's children's book and then brought into the rabbit hole even farther with Travis' abilities to see memories through touching objects and firmly glued with the introduction of the community of Pastoral. There are definite "The Village" vibes happening with Pastoral, but with something deeper and unknown. The mysteries of Maggie, Travis and Pastoral itself were captivating and the writing kept pulling me in. I was invested in watching Theo, Calla and her sister Bee unravel the mysteries as they found objects, remembered things that were out of place and watched their beloved Pastoral begin to crumble. Atmospheric, dark with a surprise twisty ending that I didn't see coming until the end. A History of Wild Places is a complex and exciting mystery.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. show less

This book was a DNF for me. I like mystery novels, but this was much less a mystery novel than a psychological thriller, and psychological thrillers don't do it for me. There's enough anxiety out there in the real world. I'm not going to embrace it as a form of entertainment. If you like creepy movies/books about strange, isolated communities, you'll probably love this title. If you like a more traditional mystery novel, you'll find it unsatisfying.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.

Travis Wren is hired by the family of a missing novelist, Maggie St. Clair, to find her. His quest takes him to a remote wilderness commune, Pastoral, where the inhabitants believe they are being protected from a plague because of their isolation from the rest of the world. The storyline focuses on a married couple Theo and Calla, and Calla’s blind sister Bee, who is in love with Levi, the leader of Pastoral. When the newborn baby of a commune member becomes ill, everything begins to unravel, as some think outside help is necessary and others are dead-set against it. Ugly secrets and lies turn the once-tranquil Pastoral into a nightmare. With their belief systems challenged, Calla, Bee, and Theo are forced to make difficult decisions. show more The prose is sometimes flat, but the imaginative story, which almost reads like a dark fairy tale, was interesting enough to hold my attention throughout. show less

This one really gripped me and wouldn't let go until I finished. It wasn't the plot twists or reveals that made it interesting, though those were fun and I definitely enjoyed them. I think the draw was in the character work and the themes going on here. It was a more quiet, meditative book on chosen community, a sense of self, and how we let fear and loss define us. And I was so pleased by the ending, even though I wasn't expecting it, that I can't give this one any less than 5 stars.

Reminiscent of M. Night Shayamalan's The Village, this book tells the story of a community, Pastoral, that is afraid of anything outside of its borders.

Travis Wren has a gift. From holding an object belonging to a missing person, he can trace their path through flashes of their memory. He's a last resort for families who have given up on finding their loved ones through traditional means, and he's returned many missing people, though more of them were dead than alive.

Travis is tracking missing reclusive author Maggie St. James when he stumbles across Pastoral, a 1970's commune that the outside world thought had been abandoned. But he discovers that the community has strayed far from its peaceful, open roots, and now operates from a fear show more of the outside world. They even fear the contaminants the rain may bring to their idyllic world. Travis wants to find Maggie and get out, but he never returns.

Years later, Theo, a resident of Pastoral who broke the rules to stray past the boundary, finds Travis's abandoned truck and begins to suspect that not everything they've been led to believe is true. Despite reluctance from his wife Calla, Theo becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to Travis once he arrived in Pastoral, and as he pokes at Pastoral's secrets, he begins to believe that the true rot may lie within.

This slow-burn story pulls you into the deceptively tranquil world of Pastoral, then pounces on you with razor-sharp secrets that threaten to tear everything and everyone apart. This book questions how far people will go for the sake of order and to protect their way of life. show less

A History of Wild Places is mysterious in multiple ways. Not only is Travis, a kind of psychic finder, searching for a children's book author gone for five years, but the structure of the novel -- which abruptly stops following Travis as he's searching in some spooky rural woods and then picks up with a family of three living in a commune in the same woods, with no connection made to Travis -- is puzzling and suspenseful. The storyline fills the reader's mind with questions. Why would a successful author want to disappear? What has compelled people to remain in a commune with a dictatorial leader? Why are the trees dying from "rot"? Did Travis visit the commune family in the past? Will the children's book author be found?

Shea Earnshaw's show more first adult novel's enchanting atmosphere mesmerizes the reader, like a good, albeit dark, fairy tale. The seemingly disparate threads of many lives eventually weave in to a whole as the answers are finally opened to the reader. Deliciously creepy and ultimately satisfying.

I received an advance e-book from NetGalley. This is an honest review. show less