The author of the “suspenseful, atmospheric, and completely riveting” (Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author) debut The Winter Sister returns with Behind the Red Door, a darkly thrilling novel about a woman who comes to believe that she has a connection to a decades old kidnapping and now that the victim has gone missing again, begins a frantic search to learn what happened in the past.
Behind the Red Door
by Megan Collins
I received an ARC of this book free from the publisher through NetGalley; however, all opinions are my own, and I was not required to give a review. This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive compensation at no cost to you.
Behind the Red Door
by Megan Collins
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Atria Books (August 4, 2020)
When Fern Douglas sees the news about Astrid Sullivan, a thirty-four-year-old missing woman from Maine, she is positive that she knows her. Fern’s husband is sure it’s because of Astrid’s famous kidnapping—and equally famous return—twenty years ago, but Fern has no memory of that, even though it happened an hour outside her New Hampshire hometown. And when Astrid appears in Fern’s recurring nightmare, one in which a girl reaches out to her, pleading, Fern fears that it’s not a dream at all, but a memory.
Back at her childhood home to help her father pack for a move, Fern purchases a copy of Astrid’s recently published memoir—which may have provoked her original kidnapper to abduct her again—and as she reads through its chapters and visits the people and places within it, she discovers more evidence that she has an unsettling connection to the missing woman. With the help of her psychologist father, Fern digs deeper, hoping to find evidence that her connection to Astrid can help the police locate her. But when Fern discovers more about her own past than she ever bargained for, the disturbing truth will change both of their lives forever.
Featuring Megan Collins’s signature “dark, tense, and completely absorbing” (Booklist) prose and plenty of shocking twists and turns, Behind the Red Door is an arresting thriller that will haunt you long after you turn the last page.
Advance praise
“Collins nimbly orchestrates Fern’s growing sense of terror as she slowly sifts in echoes of long-repressed sounds and sights…a tricky mystery. Even in the final pages, Collins avoids any expected resolution, leaving the reader deliciously unsettled and disturbed. A dark psychological thriller riddled with twisted family dynamics.” —Kirkus Reviews
“[H]arrowing… Collins plays her cards carefully to maximize suspense.” —Publishers Weekly
“In Behind the Red Door, Megan Collins has achieved something remarkable—a dark, disturbing story that is both elegant and fascinating. Exquisite writing, compelling characters and a story so captivating I finished it in a weekend. Few books live up to the word chilling, but this one does.”
—Samantha Downing, USA Today bestselling author of My Lovely Wife
My review of Behind the Red Door
Make sure you’ve got a few hours free when you pick up Behind the Red Door. You won’t want to put this book down! This gripping story about Fern Douglas and her bizarre childhood kept me up way past my bedtime.
Right away, we learn that Fern has severe anxiety that she copes with through medication and counseling (and with much love and patience from her husband). Her husband Eric knows all about Fern’s odd upbringing, so when her dad calls saying he “needs her” to help him pack up the house since he’s moving, he tells Fern that he doesn’t think she should go. However, Fern has always craved her father’s attention, and hearing him say he “needs her” convinces her that he’s finally ready to give her that attention.
Before Fern leaves, she sees a news story about a missing woman who was also missing 20 years ago. Fern is convinced she knows her somehow, but Eric tells her that she must have seen her picture somewhere. This one event stirs up what Fern is convinced are memories of this woman’s first kidnapping.
Behind the Red Door is creepy and intense. Its darkly atmospheric nature pulls you deep into the story so completely that you forget you’re reading a fictional novel. As I read about Fern’s upbringing, I just felt physically ill. It made me want to throttle her parents! I was amazed by the fact that Fern was unable to see how disturbing and messed up her childhood was.
Psychological thrillers are one of my favorite types of books, so all of the chilling details drew me even further into Fern’s story. Collins’s descriptive writing made this book for me. I knew who the “villain” was way before the reveal, but I think we’re supposed to know. That’s part of the horrific nature of the crime. Yes, there are a few characters who could also have committed the crime. However, as the layers of the story are peeled back, it becomes more and more obvious whodunit.
If you’re a fan of psychological thrillers, you’ll be captivated by Behind the Red Door.
About Megan Collins
Megan Collins is the author of The Winter Sister. She teaches creative writing in Connecticut, where she lives, and is the managing editor of 3Elements Review. A poet and fiction writer, her work has appeared in many journals, including Off the Coast, Spillway, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, and Rattle.