The Short Straw: ‘An intensely readable and gripping pageturner’ – Alex Michaelides, author of THE SILENT PATIENT
£0.90
‘An outstanding thriller. Just make sure you read it with ALL the lights on.’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘All the wows!!!’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
One sister went out into the dark for help. Will she come back?
Returning from a difficult visit to their father, three sisters find themselves lost in a storm. Together, they seek safety in an abandoned manor house, a place where they spent a troubled childhood clinging to each other for support, before one day fleeing with their parents in the dead of night.
As the storm intensifies, the sisters draw straws to decide who should go outside to get help. But as they separate, they realise they might not be alone. . . Why did the family leave so suddenly all those years ago? Who else is hiding in the house? And will the sisters survive the night?
Read what everyone is saying about The Short Straw:
‘An intensely readable and gripping page-turner. By turns tense, shocking and moving, and with an atmosphere you could cut with a knife’ ALEX MICHAELIDES
‘An addictive read that takes place over one unforgettable night where one family’s secrets rise to the surface – Patricia Highsmith meets Shirley Jackson’ GILLIAN MCALLISTER
‘Deliciously creepy, and a fascinating study of the complex, often toxic, relationships within families’ SHARON BOLTON
‘Utterly gripping and unputdownable’ JANE FALLON
‘Having three sisters, I could relate to the sibling dynamics . . . It’s twisty, gothic, and with a heartbreakingly shocking reveal’ LISA HALL
‘Holly creates such exquisite tension that you really can’t put her books down . . . I felt the sense of place, the weather, the cold in that house in my bones’ EMMA CURTIS
‘Gripping, creepy and drenched in atmosphere’ CATHERINE RYAN HOWARD
‘This irresistible slow-burn thriller is as much a study of family dynamics as it is a creepy & suspense-filled spine-tingler’ FIONA CUMMINS
Read more
Additional information
| Publisher | Orion (14 Sept. 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 2494 KB |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Not Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 355 pages |
| Page numbers source ISBN | 1398715468 |
by Nessakt
The Short Straw by Holly Seddon was an enjoyable read from the start to finish. When three sisters find themselves lost in a storm. They have no where to go and at night they seek help at the Moirthwaite Manor, where their mother once worked, all those years ago. They are shocked to find that the isolated mansion loomed so large through their troubled childhoods has long been abandoned and forgotten.
All sister draw straws to decide who should get help.
Then, one sister heads back into the darkness. With the siblings separated, the deadly secrets hidden in the house finally make themselves known and we learn the unspeakable secret that binds the family together.
But, Leaving isn’t safe for them…
Then, staying would be deadly.
WoW……This book was so good I found it hard to put down one I started to read it……..it’s full of twists and turns that will leave you sitting on the edge of your seat!
I highly recommend this book
by EC
The Short Straw is an atmospheric thriller with complicated family dynamics at its heart.
When three sisters find themselves stranded in the Cumbrian countryside when they crash their car in the midst of a storm, they head to somewhere they know from their childhood and where their mother once worked, Moirthwaite Manor. To their surprise it is now abandoned and their search for a safe haven takes an unexpected turn as over the course of one dramatic night the house’s dark past comes to light.
Told in dual timelines, by each of the sisters in the present and by their mother thirty years previously when she worked at the house, the creepy scene is set from the off – late at night, in the midst of a storm, and an abandoned manor house with menace lurking in every corner.
Where the book really shines is in the characterisation of the sisters and the dynamics of their familial relationship. Three very different women, each has their own very distinct voice as we learn what role each has always played within the family. We see how each of them has been affected by the loss of their mother Rosemary and how they deal with their grief in very different ways.
All this adds an emotional element to the “haunted house” vibe which builds the tension and keeps the reader on their toes as the secrets begin to come to light.
by christoo
Three sisters pull off the main route on to country roads trying to find fuel for their car. However, they then become stranded due excessive rainfall. They manage to find shelter in an apparently abandoned old Manor House where their mother worked many years ago. They draw straws to determine who will go out to find help since they have no phone service.
The book was a bit of a slow burner to begin with but the spooky atmosphere created by the description of the house and the strange noises that made the sisters wonder if the house was actually abandoned soon had me almost jumping when something happened.
The house also brought back long forgotten memories from childhood . Some good, some bad.
Enjoyable read and very suspenseful once it got going.
by Kindle Customer
Told from the perspectives of three sisters, and their mother in flashbacks, this was an epic story.
Verging on horror, this kept me gripped to the end.
A brilliant read.
by Mel Lawn
Another gripping, fast paced tale from one of my favourite authors. Her characters are as always believable and the relationships, particularly between siblings, are relatable! Can’t wait for the next one!
by Minxy
Oh wow, wow, wow! This was so intense and kept me on the edge till the last page. Another fab book by Holly.
by Laura
The Short Straw is a slow burner of a novel that follows three sisters – Nina, Lizzie, and Aisa – as they return from lunch with their father. They become lost in a bad storm and take shelter at an imposing old house that is semi-familiar to them from their childhood because their mother used to work there as a maid. Aisa heads out into the night to try to get help, whilst the other two are left in the crumbling house with its shadows and secrets…
The book moves along at a fairly slow pace, introducing the characters and their intricate relationships, all against the backdrop of the raging storm. It cleverly alternates between present-day chapters narrated through each of the siblings’ eyes and chapters from their mother’s perspective, who had worked in the house years ago. This dual narrative adds depth to the story, and I found it particularly engaging. Throughout the narrative, an ever-present sense of looming danger persists, with the house itself becoming a menacing character.
While The Short Straw unravels the mystery of Jane’s mother’s past, it doesn’t fall squarely into the thriller genre. Instead, it creates an incredibly tense atmosphere. The present-day narrative didn’t need dramatic action to keep me engaged; I found myself on edge for much of the novel just from the lurking sense of danger, enjoying both the present-day and historical narratives. As well as the resolution of the mystery, I enjoyed the author’s skilful character development and the constant suspense that kept me enthralled.
If you appreciate novels that seamlessly flick between different timelines, The Short Straw serves as a superb example of a slow-burning story that skillfully maintains intrigue and suspense throughout its pages.