The mystery of the Reeve urges the female protagonists — each without a husband at home — toward moments of self-discovery ... The horror surfaces only in the presence of women, who are as abandoned as the house in the periods between its inhabitants.
It has a little bit of all things not very nice that make up a page-turning popular novel, without resorting to moral simplicity or predictability ... [Collins] evokes her characters and scenes deftly. Not only that, but the whole thrust and purpose of the book add up so well, issues are handled with such lightness of touch, that this reads like a novelist in her prime, rather than a beginner.
Collins skillfully intercuts the two storylines, making clever use of structure to maximize tension, resonance, and fright, while the familiar setup fools readers into thinking they know what path the plot will follow. A moody, evocative, close-third narrative underscores the keenly rendered characters’ mounting distress and claustrophobia.
