THE NESTING by C.J. Cooke
Berkley; 9/29/20
CBTB Rating: 4/5
The Verdict: Gothic suspense with a Nordic twist
Gothic suspense gets a Nordic makeover in C.J. Cooke’s beguiling and bone-chilling 2020 release THE NESTING. In this inventive suspense novel, there’s more than just wildlife lurking in the woods of Norway, and an unsuspecting young woman is about to realize that her new home isn’t just slightly creepy… it’s flat-out dangerous. When I first learned of C.J. Cooke’s book THE NESTING, I could hardly believe my good luck. It felt like one of those rare moments when an author somehow managed to craft the exact right combination of things you personally love as a reader—for me, in this case, a combination of Gothic suspense and a Norwegian setting—and I could hardly wait to dive in. I’m happy to report that Cooke’s latest release more than met my (high!) expectations. THE NESTING puts a modern spin on a classic Gothic suspense premise, and wraps it all up in the atmosphere of Scandinavia. Fans of Netflix’s The Haunting of Bly Manor and Ruth Ware’s THE TURN OF THE KEY (both of which pay homage to Henry James’ classic THE TURN OF THE SCREW, I would be remiss not to add!) will adore the immersive Gothic tale Cooke spins in her latest novel, while readers who love stories set in Scandinavia will sink effortlessly into the dark forests of Norway in which THE NESTING is set. As we enter the colder, darker months of the year, C.J. Cooke’s THE NESTING is the perfect spine-tingling story to add to your TBR list.
In THE NESTING, a young woman accepts a job as a nanny—and discovers her new home in Norway harbors dark secrets. Lexi Ellis has found herself at rock bottom. After surviving a suicide attempt, Lexi’s world is upended once again when her boyfriend breaks up with her and kicks her out of their apartment. Lexi has nowhere to go, and almost nothing to her name. So when she learns of a job opportunity as a live-in nanny for an architect and his two young daughters, she jumps at the chance. Architect Tom Faraday and his children are reeling from the loss of Tom’s wife, Aurelia, who died of suicide not long ago. Tom is weighed down by grief, and by the immense responsibility of raising his daughters alone. Hiring a nanny just makes sense, and Lexi seems to be the perfect candidate: she is warm, smart, and comes with all the right recommendations and qualifications. Before she knows it, Lexi finds herself packing her meager belongings and traveling from London to Norway. As Lexi settles into her new life, she is immediately enamored with the architect’s daughters… but her new home leaves much to be desired. The house is old and drafty, and there’s just something a bit off about it. The isolation doesn’t help, either: Lexi, used to city life, suddenly finds herself in the middle of the woods with little company, save for her young charges. And the more Lexi learns about Aurelia, Tom’s late wife, the more convinced she becomes that there might be more to her story than Tom is letting on. As inexplicable things begin to happen in the house, Lexi’s burgeoning suspicion turns into flat-out fear. THE NESTING is a delicious and spine-tingling blend of Gothic suspense, local folklore, and family mystery, a book that begs to be read with all the lights on.
As an avid reader of Nordic crime fiction, I was extremely eager from the outset of this story to see how Cooke would balance the book’s Nordic influences with its Gothic ones. While Scandinavia—Norway in particular—undoubtedly influences this book, THE NESTING is a story more aligned with the Gothic suspense tradition than with the tradition of Nordic Noir. Where the Scandinavian influences can be felt in THE NESTING is in the book’s setting, and in the book’s local lore. The breathtaking landscape of Norway impacts just about every bit of this story, and Cooke beautifully portrays the immersive, almost otherworldly beauty of the dark Norwegian forests with lush and evocative writing. At protagonist Lexi’s side, readers will pass through the beautiful port town of Ålesund and venture deeper into Norway, settling in Lexi’s new home in the woods, nestled at the edge of a fjord. If you are looking for a suspense novel that will allow you to “armchair travel” this fall, THE NESTING will satisfy your wanderlust wishes and then some—and, by the story’s end, it might just make you thankful that you’re safe at home. THE NESTING is heavily influenced by Scandinavian folklore, too, and Cooke crafts some absolutely terrifying tales involving the fjord by Lexi’s new home. Readers open to suspense novels that delve into local lore, legend, and the supernatural will absolutely love the tales Cooke tells in THE NESTING.
THE NESTING has all the hallmarks of a superb Gothic suspense story: a remote house with secrets hidden within its walls, a protagonist with dark secrets of her own, and an overarching atmosphere of quiet dread that builds to a terrifying conclusion. Cooke has all the right ingredients for a truly creepy suspense read here, and if I had to pick a single favorite one, it would undoubtedly be this story’s characters. This is a story filled with complex and compelling female characters in both past and present. In the present day, readers follow Lexi, our story’s protagonist—a young woman who readers will find engaging, funny, and unreliable in equal measure. With Lexi, what you see is not what you get. Lexi is a young woman reeling from personal tragedy and trauma, and when we meet her, she is looking for any means of escaping her circumstances and starting life anew. To get the fresh start she so badly needs, she is willing to do just about anything, and readers will be cheering for her even as she makes some very questionable decisions. But Lexi isn’t our story’s only protagonist. The character of Aurelia (the late wife of Lexi’s new boss) looms large over the entirety of this book: her influence is felt in the present, as Lexi gets to know Aurelia’s family and discovers her diary hidden in the house. Cooke also gives readers the opportunity to get to know Aurelia firsthand through chapters set in the past, told from Aurelia’s perspective. Readers witness Aurelia’s experience as a woman navigating new motherhood, marriage, and life in a new and isolated place—and they will learn some dark and disturbing secrets about her marriage to Tom, and her home, in the process. Aurelia and Lexi’s interweaving narratives make for page-turning entertainment, and readers will be riveted as they begin to notice parallels between the events leading up to Aurelia’s suicide in the past, and the increasingly unsettling events in Lexi’s present. Cooke masterfully weaves together timelines and narrators in THE NESTING to deliver a just-one-more-page, up-all-night-reading experience.
THE NESTING is a surprising and effective modern-day Gothic suspense story, enhanced by a stunning and sinister setting. Slightly uneven pacing partway through the story did slow down my reading momentum briefly (the only reason I’m giving this 4 and not 5 stars!), but the story’s immersive atmosphere and slow-burn sense of impending disaster kept me hooked throughout. The book’s stunning Norwegian landscape makes this the perfect book for “armchair traveling” this season… particularly for readers looking for a story with an extra-chilling and creepy edge. Pick this one up for a unique Gothic suspense story perfect for the cold weather.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. All opinions my own.
Read an excerpt of THE NESTING here
Book Details:
Item Weight : 9.6 ounces
Paperback : 368 pages
ISBN-10 : 0593197666
ISBN-13 : 978-0593197660
Publisher : Berkley (September 29, 2020)
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